Photo Removed from Laundrie Attorney's Page After 'Cease and Desist' Letter from Gabby Petito's Family
The attorney for the family of Gabby Petito — a previously missing woman whose body was recently discovered in Wyoming — sent a letter to the family attorney of Petito’s fiancé, Brian Laundrie, to demand her photo removed from a Yelp page.
“The Petito and Schmidt family are demanding that you remove Gabby Petito’s picture from your Yelp page … The family tried to remove their daughter’s picture from your page and were informed that only the business owner can add or remove pictures,” the letter said.
“Furthermore, the Petito and Schmidt family demand that you cease and desist posting pictures of Gabby Petito to any and all of your social media pages, web pages or advertisements in an effort to gain business. I am sure this will be taken care of by 2pm or I will take further action on behalf of Gabby’s family,” the letter added.
NEW: Gabby Petito’s family attorney demands Brian Laundrie’s family attorney ‘cease and desist’ posting pictures of Gabby to his social media accounts and remove photo from Yelp. pic.twitter.com/JfffspEZEH
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 22, 2021
According to Breaking911, the Laundrie family’s attorney, Steven Bertolino, responded, “That’s disgusting. Just so you know, my website and any review sites that I do not control have been overrun by John Q. Public.
“Indeed yelp actually shut the site down due to the inordinate amount of fake commenting on it. I have not advertised or sort business in over 20 years and I would certainly not use this case to drum up any business.”
…” I have not advertised or sort business in over 20 years and I would certainly not use this case to drum up any business.” 2/2
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) September 22, 2021
The picture is no longer shown on the attorney’s Yelp page.
The Yelp page currently notes, “This business is being monitored by Yelp’s Support team for content related to media reports.”
A pop-up message also stated, “This business recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news.
“While we don’t take a stand one way or the other when it comes to this incident, we’ve temporarily disabled the posting of content to this page as we work to investigate the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events.”
According to WTVT-TV, “A separate photo was also uploaded showing a side-by-side image of Brian. It was uploaded by a different user under the name, ‘Hannah L,’ and it accompanied the following review that was posted on September 20: Terrible lawyer, definitely sketchy and not qualified to handle murder cases or deal with potential murderers.”
Petito’s body was found in Wyoming on Monday and ruled a homicide, according to a coroner’s ruling released Tuesday.
“Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999. Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide. The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results,” the FBI’s Denver office tweeted.
Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999. Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide. The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results. pic.twitter.com/JoHenMZ9UU
— FBI Denver (@FBIDenver) September 21, 2021
“The [FBI] and our partners remain dedicated to ensuring anyone responsible for or complicit in Ms. Petito’s death is held accountable for their actions,” FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said in a statement, according to the New York Post.
The FBI said it is asking anyone who may have seen Petito or Laundrie in the Spread Creek Dispersed Camping Area between Aug. 27 and 30, or who may have seen their white Ford Transit van, to come forward.
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