Gabby was not reported missing until September 10th or 11th. She wasn’t confirmed dead until the 20th.
I think it’s commonly thought that Brian Laundrie has been in legal peril longer than he actually has been. The current warrant for Laundrie’s arrest is only about a week old, and still isn’t related directly to her murder (rather, for use of credit cards not in his name).
Right. But Brian left for his “hike” on September 14th, and police were already investigating the highly suspicious circumstances. They don’t need to find a corpse to do a stake-out. That’s not how it works.
That’s what his parents say, anyway.
As far as I can see the only unquestioned sighting of Brian was on September 4–when he bought the phone (NOT a ‘burner’) at a local AT&T store. He is on their surveillance video.
A neighbor has given a date of September 10 for having seen him at his parents’ house, but I have no idea how well-accepted that claim is by authorities.
Even the vaunted “camping trip,” September 6 and 7, has generated no positive sightings of Brian (known to the public, anyway). One tabloid show had a grainy pic of a young man walking through that location and the chyron ‘Could this be Brian Laundrie???’—but so far as I know, there’s no positive ID.
He could have left the state after the September 4 phone purchase, if these other sightings aren’t reliable. If they ARE reliable, then of course the date moves forward.
What could be is this. Brian gets home on Sep. 1, tells his parents he dropped Gabby off at a friend’s house, and they’re taking a break for now. They believe him because at that time, they have no reason not to. Ten days later, when the calls start coming, they start asking questions, and whatever answers they get cause them to panic. They don’t want to harbor a fugitive; they also don’t want to see their son on death row. Best to send him off…somewhere. So he’s not on their property, and they can truthfully say they don’t know where he is.
I think that’s perfectly plausible except for the part where he has her van, her only transportation. It’d have made far more sense for her to have dropped him off at his parents’ place. That’s not to say he told them the truth the instant he walked in the door. He’d just had a very long road trip and may have conked out for a long sleep.
I’ve asked myself what I would have done if my kid had come home in the same circumstances as Brian Laundrie did. I understand the strong urge to protect your child from jail and possibly the death penalty. Helping him escape would certainly have been a strong urge, and I don’t fault the Laundries for wanting to do so. I’m quite sure, however, owing to how I was raised, that I would have recognized that escape would be temporary, and that flight would put him in a much worse light when he was caught. The Laundries may not have realized this, and of course, now it’s too late to come clean (if they have helped BL escape).
I do think they’re being honest when they say they don’t know where he is now. They may know where he went but not his current location or whether he traveled elsewhere. He can’t exactly call or text to update them.
You bring up a good point, nelliebly. Movies, TV, and books would have everyone believe that parents will (and SHOULD) do everything possible to protect their children, including aiding them, hiding them, and even framing innocent third-parties. (“He’s my son…and parents will do ANYTHING to protect their children!”)
I don’t have any children, but it is very, very hard for me to see myself doing such extreme things in a deliberate attempt to thwart justice. For example, I might not go in and inform the police where my child is hiding, but I sure wouldn’t facilitate their fleeing or finance it. And I certainly wouldn’t conceal the truth if I know something about the location of a victim’s body or the circumstances of the death. I can’t imagine a world where justice can be achieved if everyone simply adopts the attitude of, “Don’t ever help the police or anyone else in the justice system. You’re not legally required to.” Just because the perp is related to you doesn’t negate your responsibility.
Oh but the social contract is so, so broken in America.
I know several parents who have lied and cheated to get their kids advantages in school, sports and other endeavors. Some of them have come right out and said it’s your duty to do this. In the context of the Varsity Blues context one of them said that while it was legally a crime what they did, it was morally a crime if they didn’t do it. When I asked her if she would kill her son’s rivals for a place in a conservatory, she was mortally offended. I said I was just trying to find where the line was. Fraud and bribery is okay, even necessary, but apparently murder is going too far. How about grievous bodily harm? Smashing the rivals fingers? Blinding them? Hacking into school computers to change grades? Filing a false police report and perjuring yourself to give the rivals a criminal record?
She hasn’t spoken to me since. Her husband was laughing his head off during this whole exchange.
True. It just seems so weird to have people posting opinions that the parents have no (apparent ) obligations to help bring about justice and that everything is perfectly fine when they clam up in order to “help” their son.
Meanwhile, other posts on this site go on at great lengths pointing out how police violence, sexual assault and harassment, domestic violence, and racism can only be fought when ordinary people stop ignoring it or believing that it isn’t their problem. I happen to agree with this. Social and criminal justice are everyone’s responsibility.
It isn’t that the parents have no (apparent) obligations to help bring about justice, it’s that they have no legal obligation to do so.
Aye.
Yes, I do get it. But I think many of the posters approve of this and often drop in a strong defense on the parents’ behalf. And there seems to be some attitude that the parents shouldn’t ever speak to the police about any aspect of the situation, that they are under no legal obligation to do so and one should never speak to the cops unless it’s absolutely required by the law. I couldn’t live with myself if I acted in that manner.
Sadly, this has become a common occurrence in society.
Can you quote the posts you’re talking about? I don’t recall seeing any that take this position.
That seems pretty obvious; white collar crimes are okay, blue collar crimes are not.
I’d expect my family to alert the authorities, but then, I’m not someone who engages in the sort of activities under discussion.
I can’t tell if you’re joking.
I’m generally on the “don’t talk to the police” bandwagon, but more specifically I’m for “don’t talk to the police without benefit of counsel.” And that’s because simply talking to the police does not necessarily facilitate a more efficient or just resolution of a case. Law enforcement and prosecutors have their own biases, and a witness providing a stream-of-consciousness statement in an interview can easily say things that would seem to incriminate them, even if they’re wholly innocent. This can lead to wrongful prosecution or lead the investigation down a wrong alley.
If a witness has useful information to provide police, much better to do so with the advice and assistance of an attorney.
Only about halfway either way, but you were asking about where the family draws the line, crimewise. My post was my thought of where that line gets drawn.
Not just fictional characters:
Selected quotes:
-Snitches get stitches.
-I would not turn in my wife or son for any crime
-Family ties are more important to me than the social contract. I would never, ever turn in a loved one
-I will literary [sic (I assume)] let them get away with murder.
-But I don’t believe I would ever turn in immediate family or lifelong friends.
-Nothing.
-I wouldn’t even turn in a person I hated.
-You might totally get a pass on murder or burglary depending on the circumstances.
-No matter what my loved ones do, I’m not calling the cops.
and:
Only around 50% wouldn’t turn in someone for arson?!
Blackmail and extortion around 60% wouldn’t turn somebody in?!?!
25% of people, wouldn’t turn someone in for date rape?!
Honestly, I find the results of this poll disturbing.
And so do I!
I of course may have missed it, but I don’t recall any posts saying that the parents have no moral obligation to tell the police what they know and that it’s fine for them to clam up. There have been posts saying that they have no legal obligation to talk to the police* - but that has nothing to with any moral or social obligation.
* which started I think with a poster who believed that once an arrest warrant was issued, that he parents had to tell the police where he was if they were asked directly and if they didn’t they risked being arrested as accessories
Also … in terms of Parenting …
Florida.
QED