
Gabby Petito's mom claims Brian Laundrie's room was ‘gutted' soon after he went missing: ‘All his things were gone'
Nichole Schmidt sat down with Taylor Lautner and his wife, Tay, on their podcast, The Squeeze, this week to discuss her daughter's story, and said she recently came across the stunning claim against the Laundries.
'I actually just found out some new information a few days ago,' Schmidt claimed.
Advertisement
4 Nichole Schmidt sat down with Taylor Lautner and his wife, Tay, on their podcast, The Squeeze, this week to discuss her daughter's story.
Youtube / The Squeeze
'There was — I actually don't know their name, which is better — that was at the house when Brian was missing and — I would say he was hiding, he wasn't missing, but he was actually dead — but his room was completely gutted and renovated. None of his things were there anymore. It was gone.'
She claimed that the week her daughter was missing, 'cops were going to their house to try to get, I guess, a scent from their dogs to look for Brian, all his things were gone.'
Advertisement
'The room was completely empty, just gone,' Schmidt said.
The unidentified individual, who claimed to have been in the house during that time, told Schmidt that it was obvious something was 'wrong' with Laundrie's mother, Roberta.
'They said that there's something wrong with that mother she's clearly not mentally well, and I'm like that's just add it to the list because I didn't even know about that,' she said.
Schmidt said it drives her 'absolutely insane' when she tries to think of any way to make them 'pay for what they did.'
Advertisement
4 An Instagram story video shows the inside of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie's camper van.
'There is really nothing I can do,' she said.
Roberta Laundrie is suspected of helping her son sneak away while law enforcement zeroed in on him as a key suspect in Gabby Petito's murder in 2021.
His parents also refused to cooperate with authorities and give any information about their son's whereabouts.
Advertisement
Schmidt took the stage at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville, Tenn., in June and said she forgave her daughter's killer for what he did.
4 Roberta Laundrie is suspected of helping her son sneak away while law enforcement zeroed in on him as a key suspect in Gabby Petito's murder in 2021.
William Farrington
'I speak for myself here when I say Brian, I forgive you,' she said.
'I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness, and I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life.'
However, as for Roberta, she believed she had 'no remorse in your heart.'
'As for you, Roberta, and I call you out individually because you are evidently the mastermind that shattered your family and mine with your evil ways, I see no empathy in your eyes,' Schmidt said.
'No remorse in your heart and no willingness to take responsibility for your actions.'
4 Petito's body was discovered in Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19, 2021, with investigators ruling her cause of death as strangulation.
Gabby Petito Instagram
Advertisement
Petito's family believes the Laundries were aware their son had murdered their daughter and allegedly tried to hide the sinister act while helping him evade justice after he had returned home by himself from a trip the two had been on.
Both of Laundrie's parents acknowledged in depositions that they had concerns about Petito's welfare after their son seemed erratic in phone calls shortly after her murder.
Laundrie drove to his Florida home from Wyoming, where he abandoned Petito's remains.
Advertisement
After returning home, he went camping with his parents, sister, and her children as the Petitos' loved ones struggled to piece together what happened and where she was.
The 22-year-old's body was discovered in Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19, 2021, with investigators ruling her cause of death as strangulation.
