When reports of a strange letter written by Brian Laundrie’s mom were announced on Wednesday, the drama surrounding the mysterious death of Gabby Petito took a disturbing twist. Allegedly, there were references to helping Brian “get out of prison, getting a shovel and some other things.” The huge controversial issue is when it was written.
Burn after reading Laundrie letter
Roberta Laundrie wrote a letter labeled “burn after reading.” Unfortunately for the inquiring investigators, she didn’t date it. Brian apparently didn’t take the advice because it still exists. Attorneys for Gabby’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, are fighting hard to get their hands on it. Nobody is talking about the logical inconsistency of the Florida family helping arrange a shovel when Gabby’s remains were discovered in Wyoming. Was there perhaps another body? Or was Gabby’s murder pre-planned?
The confusion comes from Lawyers for the Laundries, who insist that the letter was written long ago. They also claim that the statements are taken out of context. Even so, they haven’t turned it over to clear things up. A judge will soon make certain they do. He brokered a deal to turn it over and expects compliance voluntarily.
Gabby Petito’s parents are suing Brian Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta, claiming they “knew about” the killing “weeks before search teams recovered the 22-year-old’s remains from a campsite in Wyoming.” Fresh controversy is swirling over a letter “which is in the possession of the Laundries.” Fox News reports it “allegedly contains an offer from Roberta Laundrie to lend her son a shovel.”
Gabby Petito parents' lawyer renews request for Roberta Laundrie's 'burn after reading' letter to son https://t.co/PBvebyJeR4
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 15, 2023
Their lawyers say otherwise. They swear up and down that “it was written prior to July 1, 2021, the start of the date range for discovery documents Petito-Schmidt family attorney Pat Reilly had previously requested.” There’s a simple answer to that, the court declared. File a “revised discovery request.” Plaintiffs did, “asking for the letter specifically.”
Fair enough, the laundry lawyers declared, “Mr. Reilly will send us a specific discovery request for the letter. Then, we will have the opportunity to object.” The Judge already indicated that it seems totally relevant, so the objection better be a really good one.
Plaintiffs think the contents “indicate it was written after Petito’s slaying in the Bridger-Teton National Forest” but they haven’t seen it. The FBI has. They handed it back to “longtime” Laundrie family lawyer Steve Bertolino in June of 2022. He’s a defendant in the current lawsuit.
Found with Brian’s remains
While under investigation as the prime suspect in his girlfriend’s murder, Brian Laundrie managed to slip off into a swamp, with apparent help from his parents. He didn’t go there to evade law enforcement, he went there to do himself in. Right about the same time the swamp was flooded. Once the waters receded, investigators found some of Brian’s personal items.
They came back out of the swamp with “Brian Laundrie’s handwritten confession, found near his remains at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park 10 minutes from his parents’ North Port home.” The burn after reading letter from his mom was tucked into his notebook, along with the confession.
Nobody is talking about other things which would provide valuable clues, like weather the letter was mailed or hand delivered, or even if it was in an envelope. “The rest of the notebook contained letters to his family.”
Attorney Bertolino, you have been served. #GabbyPetito pic.twitter.com/XVuANr3msd
— The Docket (@ChasingPaper89) February 9, 2023
Petito Attorney Patrick Reilly found out about the document ahead of a scheduled deposition of Roberta Laundrie. He wanted to question her about it. At the time, he noted in court documents that “the FBI had the note that Roberta Laundrie wrote to Brian Laundrie which she offered to bring a shovel to help bury the body.”
Laundrie lawyer P. Matthew Luka insists “it was written before Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito ever left on their trip.” So, “its creation really doesn’t have any relation necessarily to the unfortunate events that unfolded thereafter.”
He was steamed at CNN reporting, calling wording of the letter “unfortunate.” He understands it “might suggest that it has some connection” to Gabby Petito’s death. “But it doesn’t.” So, who’s death was it connection with then? Did the FBI miss another murder?
