More details surrounding Gabby Petito's murder at the hands of fiancé Brian Laundrie are coming to light.
Petito's parents are suing Laundrie's for emotional distress, claiming they aided their late son in covering up his heinous act, and in a virtual court hearing on Tuesday, February 14, the Petito family's lawyer, Patrick Reilly, brought up more evidence against the Laundries.
Reilly claimed that while at a FBI office, he saw a letter Roberta Laundrie sent to her son. According to Reilly, "the language in that letter is damning and that letter has a reference to bringing a shovel and burying a body." He went on to note that Roberta also mentioned her "helping him get out of prison" and "getting a shovel."
The attorney also stated Roberta wrote on the envelope "burn after reading." The letter was found in Brian's backpack, which also contained a journal in which he wrote his confession to killing Gabby.
The Laundries' lawyer, P. Matthew Luka, confirmed the note's existence but insisted it has no relevance to their current lawsuit.
"This document pre-dates Brian and Gabby’s trip so its creation really doesn’t have any relation necessarily to the unfortunate events that unfolded thereafter," he said. "I know that some of the wording that was used in the letter is unfortunate and might suggest that it has some connection but it doesn’t."
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As OK! reported, Gabby's parents reported her missing in August 2021, around the time Laundrie returned home without her. The next month, her body was found, and it was ruled she died from manual strangulation. Brian, a person of interest, went on the run, and he was eventually found dead via a self-inflicted gunshot.
When Brian went missing, his parents refused to talk with police, and the Petitos claimed they wouldn't return any of their calls.
Reilly is asking for permission to bring up the note when the case goes to trial in August, claiming the letter wasn't dated.
CNN reported details of the letter and court hearing.
