Laundrie's Parents Release 'Burn After Reading' Letter

They say it has nothing to do with Gabby Petito's killing
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted May 25, 2023 7:15 PM CDT
Laundrie's Parents Release 'Burn After Reading' Letter
In this image taken from video provided by the Moab Police Department, Brian Laundrie talks to a police officer after police pulled over the van he was traveling in with his girlfriend, Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito, near the entrance to Arches National Park in Utah on Aug. 12, 2021.   (Moab Police Department via AP, File)

The parents of Brian Laundrie have released the full letter his mother wrote to him after snippets that emerged previously raised eyebrows. For one thing, the letter came in an envelope on which Roberta Laundrie wrote "burn after reading." And in the letter itself, she offers to bring a shovel to help him bury a body. On Wednesday, a judge ordered the letter released to the parents of Gabby Petito, who are headed to a civil trial next year with the Laundries, reports NBC News. Brian Laundrie admitted killing Gabby before taking his own life. The letter was found with his remains, but Roberta Laundrie says it was written months before Gabby's death and has nothing to do with her.

She also maintained that the eyebrow-raising language on the envelope and in the letter itself were goofy inside jokes between her and her son that make sense in the full context of the letter. CNN has the full text, including:

  • “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 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 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."
  • The reference to "burn after reading" was a jokey reference to a book they were familiar with, she says.
(More Brian Laundrie stories.)

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