Picture exclusive
'PURE EVIL'
Brian Laundrie’s parents seen for first time since Gabby Petito’s family forgave him & her sad love letter was revealed
The families of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie settled their civil lawsuit in February
THE parents of Brian Laundrie have been pictured for the first time since the FBI released a trove of documents related to their son and girlfriend Gabby Petito's 2021 murder-suicide.
Exclusive photos obtained by The U.S. Sun show Christopher and Roberta Laundrie outside their Northport, Florida, home on Monday a week after Gabby Petito's love letter to her boyfriend Brian Laundrie was released.
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Christopher, dressed in a soft blue-colored checkered shirt, gray cargo shorts, and brown sandals, was pictured exiting his red pickup truck as he entered his Northport home.
Roberta, who wore a striped multi-colored dress, was seen doing some homework outside the property.
Photos also captured Brian Laundrie's infamous gray Mustang parked in the family's driveway.
It's the first time the Laundries have been pictured since the FBI released more than 350 pages of documents related to Brian and Gabby's murder-suicide investigation.
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Included in the trove of documents was a letter Gabby, 22, wrote to her abusive boyfriend, 23, in the days before she was found strangled to death in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park on September 19, 2021.
GABBY'S LOVE LETTER
In the undated letter, Gabby wrote, "Brian, you know how much I love you. So (and I'm writing this with love) just please stop crying and stop calling me names because we are a team and I'm here with you.
"Yes, I can be a child sometimes, I know, but it's cause you give me this energy and I just love you too much, like so much it hurts.
"So you in pain is killing me. I'm not trying to be negative but I'm frustrated there's not more I can do."
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The 22-year-old vlogger added, "We can work on the van together and they are OUR dreams now.
"So I hope you understand when I'm upset it's cause I love you too much.
Brian Laundrie's mom Roberta faced arrest and being perp walked by FBI just days after his girlfriend Gabby Petito's body found
"Now, stop crying!!! And come home and say you love me with a big hug."
The context surrounding the letter remains unclear.
Other documents released by federal officials include handwritten letters and dark drawings by Brian Laundrie.
The various letters and drawings depicted different manic episodes he experienced.
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'I ENDED HER LIFE'
Brian's partial skeletal remains were found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Northport on October 20, 2021, nearly a month after he returned home from the couple's cross-country road trip without Gabby.
His cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
A notebook, where Brian wrote a written confession taking responsibility for Gabby's death, was found near his body.
A line from the journal read, "I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made.
"I panicked. I was in shock. But from the moment I decided, took away her pain, I knew I couldn't go on without her."
You [Roberta] do not deserve forgiveness. You deserve to be forgotten and dehumanized. You epitomize pure evil.
Nichole Schmidt
At a true crime convention in Tennessee, Nichole Schmidt, the mother of Gabby, said she forgave Brian for killing her daughter but vowed never to forgive the Laundries.
"I speak for myself here when I say Brian, I forgive you," Schmidt said at Crimecon.
"I needed to release myself from the chains of anger and bitterness, that I refuse to let your despicable act define the rest of my life.
"Your atrocious decision to take a life, my daughter's life, has ignited a fire within me, a fierce determination to protect the innocent from falling victim to monsters like you."
However, she unleashed on Roberta Laundrie, "As for you, Roberta, and I call you out individually because you are evidently the mastermind that shattered your family and mine with your evil ways.
"I see no empathy in your eyes. No remorse in your heart and no willingness to take responsibility for your actions.
"You are the dark. You are the sociopath that everyone fears.
"The one who appears so innocent and kind, but harbors darkness within your soul.
"You do not deserve forgiveness. You deserve to be forgotten and dehumanized. You epitomize pure evil."
In February, the families of Gabby and Brian settled their civil lawsuit in court for an undisclosed amount.
Schmidt and Joseph Petito, Gabby's father, accused the Laundries of trying to help cover their daughter's murder, citing Roberta's infamous "burn after reading" letter she wrote to Brian.
Gabby's parents believe Roberta wrote the note around the time of their daughter's disappearance as she makes references to a shovel and burying a body.
The Laundries - who have not been criminally charged in connection to Gabby's disappearance - have argued that the undated note was written before Brian and Gabby embarked on their cross-country road trip during the summer of 2021.
Gabby's parents are still embroiled in a $50 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Moab Police Department in Utah.
The family accused Moab police officers of a series of failures after a 911 call came in from a witness claiming Gabby and Brian were involved in a domestic dispute on August 12, 2021, a month before the young vlogger was found dead.
Brian was allegedly seen slapping his girlfriend, but when Gabby also admitted to striking her boyfriend, police deemed her the "primary aggressor."
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Moab police officers decided not to arrest her but instead separate the couple for the night.
Brian later murdered his girlfriend and left her body in a campsite before returning to Florida in the couple's van and killing himself.
Timeline of Gabby Petito's disappearance
Here we take a look at the sad events surrounding Gabby going missing:
- July 2021: Brian Laundrie and his fiancé Gabby Petito leave for a grip across the country. The couple visit numerous national parks across the way.
- August 12: Police in Utah respond to an incident involving the couple. The bodycam footage is not released for another month but it shows a visibly upset Gabby talking to police after reports of a domestic violence incident outside a grocery store.
- August 24: Gabby is seen leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah, with Laundrie.
- September 1: Laundrie returns to his home in North Port, Florida without Gabby.
- September 6: Laundrie joins his family on a camping trip about 75 miles from their home in North Port.
- September 11: Gabby's family reports her missing.
- September 13: Laundrie leaves home to go hiking in Carlton Reserve, Florida. His family had initially said he departed on September 14, but revised their timeline weeks later.
- September 15: Laundrie is named a person of interest in the case of Gabby.
- September 16: Bodycam footage is released regarding the incident between Gabby and Laundrie.
- September 19: The FBI announces a body found at a Wyoming national park is believed to be that of Gabby's.
- September 23: The FBI issued a warrant for Laundrie's arrest claiming he "used unauthorized debit cards after Gabby Petito's death."
- September 26: A funeral is held for Gabby in New York.
- September 27: Dog the Bounty Hunter announces he will lend a hand and help search for Laundrie.
- September 28: Gabby's family held an emotional press conference as the search for Laundrie continued.
- October 5: Laundrie's sister, Cassie, appeared on Good Morning America and urged her brother to come forward.
- October 7: Laundrie's father, Chris Laundrie, assisted law enforcement in the search to find his son.
- October 12: Gabby's autopsy results were made public. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed Gabby died by strangulation.
- October 20: Laundrie's personal items were found near the Myakkahatchee Creek Park trail in Florida. The medical examiner was called to the scene to investigate.
- October 21: Reports stated the human remains found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park were bones.
- October 21: The FBI confirmed the remains found have been identified as Laundrie's.
- January 21, 2022: The FBI released its final investigative statement on Gabby's case. The statement said, "The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito."