The mother of Brian Laundrie, Roberta Laundrie, made headlines after writing in her infamous “burn after reading” letter that she would bake a cake for Brian containing a shiv if he were to be sent to prison for the murder of Gabby Petito, his girlfriend.
According to NewsNation, the information was revealed in a court filing from the attorney representing Petito’s family in their lawsuit against the Laundries. The Petito family attorney, Pat Reilly, argued for the release of Roberta Laundrie’s letter.
Reilly wrote, “The letter in question, written by Roberta Laundrie to Brian Laundrie references bringing a shovel to help bury a body, and baking a cake with a shiv in it should Brian Laundrie go to prison. A reasonable inference is that the letter was written at a time when Gabrielle Petito was as yet unburied, and Brian Laundrie could go to jail for the crime of murder.”
Reilly claimed that the FBI gathered Roberta’s letter as evidence but then decided to release it back to the Laundries earlier in 2023. The Petito family attorney further claimed to have seen the letter and reported that the phrase “burn after reading” was written clearly on the letter’s envelope.
Reilly also commented in previous interviews that Roberta allegedly made a proposal to bake her son a cake with a shiv inside, but until recently, that claim was never included in an official court filing.
According to Daily Wire, Brian Laundrie was only 23 years old when he was believed to have committed suicide after going missing following the murder of his then-girlfriend Gabby Petito. According to the FBI, Brian admitted to the killing.
In October 2021, Brian’s deceased remains were located in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. In June 2022, the Laundrie family attorney released the notebook discovered with his body.
According to Fox News, Laundrie wrote 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,” the notebook read.
Laundrie further claimed to have killed Petito, whom he allegedly strangled to death, to take “away her pain.”
“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,” Laundrie wrote.
Laundrie said Gabby “had a small bump on her forehead that eventually got larger,” and 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.”
He referred in the notebook to her death as his “mistake” and claimed to not be committing suicide “because of a fear of punishment but rather because I cant [sic] stand to live another day without her.”
