Gabby Petito: Brian Laundrie’s Mom Offered Him ‘A Shovel And Garbage Bags’ In Letter Revealed In Court

The mother of Brian Laundrie, who confessed to killing his girlfriend Gabby Petito before committing suicide in 2021, offered her son "a shovel and garbage bags" if he ever needed to dispose of a body, according to a letter shared with Petito's family in court Wednesday.

José Molina mourns for Gabby Petito alongside Montauk Hwy in Blue Point, New York on Sept. 23, 2021. ... [+] Search teams were back out at a Florida nature park to look for the boyfriend of Gabby Petito, the young woman who authorities say was killed while on a cross-country trip with him. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman)

The letter—which said "burn after reading" on the outside and was written at an unknown date by Roberta Laundrie to her son—said that nothing could make her stop loving her son before telling him "if you need to dispose of a body, I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags"; Laundrie's lawyers said it's unrelated to Petito's death and was written months before, NBC News reported.

Petito's family had requested a copy of the letter for months, and it was eventually released to the Petitos on Wednesday after a judge determined it could be relevant to their lawsuit brought against Laundrie's parents and their former attorney.

Petito's parents, Nicole Schmidt and Joseph Petito, are suing the Laundries for intentional infliction of emotional distress during the time Petito was missing as the Laundries wouldn't answer calls or messages from the Petito family; the Laundries have argued in court filings they had no duty to Petito's family, CNN reported.

The letter was recovered from Brian Laundrie's backpack when his remains were located in Florida in October 2021, about one month after Petito's remains were found in Wyoming.

Laundrie's parents have not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in Petito's death.

"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," Roberta Laundrie said.

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie were engaged and traveling the country in a van to film a web series in 2021 before Petito went missing in August, which drew widespread media attention as people searched for her. In September, her body was discovered in a remote area of Wyoming and Laundrie, who had returned to his family's Florida home, was identified as a person of interest in connection to Petito's disappearance and death. Laundrie was reported missing and later found dead in October in a wooded area of southwest Florida, along with a notebook in which he wrote that he was responsible for the death of his fiancé, the FBI said. Before his death, a federal grand jury indicted Laundrie for allegedly using Petito's debit card after she died, though the charge was dropped. Laundrie's parents were never criminally charged in connection with Petito's murder, despite allegations that they knew Laundrie had killed Petito and were trying to help him. However, Petito's family was awarded $3 million in a settlement reached for a wrongful death lawsuit.

Brian Laundrie's mother offered him a shovel and garbage bags in 'burn after reading' letter (NBC News)

Gabby Petito's parents get copy of 'burn after reading' letter that Brian Laundrie's mom wrote him (CNN)

Gabby Petito: Brian Laundrie's Estate Must Pay $3 Million In Wrongful Death Settlement (Forbes)