NORTH PORT, Fla. — After a judge ruled a letter from Brian Laundrie's mother to her late son that states "burn after reading" would be admitted into evidence for Gabby Petito's family's lawsuit, the Laundrie family has released the letter.
Attorneys for the Petito family say the letter is a crucial piece of evidence and claim it mentions an offer to help bury a body. Now, a jury will decide if this letter proves that Roberta Laundrie knew her son killed Gabby Petito and helped keep it a secret.
On the outside of the card it shows a drawing of a bird with the words, "Remember..." and on the other side, it says, "Brian Christopher Laundrie (burn after reading)."
In the letter she writes, in part, "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."
Attorneys for Brian Laundrie's parents say the letter was written before Gabby Petito was killed. However, the Petito family rejects that argument calling the release of the letter "a self-serving statement."
In a statement from the family, they argue that though the letter is undated, a reasonable conclusion is that it was written after Gabby Petito was murdered.
"It is interesting that she would do this now, given that she has resisted providing it for the last 5-6 months, she asked for a protective order, asked for a confidentiality agreement in the afternoon of May 24, 2023, and then released it later that day," the statement said, in part.
The Petitos are accusing Brian Laundries' parents and one of their attorneys of putting out a statement back on Sept. 14, 2021, hoping for Gabby's return, with the knowledge that she was dead.
"We look forward to having a jury determine when the letter was written at the time of trial," the Petito family added.