The notes that Brian Laundrie wrote confessing to killing his fiancée, Gabby Petito, have been made public.
According to a press statement issued by the FBI in January, Laundrie, who committed suicide, left behind a notebook with “written comments” that were believed to hold him “responsible for Ms. Petito’s death.”
The notes, which were partially smeared from what seemed to be water damage, were made public on June 24 by an attorney for his parents, who are being sued by the YouTuber’s family in relation to her passing.
Laundrie wrote, “I took her life.” I felt it was compassionate and that it was what she wanted, but I now realize all the errors I committed. I was shocked and in a panic.
Additionally, the 23-year-old noted in his notes, which E! News was able to collect, that Petito was hurt while the two attempted to cross a stream. He saw that she was “extremely cold,” “begging for an end to her misery,” had a “bump on her forehead,” and had a “bump.”
She said, “I knew I couldn’t go on without her from the minute I decided to take away her misery.”
He added, “Gabby was the love of my life, but I know she is adored by many. Her passing was an unexpected tragedy. I love her family, and I’m sincerely sorry.
According to Patrick Reilly, a lawyer for the Petito family, the claim that the murder was merciful and resulted from an accident, according to Laundrie’s claim, is “nonsense,” Reilly said in a statement to People. “He is drafting a letter as though he wants people to feel sorry for him.”
Eight days after her parents reported her missing and 18 days after Laundrie returned alone from the couple’s cross-country van road trip to his parents’ Florida home, where the two were living, Petito, 22, was found dead in a remote section of the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming in September.
Her death was caused by homicide by strangling, according to a medical examiner.
His parents filed a missing person’s report for him in the middle of September, not long after Laundrie got home and after the FBI and police identified him as a suspect in Petito’s disappearance.
His remains were found in Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in October in a location that had previously been under water. He self-inflicted a gunshot wound, according to the authorities.
Steven P. Bertolino, the parents’ attorney, wrote in a statement that was included with the notebook scans, “Today the Petito family attorney, Patrick Reilly, and I met with the FBI in Tampa to look through and take control of the personal belongings that belonged to Gabby and Brian.
The Petitos and the Laundries were given what belonged to their respective children as part of an earlier agreed-upon exchange. As part of this return of items held by the FBI, I got Brian’s notebook.
Although I released the letter out of transparency, Bertolino stated, “I won’t be talking further since there are still legal processes pending in court.” Brian said these things.
Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, filed a civil lawsuit in March against Laundrie’s parents, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie, claiming that they were “making arrangements for him to leave the country” and that they knew their son killed Petito before her body was found.
They also claimed that they kept Laundrie’s whereabouts “secret” after they reported him missing.
The family had “no responsibility to speak to law enforcement,” according to the laundry’s attorney, who at the time informed E! News.
They have filed a move to dismiss the civil case, and the judge is expected to make a decision about the next steps in the coming weeks.
Petito’s mother sued the executor of Laundrie’s estate in a separate wrongful death case in May. There is no scheduled trial date.
The wrongful death lawsuit was “totally expected,” the Laundries’ attorney earlier told E! News, adding that the Petitos “will have gotten nothing more than a piece of paper that informs them what everyone already knows—that Brian was responsible for Gabby’s murder as revealed by the FBI.”
