Brian Laundrie’s mom wrote him ‘burn after reading’ letter. He didn’t: ‘If you need to dispose of a body. I will show up with a shovel…’

Following Gabby Petito’s murder and killer Brian Laundrie’s suicide in the fall of 2021, an envelope labeled “burn after reading” was found inside Laundrie’s backpack.

Inside the envelope was a letter written by his mother, Roberta Laundrie, in which she’d promised to help him bury a body and break him out of jail.

“I just want you to remember I will always love you and I know you will always love me. You are my boy. Nothing can make me stop loving you, nothing can or ever will divide us no matter what we do, or where we go or what we say – we will always love each other,” the letter reads, according to Fox News.

If you’re in jail I will bake a cake and put a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body. I will 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 you – not their words,” it continues.

The letter concludes with Roberta quoting from the Bible: “‘Therefore I am certain that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor the ruling spirits, nor 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 or heaven nor monarchs of earth. Nothing has the power to separate us.’ – Romans 8:38 (extended version!)”

In an exclusive statement issued to Fox News via her attorney, Roberta sought this week to explain the meaning behind her ominous words.

“The letter to Brian was written prior to Gabby and Brian leaving my home for their trip. Previously, I submitted an affidavit to the court for very limited purposes but that is not the whole story. 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,” the statement reads.

“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 Pat Reilly,” it continues.

Pat Reilly is the attorney of Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt.

“As we all know, the letter references burying a body, bringing a shovel, and burying a body. Those are criminal acts, by the way, that Roberta Laundrie has said she would commit,” O’Reilly reportedly said in court Wednesday.

Roberta’s letter was publicly released later that day after a Florida judge denied the Laundrie family’s request for a protective order.

As previously reported, the Petitos sued the Laundries last year for emotional distress as per their daughter’s murder at the hands of the Laundries’ son.

“Attorneys for Brian Laundrie’s parents fought to not turn over the letter, arguing that it’s not relevant to the civil lawsuit brought by Petito’s parents,” according to CNN.

“After a lengthy back-and-forth in court Wednesday, both parties agreed that a confidentiality order was not necessary to keep the letter under seal once Twelfth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Danielle Brewer determined the letter could be relevant to the case and the plaintiff lawyers should at least get a copy,” CNN notes.

The decision was made after the worst parts of the letter — namely the parts about helping Laundrie bury a body and getting him out of jail — leaked.

“Your Honor, I think at this point, we probably wouldn’t be in favor of a confidentiality agreement on this issue either just because Mr. Reilly just put probably the two worst parts of the letter on the record in open court so I mean, that’s where – we would be dealing with that throughout the litigation,” the Laundries’ attorney, P. Matthew Luka, said Wednesday.

Roberta previously tried to defend the letter in an affidavit she filed in March.

“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,” the affidavit read.

Vivek Saxena

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