Brian Laundrie Never Torched His Mother's 'Burn After Reading' Note - Now We Know What It Promised
While the exact sordid details surrounding the death of Gabby Petito may never come to light, a curious piece of the puzzle has — and the Laundrie family are swiftly dismissing it as “hype” and “sensationalism.”
Via her attorneys, Roberta Laundrie used those exact words to describe to Fox News the highly publicized “burn after reading” note she had penned for her son, which was made public as part of an ongoing civil suit.
For the unfamiliar, Brian Laundrie, the son of Roberta and Chris, became a national story when he and his 22-year-old fiancee, Petito, went missing near Wyomingin August 2021. Petito was found dead in September 2021.
One manhunt and one month later, Brian Laundrie’s remains were found in Florida. Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, ultimately brought a civil lawsuit against Chris and Roberta Laundrie, as well as their attorney, Steve Bertolino.
As part of the civil trial proceedings, the much ballyhooed “burn after reading note” that was found in Brian’s backpack from Roberta to her son was publicized:
Laundrie Note by The Western Journal
The letter was addressed to “Brian Christopher Laundrie,” and was annotated with “(burn after reading).” The next page showed what appears to be a crow, and said “Remember…”
Roberta then directly addressed her son: “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 and put 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.”
Roberta than appears to paraphrase a Bible verse for her son: “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 defended the letter through her legal representation: “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.
“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. Please read the entire letter before you believe the hype put out by Pat Reilly.”
Reilly is the attorney for Petito’s parents.
The lawsuit that Reilly and Petito’s parents brought forth claimed that the Laundrie’s and Bertolino knew that Gabby was dead when they put out a Sept. 14 statement, which included a line about how it is their “hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is re-united with her family.”
Brian Laundrie appeared to admit that he had killed Petito in a confession letter than included the phrase, “I ended her life.”
No ruling has been made on the civil suit as of this writing.
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