gabs.petito/Instagram, Yelp
September 23, 2021, 6:52 am
Gabby Petito’s family is having to balance mourning her loss and the mystery that still surrounds her murder with trying to get the lawyer representing the Laundrie family to stop making things even harder for them.
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On Wednesday, Petito’s family attorney, Richard Benson Stafford, sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Laundrie family lawyer, Steven P. Bertolino, after realizing that a photo of Gabby was being used on his Yelp page to advertise his business.
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Bertolino’s page was unclaimed, and he said that he has “never used social media or any other electronic platform for advertising other than maintaining a Web presence.”
However, Yelp confirmed to Insider that whatever user originally uploaded the photo to the page removed it immediately after Stafford’s cease-and-desist letter to Bertolino was sent.
This is only one of several of frustrations Petito’s family has had with Bertolino, who released a statement saying “May Gabby Rest In Peace” following the news that the human remains found near Grand Teton National Park were positively identified as Gabby’s.
Although the specific cause of death is still pending, the FBI also confirmed that it was a homicide.
Gabby’s fiancé, Brian Laundrie, remains a person of interest in her death, and the search for him continues. He was last seen by his family on September 14, although they waited to report as much to the police until three days later. Prior to his disappearance, he had refused to cooperate, on Bertolino’s advice.
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Petito’s uncle, Steven Petito, slammed Bertolino for his role in what he called a “massive cover-up and stalling tactic” on a now-private Instagram post. His comments came after the lawyer’s five-word statement on Gabby’s body being positively identified.
“We don’t require nor want [your] empathy,” Petito wrote. “By you trying to show compassion here at this moment is beyond disgusting.”
He also added that he believes Bertolino is “guilty and complicit” in the eyes of the public, presumably for not urging Laundrie to cooperate with the police or come home.
*First Published: September 23, 2021, 6:52 am
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