Laundrie, 23, subsequently killed himself, and his remains were discovered in a Florida nature park alongside his backpack and notebook with a confession about killing Petito.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
5 hours ago
- New York Post
Long Island teen attacked with metal 'Stanley' mug speaks out
A Long Island teen who needed 17 stitches when another girl's mom allegedly bashed her with a metal 'Stanley' water mug says she's too traumatized to return to school — much less ever use the brand of cup again. 'I'm shaking all the time,' said Madison Evans, a 14-year-old student at Brentwood High School, to The Post. 'I can't even look at those cups anymore. Every time I see one, it just brings it all back.' Madison said her horrific ordeal began when she was leaving summer school as usual one day at Brentwood last week and was approached by two girls she had never spoken to before. 7 Madison Evans, a 14-year-old student at Brentwood High School, needed 17 stitches when another girl's mom allegedly hit her with a metal 'Stanley' water mug, and is 'shaking all the time.' ABC 7 NY The girls, including a 15-year-old, have issues with her cousin, which made her a target by extension, Madison said. When the pair began bullying Madison outside the Suffolk County school, she verbally pushed back, she said. In a video obtained by The Post, Madison and one of the girls are seen arguing and being held back by security — while Toni Monroe, the 35-year-old mother of the 15-year-old, is standing next to her daughter and yelling. At one point, Monroe can be heard saying, 'Give me your Stanley' to her daughter, who obliges. The 15-year-old and Monroe then charge Madison, punching her and hitting her in the head multiple times with the cup, according to the video. Eyewitnesses claimed that afterward, Monroe tried to run away before being apprehended by security. 7 In a video obtained by The Post, Madison and one of the girls are seen arguing and being held back by security outside Brentwood High School. ABC 7 NY Madison described the chaos of the fight to The Post and the moment she realized blood was streaming down her face. 'I thought I was going to die,' she said. Police arrested Monroe, who had no prior criminal record, in the parking lot. 7 The 15-year-old and her 35-year-old mother, Toni Monroe, then charged at Madison, punching her and hitting her in the head multiple times with the cup. ABC 7 NY Madison said that at first, she was completely unaware that it was the girl's mother who jumped into the fight. 'I was kind of shocked,' she said of realizing it was Monroe who was swinging the bottle at her. 'I thought it was another student, but then when I looked at her, she had a tattoo — but then I just kept trying to defend myself.' 7 Police arrested Monroe, who had no prior criminal record. ABC 7 NY Monroe's daughter later defended her mom's actions on Instagram, claiming she only tried to break up the fight between her and Madison and was not actually trying to hurt the teen. But Shameakca Forney, Monroe's guardian, called the claim laughable and said the video and the 17 stitches on the teen's head are all the proof she needs to debunk that. 'If you're going to let the kids fight, then let the kids fight — kids will be kids, we've all done it growing up — but you don't jump in and fight kids,' Forney said. 7 'I thought it was another student, but then when I looked at her, she had a tattoo — but then I just kept trying to defend myself,' Madison said. ABC 7 NY Monroe, who claimed she was at the school to complain about bullying against her daughter, was arrested and charged with assault. She was released without bail but ordered to wear an ankle monitor and barred from contacting Madison. In court, Monroe's lawyer insisted it was her daughter who was being bullied. But students said Monroe's daughter is the one known to cause issues between herself and other students. 7 Madison's injuries. ABC 7 NY Madison's family said there is no excuse for Monroe's actions regardless of the situation. 'As a mom you're supposed to diffuse the situation and take your daughter away to see what's going on instead of attacking a kid with a cup,' said Madison's cousin, Tyleen Smith. Brentwood schools Superintendent Wanda Ortiz-Rivera called the incident 'unacceptable' and promised that 'the safety and well-being of our students is always our highest priority,' adding, 'This type of behavior will not be tolerated in our schools.' 7 Monroe claimed she was at the school to complain about bullying against her daughter, but students said Monroe's daughter is the one known to cause issues between herself and other students. ABC 7 NY For Madison, though, the damage is already done. The thought of returning to Brentwood High fills her with dread, and she doesn't feel safe walking the halls again, she said. She has yet to return to the classroom. She also said that while she enjoyed using Stanley mugs before, the thought of it now makes her sick.


Newsweek
8 hours ago
- Newsweek
Nelly Korda Sounds Alarm as Catfishing Scam Targets Fans, Female Golfers
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Over the past five years, LPGA players have repeatedly raised their voices against a disturbing trend of catfishing scams that impersonate female golfers, lure fans into fake relationships and drain them of thousands of dollars. Despite public warnings, the scams persist. And now, they've pushed former world No. 1 Nelly Korda to speak out with urgency. TROON, SCOTLAND - JULY 27: Nelly Korda of the United States looks across the 10th green during the final round of the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open 2025 at Dundonald Links Golf Course on July... TROON, SCOTLAND - JULY 27: Nelly Korda of the United States looks across the 10th green during the final round of the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open 2025 at Dundonald Links Golf Course on July 27, 2025 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by) More The latest