Brian Laundrie’s Mother Says ‘Burn After Reading’ Letter Was Not Related to Gabby Petito’s Murder

Brian Laundrie’s mother, Roberta Laundrie, has opened up about her son’s letter “burn after reading.”

In an affidavit on Monday, Roberta said the letter was sent months before Petito was murdered. She added that she intended to reach out to Brian, 23, through the letter while he and Gabby “were experiencing a difficult period.”

However, the 22-year-old woman’s disappearance provoked a nationwide search following Instagram posts and a report after she was missing for more than a week. She was found dead in Wyoming  Grand Teton National Park strangled to death.

PEOPLE reports the letter in the center of a lawsuit against the Laundrie family, “with the Petito family suing over allegations of intentional infliction of emotional distress surrounding the death of their daughter.”

Several weeks after the nation tried to find out where Petitio’s fiancé, Brian Laundrie, was, it was discovered that he had died by suicide.

The FBI found a notebook in January 2022 with Laundrie’s written confession to killing his fiancé.  Roberta wrote “burn after reading” as a reference to the book her son had been given by Petito called Burn After Writing.

“While I used words that seem to connect 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.

The Petito family, Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt, filed a lawsuit in March 2022 “seeking “more than $30,000 in damages for the mental anguish they suffered due to the alleged deceit of the Laundries. The filing also alleged that Christopher and Roberta helped Brian conceal Gabby’s murder and were making plans for him to flee the country,” according to PEOPLE.