Gabby Petito’s parents now also sue Brian Laudnrie’s parents’ LAWYER Steven Bertolino

The grieving parents of slain travel blogger Gabby Petito are suing the lawyer who represented Brian Laundrie’s family, calling him “callous, cold-hearted and outrageous.”

Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt allege that Laundrie’s family attorney, Steven Bertolino, knew their daughter was dead when he made a public statement about the search.

Bertolino said on September 14 that the Laundrie family hoped “that the search for Miss Petito will be successful and that Miss Petito will be reunited with her family.”

Petito, 22, was strangled to death on a road trip with Laundrie in Wyoming last summer. His remains were found on September 19. The van-life blogger’s mother and father previously sued her daughter’s murderous boyfriend and her parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, over his death.

A month after his body was discovered, Brian Laundrie was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port, Florida.

Gabby Petito, 22, was strangled to death on a road trip with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie in Wyoming last summer.

Gabby Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, pictured together in June 2022

The earlier lawsuit alleged that Laundrie’s parents knew their son had killed Petito and were not communicating.

A statement released Tuesday by Petito’s parents read: “When they chose to speak, it was through statements issued by Steven Bertolino.”

It continues: “It is believed that at the time the September 14, 2021 statement was issued, the Laundries and Steven Bertolino were aware that Gabby Petito had passed away and that, under the circumstances, the statement was callous, cold, and outrageous.”

DailyMail.com has contacted Bertolino for comment on the new lawsuit. Bertolino is a Long Island-based attorney.

Earlier this year, Bertolino defended the Lavanderías, saying they did “everything the right way,” on Wednesday night, shortly after Petito’s family criticized them in court for being “cruel and shameful.”

The lawsuit involving Laundrie’s family claims they “exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct” after Petito’s disappearance and seeks “fair compensation for the damages they have suffered, along with costs and other remedies.”

At the time, Bertolino said in an interview with news nation: “What I knew, or what Chris and Roberta knew, we did not have to disclose to any third party, and specifically to law enforcement or the Petito family.”

‘I did everything the right way. We have no regrets. The parents did everything the right way and have no regrets.

When asked specifically what the laundromats knew about Petito’s death, Bertolino declined to answer, saying “it would not be appropriate for me to comment” given the pending lawsuit.

Petit’s family has long alleged that Laundrie’s family knew their son killed their daughter after he returned home to Florida alone, and tried to help him flee from authorities.

Petito’s stepmother, Tara, pictured with his father during a press conference about the disappearance in September 2021

He did reiterate that he told the media months ago: ‘I don’t know exactly what Brian had told his parents. He had said publicly that what Brian told me was privileged. He wasn’t going to share it.

‘I had conversations with Brian. I had conversations with Chris and Roberta. I had conversations with them separately and I had conversations with them together. Therefore, it is not for me to comment at this time on what Chris and Roberta knew.

Bertolino added: “I can tell you what I knew… maybe one day what Brian knew, but none of that will happen tonight on this show.”

The lawyer rejected the idea that Laundrie’s parents were helping their son escape the country. He said, ‘Chris and Roberta did nothing but stay at their house.’

“There was speculation that there were disposable phones, that we were dressing it up in funny outfits and sending it across the border into Mexico, sending it through certain bodies of water to other countries in the Bahamas or maybe the Appalachian Trail.

Steve Bertolino said earlier this year that Christopher and Roberts Laundrie (at their Florida home in September 2021) “did everything the right way and have no regrets.”

‘All of that was filler work for the networks that had to fill up at some point 24/7.’

Bertolino also blamed the press for the Laundromats’ alleged lack of angst during the search at a Florida state park for her son, then a fugitive.

“They were gloomy, they were quiet and I can tell you that they were very upset and very emotional with me,” the lawyer said. “But when you have a group of press and public screaming at your door 24 hours a day…

‘Thought [Chris] and Roberta were going to go down to Walmart and start putting up signs: ‘Help me find my son?’ They knew where her son was. They knew where he was going. We said so and it turned out that unfortunately we were right, Brian never left the reservation and I certainly think law enforcement knew that all along as well.

“Some people in the press and the public wonder if Chris and Roberta should have done more, but they really could have done more when you had the full power of law enforcement searching the reservation.”

Notebooks discovered by FBI investigators implicated Laundrie as Petito’s killer. In November, a $3 million judgment was reached in the Petito family’s lawsuit against the Laundrie estate.