eye-opening moment came from The Athletic, which created a fictitious Instagram account under the name Rodney Raclette, a 62-year-old Indiana native and self-proclaimed LPGA superfan. Within 20 minutes of following a few verified accounts, Rodney received a message from what appeared to be Nelly Korda herself. "Hi, handsomeface, I know this is like a dream to you. Thank you for being a fan," read the DM from @nellykordaofficialfanspage2, per report. Of course, it wasn't Korda. And Rodney doesn't exist. But the scam was all too real. In the real world, a fake account impersonates a golfer, initiates contact, then quickly shifts the conversation to Telegram or WhatsApp. From there, the scammer offers exclusive perks, VIP access, autographed gear, and even romantic promises in exchange for untraceable payments via cryptocurrency or gift cards. Once the money stops, the scammer vanishes. This forced Korda to raise her voice. "It's been taken out of my hands being able to communicate freely with fans," Korda told The Athletic. "Because I don't really know their intentions." Korda has pinned a warning to the top of her Instagram profile, but the scams are evolving faster than she can report them. She says she used to flag 20 fake accounts per day. Now, they multiply by the hour. "You're just put into a situation you really don't want to be in," she said as quoted by The Athletic. "You feel bad, you feel guilty for people going through this. It's the last thing you want. It's not only putting the players in danger, in a sense, but it's putting all the fans in danger." This is not the end, though. In one case, a Pennsylvania man drove four hours to Liberty National Golf Club believing he had a VIP dinner planned with Rose Zhang. He had sent her $70,000 over a year. Zhang's agent had to break the news that it wasn't her and that he had been scammed. Even The Athletic's fictional fan made up for the story was asked for ID and offered a "Fan Membership Card" for $700. When he hesitated, the fake Korda threatened to end the conversation until she sent an AI-generated video of the real Korda, altered to address him by name. Security experts say the scams are difficult to trace and nearly impossible to prosecute. Most perpetrators operate overseas, and the FBI rarely intervenes unless the financial loss crosses a high threshold. All said, the problem persists. The day after Rodney's account was created, the scam page that messaged him was deleted. When Rodney emailed the fake Korda to ask why, she replied, "I deactivated the account because of imposters, and the FBI are working on catching them." That, too, was a lie. As the LPGA continues to grow in popularity, so does the threat. More Golf: Akshay Bhatia Lands New Car With Ace at BMW Championship Third Round


USA Today
11 hours ago
- USA Today
Deported from US, these social media influencers are now monetizing their misfortune
More than 70,000 Mexicans were deported from the US in the first six months of the year. Now, they're (re)building lives south of the border. Deported and alone, Annie Garcia landed in Mexico with $40 in her pocket, a criminal record in the United States behind her and an unknown future ahead in a country she barely remembered. Fast forward to the present, to a video shared with her more than half-a-million social media followers in August. Her hair blows in the wind as she speeds on a boat through an emerald sea. She tagged the clip: #LifeAfterDeportation. Expelled from the United States, young Mexican immigrants like Garcia, 35, are documenting the aftermath of their deportation online. Their videos – raw grief over what they lost in America, surprise and gratitude for what they've found in Mexico – are rapidly gaining them tens of thousands of followers. At least a dozen of these deportees-turned-influencers, Garcia included, have started over in Mexico's west coast beach gem, Puerto Vallarta. 'If there's one thing I wish my content could embody it's how much life there is on this side of the border," Garcia wrote June 15 on Instagram. "Our countries aren't what they were 20 or 30 years ago when our parents left." Returning to an unfamiliar 'home' More than 70,000 Mexican nationals were deported from the United States to Mexico in the first six months of 2025, according to Mexico's Interior Ministry. That's down from the more than 102,000 deported during the same six-month period in 2024, when people were being deported after crossing the border. Now, the people being deported are more likely to have built lives and families in the United States. With President Donald Trump's aggressive mass deportation campaign underway, Francisco Hernández-Corona feared being detained. So he self-deported to Mexico, accompanied by his husband. He started vlogging. The 30-something Harvard graduate and former Dreamer had been taken to the United States illegally as a boy, he explained on TikTok. Multiple attempts to legalize his status in the United States failed. In June, he posted his migration – and self-deportation – stories online. Between photos of golden sunsets and mouthwatering tacos, he posted in July: "Self-deporting isn't always freedom and joy and new adventures. Sometimes it's pain and nostalgia and anger and sadness. Sometimes you just miss the home that was." 