Brian Laundrie confessed to Gabby Petito’s murder in a notebook
The notes of Brian Laundrie, who has been accused of murdering his fiancée Gabby Petito, have been made public.
In a news release issued in January, the FBI stated that Laundrie’s suicide note included “written statements” in which he took “responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death.” Copies of the notes, which were partially smudged due to what looked to be water damage, were disclosed on June 24 by an attorney representing his parents, who are being sued by the YouTuber’s family for her death.
Laundrie admitted, “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.”
According to the notes, Petito was wounded as the two of them attempted to ford a creek. She had “bump on her forehead” he said, “freezing cold” and “begging for an end to her pain.”
“From the moment I decided, took away her pain, I knew I couldn’t go on without her.” He also called her death an “unexpected tragedy, adding, “Gabby was the love of my life, but I know adored by many. I’m so very sorry to her family because I love them.”
Family attorney Patrick Reilly told People that Laundrie’s claims that the death was merciful and the result of an accident are “nonsense,” adding, “He is writing a letter as though he wants people to feel sorry for him.”
On September 18th, 18 days after Laundrie returned alone from the couple’s cross-country van road trip to his parents’ Florida home, the body of Petito, age 22, was discovered in a remote section of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. The medical examiner concluded that her death was the result of a deliberate act of strangulation committed by another person.
Midway through the month of September, Laundrie’s parents reported him missing after he had returned home and been labelled a person of interest by the FBI and police in the disappearance of Petito. His remains were located at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida in the month of October. Official investigations concluded that he shot himself in the head.
Attached to the scanned notebook pages is a statement written by Laundries’ parents’ attorney, Steven P. Bertolino, in which he says,”Today the Petito family attorney, Patrick Reilly, and myself met with the FBI in Tampa to sort through and take possession of the personal items that belonged to Gabby and Brian. This was a previously agreed upon exchange to enable both the Petitos and the Laundries to receive what belonged to their respective children. As part of this return of property in FBI custody I was given Brian’s notebook.”
Bertolino stated, “Although I have chosen to release the letter as a matter of transparency I will not be commenting further as there are still proceedings pending in Court. These are Brian’s words.”
Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, Petito’s parents, sued Christopher and Roberta Laundrie in civil court in March, alleging that the Laundries knew their son had murdered their daughter before her body was found, had kept his whereabouts “secret” after reporting him missing, and had been “making arrangements for him to leave the country.”
There was “no obligation to speak to Law Enforcement.” the Laundries’ counsel told. They have requested the dismissal of the civil litigation and are awaiting the judge’s decision on the next stages in the case, which is due within the next several weeks.
Petito’s mother sued the estate curator responsible for managing Laundrie’s estate for wrongful death. There has been no decision made on a trial date.
The Laundries’ attorney told that the wrongful death complaint was “fully expected,” and that the Petitos would “gain nothing more than a piece of paper” from it than confirmation that “everyone already knows” that Brian was responsible for Gabby’s murder.