Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@gabspetito
Topics: News, US News, Crime, True Crime
Amelia Jones
A letter from Brian Laundrie's mother was been shared by the family of Gabby Petito after it was released to them earlier this week.
Gabby Petito was allegedly killed by her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, after the pair went on a cross-country road trip across the US together.
She initially went missing in the summer of 2021 following an altercation with Laudrie, which was briefly dealt with by police.
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Laundrie, however, returned to his parents' home in North Port, Florida, in September 2021 without Petito. Her body was soon found in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park on a campground that same month.
The FBI confirmed that Laundrie took his own life a month later in a Florida nature reserve near his family home.
Found by Laundrie's body was a confession note, with him writing: "I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made."
Now, over a year on from the tragic turn of events, Petito's family are suing the family of Laundrie for emotional distress - and a letter from Roberta Laundrie to her son has been unveiled in the process.
Sarasota Circuit Court Judge Danielle Brewer denied a request by the Laundries to block the use of the letter in a civil trial next year.
Within the letter in question, the mother talks about burying a body and getting her son out of jail by any means necessary.
Writing 'burn after reading' on the envelope, the contents of the letter within was shocking.
“If you’re in jail, I will bake a cake with a file in it," writes Mrs Laundrie to her son, as per the BBC. "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.”
Despite trying to keep its contents hidden, in a court document Mrs Laundrie claimed that these were just 'quirky' references to her son's favourite books from his youth.
The previously filed document also claimed that she wrote the note before her son and Petito had even left on his cross-country trip.
The Petito family are not convinced, however, and stated on Thursday (25 May) in a letter to the BBC that a 'reasonable inference is it was written after Gabby Petito was murdered'.
While not charged with any crimes, CNN reported a statement by Patrick Reilly, the Petito family's attorney, about the letter: "Those are criminal acts, by the way, that Roberta Laundrie has said she would commit."
The families reached a $3m (£2.4m) settlement in 2022 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Petito's parents.