What Brian Laundrie’s mum said about ‘burn after reading’ letter she wrote to him
Brian Laundrie's mum wrote a sinister letter to her killer son, informing him to 'burn it' after reading.
American Murder: Gabby Petito landed on Netflix just last week (17 February), detailing the murder of Gabby Petito at the hands of her fiancé Brian Laundrie.
Gabby was just 22 when she disappeared in August 2021, after the two headed off on a road trip across the US in a campervan.
But when Brian made a quiet return home to his family house in Florida without his girlfriend, suspicions over his involvement in her disappearance naturally arose.
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Her body was eventually found on 19 September, with her autopsy report later revealing that she had been killed as a result of manual strangulation and blunt-force trauma to her head and neck.
Brian was found dead a month on from the discovery of Gabby's body, with his body being located in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida.
An autopsy determined that he died as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, and he confessed to killing Petito in a note.
Prior to Gabby and Brian's body being found, the FBI investigated the Laundrie family home in a bid to collect potential evidence.
While searching the house, they came across a note that his mother, Roberta, had left him, and instructed him to 'Burn After Reading'.
Despite Roberta claiming that she had written the letter prior to her son and his girlfriend heading off on the road trip, it's not clear where exactly the letter fits into the timeline of harrowing events.
Petito's family said in a statement: "The letter is undated, and while Roberta Laundrie has suggested it was written before Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito left on their trip, a reasonable inference is that it was written after Gabby Petito was murdered.
"We look forward to having a jury determine when the letter was written at the time of trial."
Following the discovery of the letter, Roberta made a statement via her attorney Steven Bertolino.
She said: "I truly loved my son and simply wanted to convey to him how much he meant to me and how much I loved him.
"I am sure people use phrases all the time to express to their loved ones the depths of their love. Although I chose words that I thought would be impactful with Brian given our relationship, the letter was in no way related to Gabby."
The Netflix documentary only includes snippets of the note, but a full version was obtained by CNN.
It reads: "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 will or could ever divide us: no matter what we do, or where we go or what we say - we will always Love each other."
Roberta continued to promise: "If you're in jail, I will bake a cake with a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body, I will bring show up with a shovel and garbage bags. If you fly to the moon, I will be watching the skies for your re-entry. If you say you hate my guts, I'll get new guts.
"Remember that love is a verb, not a noun. It's not a thing, it's not words, it is actions. Watch people's actions to know if they love you - not their words."
Topics: Gabby Petito, Netflix, Crime, True Crime
Mia Williams