New information has emerged surrounding Brian Laundrie’s mother, Roberta Laundrie.
In a “burn after reading” letter, made public this week, sent to Brian Laundrie, 23, by his mother, she promised she would help him if he ever needed to get rid of a body, per Fox News.
She wrote:
“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. 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.”
Roberta Laundrie concluded her letter with a Bible verse.
“‘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 or heaven nor monarchs of earth. Nothing has the power to separate us.’ – Romans 8:38 (extended version!),” she stated.
She later claimed she wrote the letter before her son left on a cross-country trip in June 2021 with his then-fiance Gabby Petito, 22 who was found dead four months later near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
EXCLUSIVE: Brian Laundrie's mother promised son shovel, garbage bag, jailhouse cake in love letter https://t.co/07GArraiXF
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 25, 2023
Following a hearing, a civil lawsuit was filed by Gabby Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, against Chris and Roberta Laundrie and their attorney Steve Bertolino.
Roberta Laundrie’s attorney gave a statement exclusively to Fox News Digital on her behalf clarifying her controversial statements.
“The letter to Brian was written prior to Gabby and Brian leaving my home for their trip. Previously, I submitted an affidavit to the court for very limited purposes but that is not the whole story. Now that the letter has been shared, I ask that you read it in its entirety, and understand that the letter contains other phrases besides those highlighted by Pat Reilly for sensationalism and to bolster his case,” she said.
She continued, “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.”
Roberta Laundrie also urged for the “entire letter” to be read before readers believed “the hype put out” by Pat Reilly, the attorney for Gabby Petito’s parents, alleging that the letter was written after her murder and that Brian Laundrie’s parents were aware of her death.
However, in an affidavit filed in a Sarasota court in March, she explained that she did not know what would later transpire before writing the letter to her son.
“While I used words that seem to have a connection with Brian’s actions and his taking of Gabby’s life, I never would have fathomed the events that unfolded months later between Brian and Gabby would reflect the words in my letter,” Roberta Laundrie wrote.
She also claimed that she told her son to burn the letter based on a writing exercise book Gabby Petito gave him titled “Burn After Writing.”
“Brian, Gabby and I often joked about this book and the importance of being able to express yourself,” she shared.
Roberta Laundrie also said that the context of the letter was inspired by the children’s books “The Runaway Bunny” and “Little Bear.”
“In some way, I did not want anyone else to read it as I know it is not the type of letter a mother writes to her adult son and I did not want to embarrass Brian. That is why I wrote ‘Burn After Reading’ on the envelope, and I knew that Brian would know what that meant. I am now appreciative that he actually kept it,” she shared.
On Oct. 20, 2021, Brian Laundrie’s badly decomposed body was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park near his parents’ home, according to the FBI.
In a handwritten letter written, first published by Fox News Digital, he admitted to killing Gabby Petito.
“I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made,” he confessed. “I panicked. I was in shock.”
