Brian Laundrie's Former Coworker Describes Him As A 'Chameleon'

A former coworker of Brian Laundrie described him as a “weirdo” who could lose his temper.

Michael Livingston, a landscaper who once worked with Laundrie at a Long Island garden center, told Fox News Digital that Laundrie had been a “chameleon” who could charm customers at the store one moment and be upset the next.

“He never came across as the kind of person that would be the killing type,” Livingston told the outlet. “But he did have that tendency to be—I don’t wanna say the wrong thing and make him sound worse than he already is—he was the kind of guy who would get p---ed off pretty quick.”

Livingston, who worked with Laundrie in 2017 and 2018, told the outlet that Laundrie—who worked as a cashier and did odd jobs around the garden center—often talked about his mental health.

“I remember from back then he was a big yoga nut, always telling me, ‘I gotta worry about my zen,’” Livingston said at a Sunday fundraiser for the Gabby Petito Foundation. “And I thought he was this weirdo.”

Livingston also remembered Gabby Petito coming to visit her boyfriend at the store. According to him, Laundrie never liked it when other guys paid her too much attention.

“He would come over and do the boyfriend thing, put his arm around her, give her a kiss, very possessive,” he recalled.

Livingston told the news outlet that he never witnessed Laundrie being mean or abusive to Petito—whose remains were found last month in the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming after embarking on a cross-country trip with Laundrie.

“Gabby, she was always a sweetheart, very peaceful,” he recalled, adding that she was always “really nice” to him and “really outgoing.”

Livingston also recalled that, even then, Petito had wanted to travel and see the world. He believed that desire is what drew her to Laundrie, who had also spoken about wanting to visit the country’s national parks.

“I think the only reason why she settled for him is he wanted to travel,” Livingston said.

While Livingston may not have had the fondest memories of working with Laundrie, he said customers always loved Laundrie.

“He was a good employee who knew how to talk to people,” he said. “He knew how to make people like him, he knew how to make people happy, and he knew how to make people buy the product that we had, honest. He had the same kind of air you would be taught if you worked at a dealership.”

Laundrie is the focus of a national manhunt after he disappeared just days after Petito was reported missing by her mom on Sept. 11. The couple had been traveling across the country touring national parks in a converted camper van before Laundrie returned to his Florida home on Sept. 1 without Petito.

Her body was discovered in Wyoming—the last location where they were believed to have traveled together—a few weeks after his return, but by that time Laundrie had already disappeared himself.

His parents told authorities that he gone hiking in Sarasota County’s 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve and never returned, but searchers have scoured the area and found no sign of the 23-year-old. Other witnesses reported seeing a man fitting Laundrie’s description hiking on the Appalachian Trail.

Laundrie is considered a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance and the FBI announced last month that he was also the subject of a federal arrest warrant for allegedly using a debit card without proper authorization.

Livingston told Fox News he realized he had a personal connection to the couple after news of Petito’s disappearance began to spread across the country.

“Once I realize that the person who was missing was somebody I actually knew, it hit me like a tidal wave,” he said.

"The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media" will air on Oxygen on Monday, January 24 at 9/8c. It's also available to stream on Peacock now.