Brian Laundrie’s mother, Roberta, reportedly claims that a letter she wrote to her son that told him to “burn after reading,” had nothing to do with Gabby Petito’s death.
NewsNation reports that Roberta Laundrie’s lawyers filed a motion for a protective order on Monday, at the Sarasota County Circuit Court in Florida, seeking to block the efforts of Gabby’s parents, Joe Petito and Nicole Schmidt. Petito family attorneys submitted the letter as evidence in the upcoming civil trial against the Laundries.
The attorneys for the plaintiffs indicate that the letter references burying a body and a shovel, and keeping Brian Laundrie out of prison. The Laundries’ attorney argues that the letter was written to Brian months before he took a road trip with Gabby in the summer of 2021.
Petito was found deceased in Wyoming on September 19, 2021, at the Grand Teton National Park. Her case was labeled a homicide, with Laundrie being the sole suspect.
In late October 2021, Brian Laundrie’s partial skull was discovered at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida. The following month, the medical examiner in Sarasota County determined he died from a single gunshot wound to the head, self-inflicted.
Laundrie reportedly confessed to killing Petito in a notebook found near his partial remains.
“Although I do not know the exact date I wrote the letter, I do know that I wrote it and gave it to Brian before Brian and Gabby left Florida for New York which was on June 2, 2021,” Roberta Laundrie said, according to court documents.
She added that she often joked about the book, “Burn After Writing” with both Brian and Gabby, and the letter was a way to connect with him before he left home.
“The purpose of the letter was to reach out to Brian while he and I were experiencing a difficult period in our relationship,” Laundrie wrote.
“Brian and I always had a very open and communicative relationship and in the months prior to the trip our relationship had become strained. Brian and I shared a love of stories and some of the language in the letter was using similar phrases to describe the depth of a mother’s love.”
Roberta Laundrie emphasized that while she can understand how the meaning could get misconstrued, it had nothing to do with Gabby’s death.
“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.”
“The words in the letter could never have been a comment on that tragic situation as they were written so many months before. My words to Brian were meant to convey my love and support for my son through a light-hearted and quirky reminder that my love for him was not diminished and could not be shaken by the miles of separation we would soon be faced with.”
Further, according to the motion, a claim made by the attorney for the plaintiffs that the letter was found in her son’s backpack in a Florida reserve is untrue.
According to the defense, the FBI took the letter as evidence during questioning, which was before they found the backpack and Laundrie’s remains.
A court hearing to determine whether the letter will be admissible has not yet been scheduled.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Gabby Petito’s family filed the lawsuit against the Laundries in March 2022, claiming the defendants knew their son murdered Petito and were planning to help him flee the country.
Numerous allegations were made that were never disclosed by the FBI, WFLA reports. The lawsuit claims Laundrie, who was reportedly the last person to see Gabby alive, told his parents that he murdered her.
The lawsuit claims that Gabby was found with blunt force trauma to her head and neck, although her cause of death was listed as strangulation. The Laundries are also accused of making plans to get their son out of the country while ignoring desperate calls and messages from Gabby’s family.
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