'Life in the pueblo is not easy' Mexico remains a country of extremes, where stunning vistas and limitless wealth can be found in big cities and beach resorts, while hardship and poverty often overwhelm smaller communities. Olga Mijangos was deported from Las Vegas in on Christmas Eve 2024, two years after being charged with a DUI. She returned to the Oaxaca state pueblo she had left when she was 5. Mijangos, 33, has tattoos on her neck, stylized brows and long lashes – all part of her Vegas style. Back in her hometown, she began posting videos of goats being herded through the streets; the community rodeo; the traditional foods she began cooking. She posted videos from her first job: harvesting and cleaning cucumbers, earning 300 pesos a day, or $15. "I clearly understand why my mother decided to take us when we were little. Life in the pueblo is not easy," she said in a video of the cucumber harvest. "There is hard-living. There is poverty." Struggling to make ends meet for her family, including two children with her in Mexico and one in the United States, she moved to Puerto Vallarta where she met Garcia and Hernández-Corona. They began forming an in-real-life community of deportees-turned-influencers and others who left the U.S. They meet up for dinner at least once a month, and they create content. In their videos, they're having fun, drinks, laughs. But they're also celebrating what binds them to each other and to their parents' migration stories before them: their capacity for reinvention, and their resilience. "I'm very proud to be Mexican, and I'm learning to love a country I didn't get to grow up in, but I shouldn't have had to leave the home I knew to find peace and freedom," said Hernández-Corona, a clinical psychologist, in a July post on TikTok. "This isn't a blessing. It's resilience." Spanish skills, savings and support all matter A lot of their content has the draw of a classic American up-by-their-bootstraps success story, with a modern social media twist: from hardship to sponsorship. But the reality is that deportees' experience of building a life in Mexico can vary dramatically, depending on their earning capacity, language and cultural skills, and other factors, said Israel Ibarra González, a professor of migration studies at Mexico's Colegio de la Frontera Norte university. Deportees with savings in U.S. dollars and a college degree, those who speak Spanish and have supportive relatives in Mexico, may have an easier time than those who don't, he said. Others may face life-threatening risks upon their return, from the violence of organized crime to political persecution or death threats. "However much violence they've lived with in the United States, it's not the same as going back to a war zone," Ibarra González said, referring to certain Mexican states where drug cartels are actively battling for territorial control. Wherever they land – with the exception of some cosmopolitan cities – deported Mexicans have faced local prejudices, too. They've often been viewed as criminals, or their deportations as a failure. "Did I feel a lot of judgment? Absolutely," Mijangos said of her return to Oaxaca. "Even though it's my roots, I basically came from a different world. I have tattoos. I lived my life a certain way that they don't. I could feel people talking." But friends back home in Vegas, and new friends in Mexico, started encouraging her to share her deportation journey. It took her a few weeks to work up the courage. She posted a video of sending her U.S. citizen son to a Mexican school. It racked up nearly 14 million views and 2 million "likes" on TikTok, she said. Suddenly, TikTok was asking if she wanted to join the app's content creators rewards program. 'Your criminal record doesn't follow you' By taking their stories online, deported content creators say they are dismantling longstanding taboos around deportation in Mexico, shining a light on their experiences as Mexicans who didn't grow up in Mexico, and on their past mistakes. Garcia speaks openly on her social media about the financial crimes she committed in her 20s, for which she was charged and convicted, and that ultimately led to her deportation. She migrated to the United States when she was 4 years old, "out of necessity," she said. Her mother married an American citizen in Salt Lake City, Utah, and she and her mother both became legal permanent residents. But when Garcia began acting out as a child, the state intervened. "I was taken from my mother at the age of 12 because I had behavioral issues," she told USA TODAY. "I was separated from my family, and I grew up with other juveniles with behavior (problems)." As a young single mother, she would steal from her employers when she couldn't pay the bills, she said. In Mexico she found a clean slate. "Your criminal record doesn't follow you," once you've paid your debt to society in the United States, Garcia tells her followers. "You can pursue higher education. Any debts you had in the U.S. do not follow you here." As Trump's immigration crackdown widens, Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has been publicly offering moral support to Mexicans facing deportation. She has called them "heroes and heroines" who "have contributed to the United States their entire lives." "We're going to keep defending our brothers and sisters there," she said in a June 25 news conference. 'Maybe … things will change' Garcia's social media accounts have grown so popular that she's earning a living, in part, from content creation. She is doing research on reintegration after deportation for an American university. And she has "tunnel vision," she said, on completing a law degree in Mexico. The pain of her deportation, and the losses it brought with it, are mostly in the past. Except when she catches news of the immigration raids in the United States. The memories of her detention, and her separation from her five children, including an infant, remain fresh. It took Garcia more than a year after her 2017 deportation to win custody of her children, to bring them to Mexico. "It's very, very triggering to me to see what's going on up there," she said. "It's a bittersweet feeling. I feel safe. I feel relief. We're here. It doesn't affect us any more. But it feels heartbreaking to see other families living through it. "When I first started sharing my story my idea was, 'Maybe if I talk about this, things will change'" in the United States, she said. She kept at it, despite facing hate and trolls online. She kept posting, even after losing two jobs in Mexico for openly discussing her deportation and criminal past on social media. She kept sharing, thinking, she said: "This is what is going to change things one day: us putting our stories out there."