Read Roberta Laundrie's Letter to Son Brian After Gabby Petito's Death

Brian Laundrie's mother vowed to help him "dispose of a body" in a "burn after reading" letter, which has now been made public for the first time.

Roberta Laundrie told her son—who murdered his girlfriend Gabby Petito and went on the run before dying by suicide—that "not even sin" could dim her love for him. She wrote: "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 mom says the undated letter was written when Petito was alive and well before the young couple had even left for their ill-fated van-life road trip around the United States in the summer of 2021. It will now be used as evidence by Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, who allege it was written after their 22-year-old daughter was strangled and when she was still missing.

They are suing Roberta Laundrie, her husband Chris Laundrie, and the Laundries' former attorney, Steven Bertolino for emotional distress, alleging they knew about the murder and the location of her body, but remained silent in a bid to help their son, 23, escape justice.

Attorneys for both sides argued over whether the letter—which was found with Brian Laundrie's belongings after his remains were discovered in October 2021—was relevant to the civil lawsuit during a hearing on Wednesday in Sarasota County, Florida. Ultimately, Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Danielle Brewer determined the letter could be relevant to the case and ruled that the Petitos' lawyers should get a copy.

The Petito family's attorney, Patrick Reilly, shared the document with Newsweek.

Roberta Laundrie's letter

On the outside of the letter, Roberta Laundrie had written "Brian Christopher Laundrie (burn after reading)" along with a drawing of a bird next to the word "Remember..."

Below is the full text of the letter:

I just want you to remember I will always love you, and I know you will always love m. 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 bring 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 – not their words.

"Therefore I am certain that neither death nor life, not angels not the ruling spirits, not 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.

Legal battle over Roberta Laundrie's letter

"As we all know, the letter references burying a body—bringing a shovel and burying a body," Petito family attorney, Patrick Reilly said in court as he argued for his clients' right to use it in their upcoming civil case. "Those are criminal acts, by the way, that Roberta Laundrie has said she would commit."

Chris and Roberta Laundrie have not been charged with a crime in connection with Gabby Petito's death.

The Laundries' attorney, Matthew Luka, said the document was simply a loving letter that Roberta Laundrie had written to her son months before he left for his trip.

In an affidavit filed in a Sarasota court back in March, Roberta Laundrie said: "While I used words that seem to have a connection with Brian's actions and his taking of Gabby's life, I never would have fathomed the events that unfolded months later between Brian and Gabby would reflect the words in my letter...I did not want anyone else to read it as I know it is not the type of letter a mother writes to her adult son and I did not want to embarrass Brian. That is why I wrote 'Burn After Reading' on the envelope, and I knew that Brian would know what that meant. I am now appreciative that he actually kept it."

The grieving Petito family say the Laundries intentionally caused emotional distress during the nationwide search for Gabby Petito after she disappeared, noting the couple ignored their calls and texts during the investigation. But the Laundries' court filings said they had no obligation to speak to the family during that time.

Response after letter released

After the judge ruled the letter should be released, Roberta Laundrie gave a statement to Newsweek through her attorney, Matthew Luka.

"The letter to Brian was written prior to Gabby and Brian leaving my home for their trip...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," the statement said.

"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 [Petito family attorney] Pat Reilly."

The Petitos dismissed Roberta Laundrie's statement as "self-serving," in a statement that Reilly provided to Newsweek on their behalf. They also alleged the letter had been written much later than she claimed.

The family said in the statement, "A reasonable inference is that it was written after Gabby Petito was murdered, and is evidence that the Laundries and Attorney Bertolino were aware of Gabby Petito's demise...We look forward to having a jury determine when the letter was written at the time of trial."

Newsweek reached out to Steven Bertolino via email for comment.

The murder at the heart of the dispute

The young couple had left Blue Point, New York, together for their cross-country trip on July 2, with plans to document their van-life journey on Instagram. But there are fears the relationship had become violent, with police stopping the pair in Moab, Utah, in August after witnesses claimed they had seen Laundrie hitting Petito.

On September 1, Laundrie returned to his family's home in Florida in the van alone, and the Petito family reported Gabby Petito missing later that month after becoming concerned that text messages they had received were sent by another person.

Brian Petito was named a person of interest and his parents reported him as missing in mid-September. After a massive manhunt, Brian Laundrie's remains were found on October 20 in a preserve not far from his parents' home in North Port, Florida. It was later determined he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Before taking his own life, Brian Laundrie wrote in a notebook he was responsible for his girlfriend's death. He claimed she had been injured and he decided to end her pain for her.

Update 05/25/23, 12:06 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include statements from the Petito family and Roberta Laundrie.