Laundrie’s mom offered to help dispose of son’s body with a shovel.

Ashe SchowMay 26, 2023

Brian Laundrie’s Mom’s “Burn After Reading” Letter to Her Son Finally Made Public

“If you’re in jail I will bake a cake and put 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. Remember that love is a verb, not a noun. It’s not a thing it’s not words. It is actions. Watch people’s actions to know if they love you – not their words.”

Roberta Laundrie, Brian Laundrie’s mother, wrote a letter to her son before he and Gabby Petito left for their cross-country trip that began in June 2021. The letter, which was made public on Wednesday, has gained notoriety for its content. In it, Roberta tells Brian that she will bake him a cake with a file in it if he ends up in jail and that she will show up with a shovel and garbage bags if he needs to dispose of a body. She also included the phrase “burn after reading” after reading a book that Petito had given Brian called “Burn After Writing” and encouraged readers to write letters to themselves before burning them.

Despite the letter being written before Petito was murdered and Brian confessed to killing her, it has been ruled as admissible evidence in the Petito family’s lawsuit against the Laundrie family. The Petito family claims that the Laundries knew their son had killed their daughter and tried to help him evade capture.

Laundrie, 23, is believed to have committed suicide after he went missing following the murder of his fiancée Gabby Petito, whom Laundrie admitted to killing, according to the FBI. His remains were found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in October 2021, and his family’s attorney released the notebook found with his body in June 2022.

Laundrie’s Confession

“I ended her life,” Laundrie wrote in the notebook. “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.” Laundrie went on to claim that Petito had injured herself in a fall while they were visiting Wyoming and that he killed her to take “away her pain.”

Pat Reilly, the attorney for Petito’s family, called Laundrie’s claims about killing Petito out of mercy due to an accident “nonsense.” “He is writing a letter as though he wants people to feel sorry for him,” Reilly told People.