Brian Laundrie notebook update — Gabby Petito sleuths slam massive hypocrisy in her fiancé’s ‘murder ‘confession letter’

'I am ending my life'

In Laundrie's notebook, he alluded to how he wanted to spend "any time he had" with his family after Petito's death.

"I rushed home to spend any time I had with my family. I wanted to drive north and let James or TJ kill me but I wouldn't want them to spend time in jail over my mistake, even though I'm sure they would have liked to," Laundrie is believed to have written.

"I am ending my life, not because of a fear of punishment but rather because I can't stand to live another day without her.

If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.

Brian Laundrie timeline: What happened & when did he go missing?

Brian Laundrie made headlines earlier in 2021 after he returned home from a cross-country road trip early and without his fiancé, Gabby Petito.

Petito’s body was later discovered in Wyoming and the autopsy results revealed that she was murdered as a result of strangulation.

After her body was recovered, Laundrie went missing as law enforcement attempted to track his whereabouts.

The FBI announced on October 21, 2021, that remains found at the Mabry Calrton Jr. Memorial Reserve and Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park belong to Laundrie.

The Sun has put together a detailed timeline, here.

'Do not make life harder for my family’

“Please do not make life harder for my family,” the notebook including Brian Laundrie’s stunning confession read.

“They lost a son and a daughter and a daughter – the most wonderful girl in the world. Gabby I’m sorry.”

He earlier wrote: “I am sorry to my family. This is a shock to them as well [as] a terrible grief (sic).”

'Final screams’ revealed in notebook confession, part three

Laundrie continued: “Her feet hurt, her wrist hurt but she was freezing, shaking violently, while carrying her she continually made sounds of pain, laying next to her she said little lapsing between violent shakes, gasping in pain, begging for an end to her pain.

“She would fall asleep and I would shake her awake fearing she shouldn’t close her eyes if she had a concussion.

“She would wake in pain start the whole painful cycle again while furious that I was the one waking her.”

‘Final screams’ revealed, continued

Laundrie added: “The temperature had dropped to freezing and she was soaking wet.

“I carried her as far as I could down the stream towards the car, stumbling exhausted in shock, when my knees buckled and knew I couldn’t safely carry her.

“I started a fire and spooned her as close to the heat, she was so thin, had already been freezing too long.

“When I pulled Gabby out of the water she couldn’t tell me what hurt. She had a small bump on her forehead that eventually got larger.”

‘Final screams’ revealed in notebook confession

Gabby Petito’s final moments according to Brian Laundrie’s chilling notebook confession saw the vlogger “gasping in pain.”

According to a photograph from the journal, Laundrie claimed Gabby was dealing with some sort of injury and would “wake in pain”.

He wrote: “Rushing back to our car trying to cross the streams of spread creek before it got too dark to see, to [sic] cold.“I hear a splash and a scream.

I could barely see, I couldn’t find her for a moment, shouted her name.“I found her breathing heavily gasping my name, she was freezing cold.”

‘She was in extreme pain’

“I don’t know the extent of Gabby’s injuries, only that she was in extreme pain,” Laundrie added in the notebook.

“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.”

“From the moment I decided, took away her pain, I knew I couldn’t go on without her,” Laundrie concluded.

Accessing domestic violence help resources

If you are being abused in a relationship, anonymous and confidential help is available.

For help, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 (SAFE) or  1-800-787-3224 (TTY).

However, if you are actively in danger, call 911.

Where did the Gabby Petito documentary air?

The documentary, The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media, was released on Friday.

It aired on NBC’s streaming service, Peacock, and is available to stream.

Rare photos of Gabby Petito shared in documentary

Rare photos of Gabby Petito were shared in a documentary released last year, prompting her heartbroken parents to say “this is all we have left now.”

Gabby‘s heartbroken parents, Nichole Schmidt and Joe Petito opened up about what made their daughter special in the new Peacock documentary, The Murder of Gabby Petito: Truth, Lies and Social Media.

“Man, that smile. That smile didn’t change. Those eyes didn’t change. Those eyes, they would get her out of so much trouble,” Joe said.

“No matter how old she got, she would still be my baby girl, you know, how much trouble she was in, it didn’t matter. She was still my baby girl, you know?

“These are all I have left now,” Joe said as he stared down at his daughter’s childhood photos.

Gabby was killed by ‘throttling’

While Dr. Blue’s initial remarks lacked specificity, he later appeared on CNN and elaborated on Gabby’s cause of death, insisting she had been killed by “strangulation via a throttling.”

Professor Joseph Scott Morgan, a forensic expert and former medical examiner teaching at Jacksonville State University in Alabama said Brent’s comments are significant, as “that really narrows the field down because throttling is so very specific.

“He went to great lengths to even say that this was not mechanical, which essentially means that there wasn’t a ligature involved,” Morgan said. “When they say throttling, they’re talking about the application of two hands on this young woman’s throat.”

Morgan called the manner of death “intimate”, adding that throttling can either happen anteriorly — from the front — or posteriorly — from behind, and is often driven by a component of passion.

Heartbreaking post from Joseph Petito

While cleaning out a storage unit, Gabby Petito's father discovered a tragic old photo of his deceased daughter, which he published on Instagram.

Joseph Petito is shown in the heartbreaking image holding Gabby in his arms while sitting in a chair.

The caption read: "Emptying our storage unit and come across this. Take as many photos/videos with your loved ones as you can. #tbt #gabbypetito #missyou."

What is The Gabby Petito Story about?

The Lifetime movie The Gabby Petito Story intends to delve into Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie's connection and what could have transpired during their cross-country road journey that led to Petito's death.

This summer will see the start of the movie's production, which will be shot in Utah.

