Bombshell letter where Brian Laundrie’s mother vowed to ‘dispose of body’ is given to Gabby Petito’s parents

Gabby Petito’s parents allege the letter is proof that the Laundrie family were complicit in their daughter’s death during a 2021 road trip

Bevan Hurley
Thursday 25 May 2023 16:23 BST
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Judge to rule on Laundrie’s ‘Burn after Reading’ letter

A letter that Brian Laundrie’s mother wrote to her son vowing to help him dispose of a body before he went on a fatal roadtrip with fiancée Gabby Petito has been released to her family.

The “burn after reading” letter is at the centre of a civil emotional distress lawsuit brought by Petito’s parents against the Laundrie family alleging they were complicit in their daughter’s murder.

On Wednesday, the Petito’s attorney Patrick Reilly told a judge in Sarasota, Florida, that the letter was evidence of “criminal acts” by Brian’s mother Roberta, according to CNN.

The Laundries’ attorney had argued that the letter should not be part of the case, claiming that her “unfortunate” choice of words were not relevant to the lawsuit.

Florida Judge Danielle Brewer ruled the letter was admissable evidence in the case, prompting its public release by the family.

Petito’s body was discovered on 19 September 2021 in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming after a nationwide search that attracted global attention.

Laundrie returned to his parent’s Florida home without notifying her family or authorities, and later went on the run after being declared a person of interest.

His remains was discovered in the nearby Carlton Reserve a month later. A medical examiner would later rule that Laundrie had shot himself in the head.

Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito

The letter was recovered from a backpack found near his body inside an envelope that said “burn after reading”.

Ms Laundrie wrote to her son: “If you’re in jail I will bake a cake and put a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body. I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags.

“I just want you to remember I will always love you and I know you will always love me. You are my boy. Nothing can make me stop loving you, nothing can or ever will divide us no matter what we do, or where we go, or what we say – we will always love each other.”

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