Roberta Laundrie’s eerie ‘burn after reading’ letter to Brian about ‘sin & burying body’ revealed in Petito court battle
ROBERTA Laundrie's burn after reading letter to her son Brian has finally been published after a judge ruled it could be released to Gabby Petito's parents.
The ruling on Wednesday was a major victory for the Petitos in their lawsuit against the Laundries, whose son Brian strangled their daughter Gabby to death during their ill-fated road trip in 2021.
Brian's full name was written on the outside of the letter with the now infamous phrase "burn after reading."
An image of a bird, possibly a crow, was scrawled on the other side along with the word "Remember..."
In the note, Roberta wrote how "nothing" would ever make her stop loving her son, whom she called "my boy."
"Nothing can make me stop loving you, nothing will or could ever divide us," the note says.
PETITO FAMILY CIVIL CASE
"No matter what we do, or where we go, or what we say - we will always love each other."
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.
However, the Laundries argued that the undated note was written before Brian left home to go on the road trip.
"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," the note says.
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The letter ends with Roberta warning her son to "watch people's actions to know if they love you - not their words."
She also included a bible verse, writing that nothing could separate her and Brian.
"Nothing can separate us: not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not threats, not even sin, not the thinkable or unthinkable can get between us."
LEGAL WIN
On Wednesday, Florida Judge Danielle Brewer denied the defense's motion for a protective order on the letter, which granted the Petito family permission to view its contents.
Following the ruling, Laundrie family attorney Matt Luka said they're "concerned about how the letter might be used, it can be embarrassing."
Luka said that the letter may be taken out of context and "feel inflammatory," saying the topics appear in a series of "fanciful descriptions of how much somebody will love somebody else."
Meanwhile, the Petitos and their attorney Patrick Reilly celebrated the ruling outside the courtroom, telling the media: "It's a victory, we're happy to have it. We've fought hard to get it. We've been fighting for over a year to get that letter.
"The whole intent of this is to get answers," Reilly said.
"There are still many questions that the Petito family has about what the Laundrie family knew, what they did with the knowledge that they knew, and really why they didn't come forward and say anything.
"I don't know if that question will ever get answered, but there's a lot of questions that the family would like answered if you can get closure at all in a situation like this."
The letter was found in the Laundrie family home after it was taken out of their son’s van.
It is undated, and both legal teams dispute when it was written.
The Petito family’s legal team has previously claimed it was “written after Gabby was killed and before Brian took his life.”
Laundrie attorney Matt Luka said that “the letter was written before Brian and Gabby even took their trip," WFLA reported in March.
ROBERTA'S STATEMENT
Roberta reiterated attorney Luka's statements on Wednesday in a statement after the letter was released.
"The letter to Brian was written prior to Gabby and Brian leaving my home for their trip," she said in a text message to News Nation.
"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.
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"Although I chose words that I thought would be impactful with Brian given our relationship, the letter was in no way related to Gabby."
Luka previously claimed that the letter “has no relevance to the cause of action” behind the Petitos' civil suit.