According to A&E, the movie will debut later this year.

Lifetime movie about Gabby 'not approved' by parents

The Lifetime movie being made on the late YouTuber was slammed by Gabby Petito's family.

The Petito family doesn't like the movie, according to a statement from Gabby's mother that was provided by The AWARE Foundation.

"We thought our followers should know that the Lifetime movie on Gabby Petito has no connection to the Petito family nor did they give their approval," the statement shared by the foundation reads.

"Lifetime took it upon themselves to make the movie."

A&E announced the movie on May 5 as a component of Lifetime's Stop Violence Against Women campaign. The working title of the movie is The Gabby Petito Story.

Family saw ‘no red flags’

Nichole and Jim Schmidt previously said that Brian would often visit their home and seemed like a nice, polite young man.

“Brian would come to my home and he was very polite, very kind,” said Nichole.

“I didn’t see anything in him that would worry me at all. No red flags.”

Jim said Brian was “respectful” and even made the effort to speak to Gabby’s younger siblings and color with them.

Slain vlogger's parents wear 'Justice for Gabby Petito' bracelets

As they entered court on Wednesday, Gabby Petito's family wore discreet yet potent statements in memory of their murdered daughter.

Nicole Schmidt, Joe Petito, and their respective spouses wore "Justice for Gabby" wristbands, which are supposed to reflect Gabby's life, not her death, according to her parents, and Schmidt held her chain locket that contains Gabby's ashes.

Schmidt displayed a little prayer card after the court that their attorney claimed was created by a well-wisher from Australia who depicted Gabby as an angel.

She embraced her attorney and kept her fingers crossed as the family departed.

First court appearance happened last week

Gabby's parents Nicole Schmidt and Joe Petito, who divorced and remarried, held their spouses' hands as they walked to the courtroom together.

The Sun captured the moment in exclusive photos and video.

Schmidt clutched her necklace locket that holds Gabby's ashes, and they all wore "Justice for Gabby" bracelets, which are meant to represent Gabby's life; not her death, her parents said.

Gabby’s last interactions with mom

Gabby Petito’s remains were found less than 1,000 feet (300m) from where, on the evening of August 27, another pair of travel bloggers caught video images of the couple’s 2012 white Ford Transit van parked along a dirt road.

Petito, who was documenting the couple’s “van life” road trip on social media, posted her final photo to Instagram on August 25, the same day that she last spoke to her mother by phone.

The family believes the couple was headed to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming at the time.

Schmidt received text messages from Petito’s phone on August 27 and August 30, but suspects that someone other than her daughter sent them, according to investigators.

How did Gabby go missing?

Gabby Petito had quit her job and packed her life into a camper van for a cross-country adventure with Brian Laundrie, starting in July, documenting their journey in a stream of social media posts.

In images shared by the couple online, they are all smiles — barefoot in a canyon or surveying the ochre rocks of state and national parks.

In one YouTube video published during their trip, Petito and Laundrie are shown kissing tenderly, enjoying a sunset together, and strolling on a beach.

But the young woman’s family filed a missing person report on September 11 after the 22-year-old mysteriously vanished, and Laundrie returned home to Florida without her.

Gabby’s wedding plans

The 22-year-old vlogger had mapped out several design schemes and alfresco ideas for her nuptials on her Pinterest page in an album poignantly titled “Life goals” before her tragic death.

The curated collection of images, which include photos of outdoor ceremonies and beachfront banquets, is shared with Brian Laundrie, his mother Roberta, and a fourth account by the name of “PinJunkeeMama.”

A sub-folder within the album, titled “Oh Baby” and shared between the same four people, indicates that Gabby and Laundrie may have been planning to eventually have a child together.

What happened to Gabby Petito?

Gabby Petito, 22, went on a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, and never returned.

The 22-year-old was reported missing on September 11, just days after Laundrie returned home without her, and her remains were later discovered on September 19.

Autopsy results revealed she was strangled to death and Laundrie was named a person of interest.

‘I hope she did not suffer’

In a heartbreaking interview with 60 minutes, Gabby Petito’s distraught mom Nichole said of her daughter's death: “I hope she did not suffer and she was not in any pain."

“That she was in a place she wanted to be, looking at the beautiful mountains.”

She added: “You never, ever think it is going to be yours. It is surreal.”

Gabby's body found in September

On September 19, 2021, authorities in Wyoming announced a body was found in the area where the search for Gabby Petito had been taking place.

The Petito's lawyer later confirmed on September 21 that the body was identified as Gabby's.

The remains were discovered in Grant Teton National Park, where she had been camping with her fiancé Brian Laundrie when she disappeared.

“I want to personally thank the press and news media for giving the Petito and Schmidt family time to grieve,” lawyer Richard Stafford said in a statement at the time.

What Brian Laundrie told his parents, continued

It is also unknown why the Laundries “didn’t return" Gabby's mom's texts as she was desperately trying to find her daughter.

Nichole Schmidt says she tried to communicate with Chris and Roberta Laundrie after she lost contact with Gabby in late August.

Gabby Petito last spoke to her family on August 25 as she and her fiancé Brian reached Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

It’s not known if the Laundries’ deliberately ignored the texts and calls.

What Brian Laundrie told his parents

Brian Laundrie's parents initially gave the police the wrong date of their son's disappearance.

The family's attorney revealed that the Laundries provided investigators with the incorrect date for his alleged disappearance into the Carlton Reserve in September.

Laundrie "left to hike in the preserve" on Monday, September 13, not Tuesday, September 14 as originally shared, their lawyer revealed.

Steven Bertolino wrote in a text response to anchor Josh Benson from WFLA in Florida, "The Laundries were basing the date Brian left on their recollection of certain events.”