In a new affidavit filed this week, Brian Laundrie‘s mom, Roberta Laundrie, claims that the undated letter found in Brian’s possession, with the words “burn after reading” on it, was not related to Gabby Petito‘s murder.
In the letter that Mamas Uncut previously reported on, Roberta also wrote about burying a body.
A New Affidavit Reveals Details About Roberta Laundrie’s Now Infamous Letter to Her Son.
Fox News was first to obtain the affidavit that was filed Monday. In it, Roberta claimed that the letter was sent to her son months before Petito’s death.
She intended to send the letter to her now-deceased son to help repair their relationship, which was strained at the time. She colored the situation as “experiencing a difficult period.” Further, she hoped the letter “would remind him how much I loved him.”
The letter is being scrutinized once more as it is at the center of a lawsuit filed by the Petito family, who are suing over allegations of intentional infliction of emotional distress surrounding the death of their daughter, People reports.
The Long Island native was just 22 when her life was cut short by Brian. She was discovered strangled to death in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on September 21, 2021, more than a week after being reported missing.
Her fiancé, Brian, was found deceased by apparent suicide several weeks later.
In January 2022, the FBI shared that a notebook found near Brian’s remains contained a written confession admitting his guilt for the death of Petito.
Monday’s affidavit declares Roberta wrote “burn after reading” as a reference to a book, Burn After Writing, that Petito had given her son.
“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,” Roberta said in the affidavit.
The most recent court filing seeks to prevent the Petito family from obtaining the letter, which they had requested access to in February. The family’s attorney, Patrick Reilly, made the request after stating that he had seen the letter at an FBI regional office, CBS News reported at the time.
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The new document, titled Affidavit of Roberta Laundrie in support of motion for protective order, labels Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie as defendants.
In March 2022, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, Gabby’s parents, filed a lawsuit claiming over $30,000 in damages for the emotional distress they experienced as a result of the Laundries’ alleged deception. The lawsuit also accused Christopher and Roberta of assisting Brian in concealing Gabby’s murder and planning for his escape from the country.
“Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie exhibited extreme and outrageous conduct which constitutes behavior, under the circumstances, which goes beyond all possible bounds of decency and is regarded as shocking, atrocious, and utterly intolerable in a civilized community,” the dramatic filing read.