The mother of Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old who was murdered at the hands of her fiancé during a cross-country road trip, has said she forgives him, but not his mother.
In June 2021, Gabby and her fiance Brian Laundrie embarked on a trip of a lifetime, however, things took a dark turn three months later when Gabby was nowhere to be found. Her family reported her missing, 10 days after Brian returned to his home in Florida alone.
Watch: True Crime Conversations. Post continues below.
Shortly after Gabby's family filed a missing persons report, she was found dead in Wyoming due to "strangulation". Then, Brian disappeared, and his remains were found in October 2021.
"I speak for myself here when I say Brian, I forgive you," said Gabby's mother, Nichole Schmidt at CrimeCon, a true crime convention in Nashville. "I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness, that I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life."
"Your atrocious decision to take a life, my daughter’s life, has ignited a fire within me, a fierce determination to protect the innocent from falling victim to monsters like you," she said.
She labelled his mother, Roberta Laundrie as "pure evil".
"I see no empathy in your eyes, no remorse in your heart and no willingness to take responsibility for your actions," she continued.