What Brian Laundrie’s ‘burn after reading’ letter from mum actually said

Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing

With the new Gabby Petito documentary dropping on Netflix earlier this month, titled American Murder: Gabby Petito, viewers have been discussing some of the shocking details from the case.

Amongst some of the eerie new details regarding Gabby's death, viewers were horrified to learn about a 'burn after reading' letter penned by Brian Laundrie's mother, Roberta Laundrie, that was found shortly after his death.

The gut-wrenching letter saw Roberta promise to help him 'dispose of a body' if her son needed to, and to 'bake a cake with a file' if he was ever sent to jail.

What did the letter say?

The letter read as follows, as per CNN: "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. 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 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.

"Therefore I am certain that neither death nor Life, nor angels nor the ruling spirits, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers from above, nor powers from below, nothing in the entire created world can separate our love.

"Neither hostile powers nor messengers of heaven nor monarchs of earth. Nothing has the power to separate us - Romans 8:38 (extended version!) (Nothing can separate us: not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not threats, not even sin, not the thinkable or unthinkable can get between us.) Not time. Not miles and miles and miles."

Roberta Laundrie had written an eerie note to her son (Netflix/CNN)

Where was it found?

According to CNN, the letter was found in Laundrie's backpack when his body was discovered in October 2021, weeks after Gabby's death.

Gabby's body was found at Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest in September 2021 after her mother reported her as missing.

Laundrie's remains were later discovered after he took his own life in the Carlton Reserve and Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Sarasota County, Florida.

According to the FBI, Laundrie had written in a notebook that he was responsible for Gabby's death.

Laundrie with Gabby and his parents (Netflix)

What did Roberta Laundrie say about the letter?

Roberta Laundrie has said the letter, which is undated, was not related to Gabby.

A statement from Roberta Laundrie’s attorney, Steven Bertolino, 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."