Disturbing new details have emerged regarding alleged Roberta Laundrie’s role in the death of Gabby Petito.
An undated, handwritten note has been obtained by PEOPLE, which reveals that Roberta offered to help her son, Brian Laundrie, “dispose of a body.” Roberta wrote that she’d come to assist him with a shovel and garbage bags. Throughout the letter, she professes her love for her son, who killed his girlfriend in August 2021 during a cross-country trip, reminding Brian that she would always love him.
“If you say you hate my guts, I’ll get new guts,” she told her son in the letter before instructing him to “burn after reading.”
Brian was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in October 2021. He left a confession behind detailing Petito’s murder. Lawyers for Petito’s family say the letter from his mother could’ve been written before or after Petitio’s death, meaning it could be related to the murder. The Laundrie family attorneys have argued over the admissibility of the letter, questioning its relevance in the Petitos emotional distress lawsuit against the Laundries.
If the note is determined to have been written after Petito’s death, then that would mean Roberta undoubtedly knew her son killed his girlfriend and was willing to help him cover it up. The letter from Roberta was found next to Brian’s body. The Petitos had long believed the Laundries knew their daughter was dead and where her body was before she was found, yet they failed to alert the police or inform her family. Instead, they protected Brian until he disappeared and killed himself. His family denies these allegations.
