Brian Laundrie’s Mother Arrives at Petito Deposition in Son’s Notorious Mustang

In a move that sent shivers down the spine of many following the harrowing saga of Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito, Roberta Laundrie, Brian’s mother, was seen driving her son’s silver Ford Mustang convertible to a deposition Wednesday morning. The chilling choice of vehicle was the same one Brian had parked at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park before his final night on the run.

You could be the new owner of Britney Spears’ notorious car.

Brian Laundrie had previously admitted in a suicide note to the murder of his fiancée, Gabby Petito, in Wyoming. After committing the crime, Laundrie had traveled across the nation to his parents’ Florida residence in Petito’s own van. The Laundrie family then embarked on a Labor Day camping trip and subsequently refused to aid investigators in their search for Gabby, who was then only considered missing.

This week’s legal proceedings saw the Petito-Schmidt family attorney, Patrick Reilly, intensively question both Laundrie’s parents. Following Tuesday’s deposition with Christopher Laundrie, Brian’s father, Gabby’s father, Joseph Petito, described the emotional weight of the experience. On Wednesday, as the Laundries exited their North Port residence, Joseph shared a poignant moment on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Posting a photograph of a Florida rainbow, he penned: “Headed to another deposition dreading the emotional torment that is about to occur, and I see this. Thank you Gabs for showing me it will be OK.”

The emotionally-charged deposition continues to draw significant attention, with Roberta Laundrie’s choice of vehicle casting an even more unsettling tone over the already tense proceedings.

About the Author

Shawn Henry

Administrator

Shawn Henry has spent years writing about cars, and it shows—not in a resume kind of way, but in how he talks about them. He's the type who'll notice the weird trim option nobody remembers and actually know why it mattered. At Backfire News, he covers pretty much the whole spectrum: off-road trucks and trail builds, performance cars, racing, and the collector market. He's comfortable getting into the technical weeds, but he never forgets that most people read about cars because cars are fun, not because they want a spec sheet. His beat runs from classic and collector vehicles to overlanding culture, modified performance builds, new automotive tech, and the industry news that actually affects what ends up in your driveway. Mostly, though, Shawn thinks the best car stories are about people—the builds they pour money into, the road trips, the communities that form around a shared obsession. That's the stuff he likes writing about, and it's what you'll find in his work here.

View All Posts