Brian Laundrie’s mother speaks out about burn letter: ‘I did not want to embarrass Brian’

Roberta Laundrie is speaking out regarding a letter written to her son, Brian Laundrie, for the first time and claiming the letter was an attempt to repair their “strained” relationship and was in no way related to Gabby Petito or her death.

According to the affidavit, while unsure of the exact date she wrote the letter to her son, Roberta claims to have written the letter to her son around the end of May 2021.

“Although I do not know the exact date I wrote the letter,” the document states. “I do know that I wrote it and gave it to Brian before Brian and Gabby left Florida for New York which was on June 2, 2021.”

In an attempt to have the letter excluded from the discovery process, Roberta tries to make the case that the letter and the murder are unrelated.

The document indicates Roberta and Brian shared a love of stories and books. In an attempt to “describe the depth of a mother’s love,” some of the language Roberta used in the letter references “The Runaway Bunny” and “Little Bear,” two books they bonded over.

The document then states Gabby gave Brian a book called “Burn After Writing.” Roberta, Gabby, and Brian would talk about and make jokes about “Burn After Writing,” noting how important it is to express yourself. The back of the book provides the reader with a solution to upsetting or embarrassing thoughts or feelings, suggesting the writer take the paper the words are written on and “burn after writing.” She says she wrote “Burn After Writing” on the envelope the letter to her son was mailed in, as a reference to the title of the book.

Then Roberta goes on to explain how unimaginable the circumstances of what happened between Brian and Gabby were.

“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. The words in the letter could never have been a comment on that tragic situation as they were written so many months before,” Roberta said.

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Roberta claims in the report she merely offered her support to her son and an unwavering amount of love regardless of the distance between them.

“My words to Brian were meant to convey my love and support for my son through a light-hearted and quirky reminder that my love for him was not diminished and could not be shaken by the miles of separation,” the report says.

The document claims to dispel the speculation that Brian had the letter when he left Roberta’s home on Sept. 13, 2021.

“… because the FBI had the letter in their possession and questioned members of my family about it (the letter) prior to October 20, 2021, when my husband and I found Brian’s remains in the reserve,” states the document.

The report says the letter was “a private communication between myself and my son” and nothing more.

Roberta knew Brian would know what she meant by writing “Burn After Reading” on the envelope. Understanding the letter she wrote to Brian wasn’t a typical letter a mother writes to a son, Roberta wanted to avoid embarrassing Brian.

The judge ruled the letter is inadmissible, and will therefore doesn’t have to be handed over to the Petito family.

Roberta Laundrie’s letter:

I, Roberta Laundrie, am a defendant in the above-styled cause and I do hereby swear or affirm that: I fully understand the meaning of all of the terms of this affidavit. I wrote the letter requested by Plaintiffs’ Second Request for Production. I wrote the letter to my son, Brian Laundrie, on or about the end of May 2021. Although I do not know the exact date I wrote the letter, I do know that I wrote it and gave it to Brian before Brian and Gabby left Florida for New York which was on June 2, 2021. (Brian and Gabby went from Florida to New York before they went out West.)

The purpose of the letter was to reach out to Brian while he and I were experiencing a difficult period in our relationship. Brian and I always had a very open and communicative relationship and in the months prior to the trip, our relationship had become strained. Brian and I shared a love of stories and some of the language in the letter was using similar phrases to describe the depth of a mother’s love. The two books that come to mind are The Runaway Bunny and Little Bear. In addition, Gabby had given Brian a book called Burn After Writing which contains printed questions to which the reader responds by writing their answers on the page. The back of the book instructs the reader to create a secret book and then destroy by “burn after writing.” The bottom of the back cover says: “Write. Burn. Repeat.” Brian, Gabby and I often joked about this book and the importance of being able to express yourself. If you were embarrassed or simply did not want anyone to know your thoughts or feelings then the book offered the perfect solution by telling you to burn it. This is where my message to Brian came from and I wrote on the cover of the letter for Brian to “Burn After Reading.” In short, I was trying to connect with Brian and repair our relationship as he was planning to leave home – and I had hoped this letter would remind him how much I loved him.

There were some other phrases that I used in the letter which are not found in the books I shared with Brian as a child. However, these phrases were common enough in our circle of friends and family to describe who you could turn to in the most troubling times of your life. 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. The words in the letter could never have been a comment on that tragic situation as they were written so many months before. My words to Brian were meant to convey my love and support for my son through a light-hearted and quirky reminder that my love for him was not diminished and could not be shaken by the miles of separation we would soon be faced with.
Although a few of the words in the letter are being quoted by others as having a connection to this case, all of the words taken together and in the context of the reason the letter was written show that there is no connection. In addition, there has been some speculation that this letter was in Brian’s possession or in his backpack when he died – insinuating that I gave it to him as he left my home on September 13, 2021 – but that is not true because the FBI had the letter in their possession and questioned members of my family about it prior to October 20, 2021, when my husband and I found Brian’s remains in the reserve.

I repeat that the letter I wrote to Brian before he left with Gabby for their fateful trip was nothing more than a private communication between myself and my son and I never expected anyone else would read it. In some way, I did not want anyone else to read it as I know it is not the type of letter a mother writes to her adult son and I did not want to embarrass Brian. That is why I wrote “Burn After Reading” on the envelope and I knew that Brian would know what that meant. I am now appreciative that he actually kept it.