TAMPA (WFLA) — Several threats have been made against Brian Laundrie’s sister and her family while police continue to search for the fiancé of Gabby Petito, police records show.
Wednesday will mark one month since Laundrie allegedly left his parents’ home to go hiking.
Laundrie’s parents officially reported him missing on Sept. 17, more than two weeks after police say he returned home to North Port, Florida, alone from a cross-country trip with Petito. He remains the sole person of interest in her disappearance.
Manatee County Sheriff’s deputies have dropped by the home of Laundrie’s sister, Cassie Laundrie, numerous times in a span of two weeks, records show. The first call for help came two days after Laundrie was reported missing.
According to the calls for service log, on Sept. 19, Cassie Laundrie’s husband, James, reported he was getting “messages from random people” that included threats about “killing his family and kidnapping his kids.”
Following the threats, deputies periodically checked in on the family. On Oct. 1, there was a call about “suspicious circumstances,” in which officials investigated and dismissed a possible Brian Laundrie sighting.
Then, there was a disturbance from protestors. Cassie Laundrie took questions from a small group of protesters outside her home and clarified some of the timelines around her brother’s disappearance and the death of Petito.
“We’re not supposed to talk with anybody, and you’re making my children cry,” said Cassie Laundrie.
Former FBI agent Dr. Bryanna Fox said each time there’s a false sighting, a trespasser or a threat, precious resources are pulled away from solving this case.
“Anytime that there’s a death threat made against somebody, law enforcement takes it extremely seriously,” said Fox. “It is illegal, it is irresponsible, it is extremely harmful and, on top of it, it’s going to just make finding the person who’s responsible for Gabby Petito’s murder that much more difficult.”
Court documents show Laundrie was indicted for the “use of unauthorized access devices” following Petito’s death.
According to the documents, Laundrie used a Capital One Bank debit card and a personal identification number for two Capital One Bank accounts “knowingly and with intent to defraud” between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1 in Wyoming and elsewhere. Using the accounts, he obtained “things of value aggregating to $1,000 or more.”
