Brian Laundrie's parents are 'being tortured in their own home' by protesters, attorney says

• Brian Laundrie's parents are being "tortured" by the protesters outside their Florida home.
• "They are being tortured in their own home by these protesters outside," lawyer Steven Bertolino told Insider.

Brian Laundrie's parents are being "tortured" by the protesters who have regularly posted up outside their Florida home for weeks since their son - the sole person of interest in the disappearance and killing of Gabby Petito - has gone missing, the family's attorney said Tuesday.

"They are being tortured in their own home by these protesters outside," lawyer Steven Bertolino told Insider of Laundrie's parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie.

For weeks, protesters have regularly shown up at the Laundrie family's North Port home, taunting the parents, and leaving signage on their lawn, including photos of Petito, who a coroner ruled was strangled to death sometime in late August.

Most recently, a Florida woman filed a lawsuit against Chris Laundrie, alleging that he stole a $40 sign erected near his home on October 16.

The sign read, "What if it was Cassie?" in reference to Cassie Laundrie, the daughter of Chris and Roberta Laundrie, according to court documents.

Chris and Roberta Laundrie "are being followed when performing basic tasks like food shopping," Bertolino told Insider.

"They are being harassed with lawsuits for a $40 sign that was more than likely on their property and should be considered litter," said Bertolino.

The attorney added: "And all of the foregoing is occurring when they have no idea whether their son is alive or not."

The parents reported Brian Laundrie missing to Florida police on September 17 - more than two weeks after the 23-year-old returned home from a cross-country road trip he took with Petito, his fiancée, without her and with the van they had been traveling in.

Chris and Roberta Laundrie have told investigators that their son left for a hike on September 13 at the nearby Carlton Reserve - where law enforcement has been searching for him - and never returned home.

Petito's body was discovered at a remote campground in Wyoming on September 19, and the 22-year-old woman's death was later ruled a homicide.

Brian Laundrie, who remains the subject of an FBI-led manhunt, is wanted by the feds on a bank-card fraud-related charge for allegedly using Petito's debit card following her death.

He does not face any other charges.

Meanwhile, Bertolino told Insider Tuesday that Brian Laundrie's parents are "hopeful" their son will be located.