Nancy Grace Weighs In on Brian Laundrie and the Gabby Petito Case, Plus: Her New Movie ‘The Good Father’

Queen of crime Nancy Grace is talking with “Extra’s” Rachel Lindsay about her new Lifetime movie “The Good Father: The Martin MacNeill Story,” as well as the Gabby Petito case gripping the nation.

Gabby, 22, went missing while on a road trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie, 23. Authorities then discovered her body in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, and the FBI announced Tuesday they believe she died by homicide.

They are currently searching for Brian, who went missing after he returned home without Petito. He has been named a person of interest in the case.

Since the search for Gabby began earlier this month, Brian has retained a lawyer and refused to speak to authorities. He issued a statement September 14 that said, “On the advice of counsel, the Laundrie family is remaining in the background at this juncture and will have no further comment.”

Nancy told Rachel, “It is my firm belief Gabby was dead when Brian Laundrie set off on his trek back home to North Port, Florida. Either way, he is responsible.”

Authorities have focused their search for Brian on the Carlton Reserve in Florida, but Grace doesn’t think he’s there. “I've got a very strong suspicion he is not in Carlton Reserve,” she said. “He is long gone. A lot of people speculate: Did he kill himself? I'm not a betting woman, but I would say no. Why? When you don't know what someone's going to do, look at what they've already done. He's been basically on the run since he left Gabby around August 29 or before, came all the way across the country and didn't think to call anybody or report what had happened, hid out at his parents’ house, didn’t  speak to police, his own sister, the neighbors, nobody. In fact, I don't even know if he stayed there. For all I know, he’s been gone for weeks.”

Grace’s new movie “The Good Father” tells the true story of Dr. Martin MacNeill, who was convicted in 2013 of the 2007 murder of his wife Michele.

Nancy said, “What really drew me to the case was… it had very little to do with Dr. Martin MacNeill, although he turned out to be a fascinating character, except he's real… But what really drew me to the case is Michele MacNeill. Oh, dear Lord, if I could just be half the mother that she was — just this genuine, wonderful person.”

She credited the couple’s daughter Alexis for helping solve the case. “This movie is told through the eyes of Alexis,” Grace said. “I don't think we would have ever found the truth… because Alexis would not give up, she did not believe her mother died naturally. And what was so disturbing about that aspect of the truth, and the movie, is that Alexis revered her father, Dr. Martin MacNeill. She even went to medical school greatly influenced by him. And then to find out that in the end you suspect your father that you look up to of murdering your mother — awful.”