The lawyer for the Petito family recently claimed that Brian Laundrie stole Gabby Petito's credit card, using it to travel home and run from police.
While appearing on the Dr. Phil show on Tuesday, the Petito family lawyer, Richard Stafford said, "[Laundrie] ran, he stole her credit card, he used her credit card to get home, and then ran from the police."
"He used her credit card to get home and then ran from the police," Stafford continued. "That's going to show a lot what he was thinking back then."
"I don't know what story he's going to try to tell, but it's not going to make any sense when you put it together with his actions from that moment forward – that he's running, that he's hiding, that he's trying to deceive everybody around him," Stafford said during the interview.
Newsweek reached out to Stafford for further comment but did not immediately receive a response.
On September 23, the FBI in Denver announced that the U.S. District Court of Wyoming issued a federal arrest warrant for Laundrie, accusing him of committing bank card fraud. The warrant did not explicitly state whose bank card he was accused of illegally using.
In a press release announcing the warrant the FBI in Denver said, "While this warrant allows law enforcement to arrest Mr. Laundrie, the FBI and our partners across the country continue to investigate the facts and circumstances of Ms. Petito's homicide."
The comments by Stafford come amid a manhunt for Laundrie following Petito's death, which was ruled a homicide by the Teton County Coroner's Office. Laundrie was previously named a person of interest in Petito's disappearance.
Laundrie was reported missing by his parents earlier this month, and they previously said that they last saw him on September 14. They believed that he went for a hike in Florida's Carlton Reserve. However, on Tuesday, the Laundrie's family lawyer, Steven Bertolino told NewsNationNow that the family had changed their stance on when they had last seen their son.
Bertolino told NewsNationNow that the Laundries previously said they last saw him on September 14, basing it "on their recollection of certain events."
"Upon further communication with the FBI and confirmation of the Mustang being at the Laundrie residence on Wednesday, September 15, we now believe the day Brian left to hike in the preserve was Monday, September 13," Bertolino told NewsNationNow.
During the interview on the Dr. Phil show, Petito's parents also said that the Laundrie's did not respond to any of their messages after they stopped hearing from their 22-year-old daughter. Petito initially went missing while on a road trip with Laundrie and her parents said that they last communicated with her during the final week of August.
"A normal parent, when you text someone that they're going to call the cops because you can't find your child, they would reply," Gabby's father, Joseph Petito said during the interview.
"No response, no nothing," he added.
Newsweek reached out to Bertolino for further comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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