Brian Laundrie’s letter from mother delivered to Gabby Petito’s parents
The mother of a man who killed his girlfriend while traveling across the country in an infamous murder case has written him a letter offering to help ‘get rid of a body’, according to informations.
This is the latest revelation in the case of Brian Laundrie, who committed suicide at some point after receiving the letter. Police say Laundrie killed Gabby Petito in 2021 as the couple traveled the country in a conversion van, posting wonderful romantic videos of their travels. His body was found in Wyoming.
“If you’re in jail, I’ll bake a cake with a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body, I’ll show up with a shovel and trash bags,” Roberta Laundrie wrote in a letter she shared. to his son. to be destroyed after reading.
The letter, which CNN obtained and photos of which have been published, was undated and was in an envelope bearing Laundrie’s name and “(burn after reading)”.
“I just want you to remember that I will always love you and I know you will always love me. You are my boy,” the letter read.
PREVIOUSLY:Gabby Petito’s family is suing Brian Laundrie’s parents, alleging they knew of his murder
Petito’s disappearance that summer drew national attention, with weeks of speculation about what had happened to her and whether Laundrie, her fiancé, had killed her. Laundrie returned from the trip without her and her family reported her missing. The laundry also disappeared later.
The case drew attention to domestic violence and police footage showed Utah officers talking to the couple after they were pulled over during a traffic stop. They said they fought and the police finally let them go. A review found Moab police made mistakes and missed signs of domestic violence, and Petito’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against police.
Petito’s body was found in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming in September 2021. A coroner ruled his death a homicide by strangulation.
Laundrie admitted to killing her in writings found with her body on the Carlton Reservation, nearly 25,000 acres of land in Florida’s southern Sarasota County, in October 2021, authorities said.
Her mother’s letter was the subject of a court hearing on Wednesday. Petito’s parents have filed a lawsuit against Laundrie’s parents, claiming they knew of her death and took steps to hide her from Petito’s family and law enforcement investigating her disappearance. .
Petito’s family attorney argued the letter was relevant to the lawsuit, while Laundries’ attorney tried to withhold it, according to court records reviewed by USA TODAY. A judge ordered that the letter be released to Petito’s family.
USA TODAY contacted the two attorneys.
Lawyers for the laundries said the letter was written before their son’s trip with Petito and was not about her.
“In hindsight, the letter may seem sadly worded, but that was never its intention,” the attorneys wrote in a court filing.
Roberta Laundrie said in an affidavit obtained by USA TODAY that she doesn’t remember the exact date she wrote the letter, but was trying to ‘reach out’ to her son as they walked through. a difficult time in our relationship”. She said her instructions to burn the letter after reading it were a reference to a book Petito had given to her son called “Burn After Reading.” She also said she had no intention of anyone else reading it.
“Although I used words that appear to be related to Brian’s actions and his taking of Gabby’s life, I never imagined that the events that unfolded months later between Briand and Gabby would reflect the words of my letter,” Roberta Laundrie wrote in the affidavit.
Patrick Reilly, the attorney representing Petito’s parents, said in court Wednesday that a jury should determine when the letter was written and argued in the documents that if a jury determines Roberta Laundrie wrote the letter after Petito’s death would help prove that the laundries knew about her. death and hid it.
The case is expected to go to trial in May 2024.
Contributor: Gabriela Szymanowska and Earle Kimel, The Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA Today
