FIRST ON FOX: Roberta Laundrie promised "I will show up with a shovel and garbage bags" in the "burn after reading" letter sent to her son Brian, the suspect in the strangling death of former fiancée Gabby Petito in the wilds of Wyoming.
"I just want you to remember I will always love you and I know you will always love me. You are my boy. Nothing can make me stop loving you, nothing can or ever will divide us no matter what we do, or where we go or what we say - we will always love each other. 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," she said. "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."
"Therefore I am certain that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor the ruling spirits, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers from above, nor powers from below, nothing in the entire created world can separate our love. Neither hostile powers nor messengers or heaven nor monarchs of earth. Nothing has the power to separate us.' - Romans 8:38 (extended version!)"
"(nothing can separate us hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not threats, not backstabbing, not even sin, not the unthinkable, or thinkable can get between us)," she added. "~not time not miles and miles and miles."
GABBY PETITO LAWSUIT: HEARING ON ROBERTA LAUNDRIE'S ‘BURN AFTER READING’ LETTER TO SON UNDERWAY
The letter was made public after a hearing in the civil lawsuit brought by Petito's parents, Joseph Petito and Nichole Schmidt, against Chris and Roberta Laundrie and their attorney Steve Bertolino.
Through an attorney, Roberta Laundrie told Fox News Digital that she "truly loved" her son.
"The letter to Brian was written prior to Gabby and Brian leaving my home for their trip. Previously, I submitted an affidavit to the court for very limited purposes but that is not the whole story. Now that the letter has been shared, I ask that you read it in its entirety, and understand that the letter contains other phrases besides those highlighted by Pat Reilly for sensationalism and to bolster his case," Laundrie said. "I truly loved my son, and simply wanted to convey to him how much he meant to me and how much I loved him. I am sure people use phrases all the time to express to their loved ones the depths of their love. Although I chose words that I thought would be impactful with Brian given our relationship, the letter was in no way related to Gabby. Please read the entire letter before you believe the hype put out by Pat Reilly. "
The Laundries have maintained that the letter was written before their son left with Petito on a cross-country road trip in 2021 and wanted it withheld entirely from the case. Both sides told the court that they opposed a deal that would hand the letter over to Petito's parents but withhold it from the public.
But Pat Reilly, the attorney for her parents, argues that it was written after her murder and is proof that the parents knew about it as alleged in the civil suit.
After months of disputes over the letter, Judge Danielle Brewer scheduled the hearing for Wednesday afternoon. The judge also considered motions from the defense to dismiss the case but said her decision on those would come at a later date.
"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 wrote in an affidavit filed in a Sarasota court in March.
GABBY PETITO'S PARENTS ADD ATTORNEY STEVEN BERTOLINO TO LAWSUIT AGAINST BRIAN LAUNDRIE'S FAMILY
She sought to explain the context of the letter, saying it was inspired by children's books "The Runaway Bunny" and "Little Bear" and a writing exercise book she said Petito gave her son called "Burn After Writing."
"Brian, Gabby and I often joked about this book and the importance of being able to express yourself," she wrote of the latter.
Embarrassing ideas could be burned away, she argued.
"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," she wrote. "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."
The lawsuit alleges that Laundrie, his parents and their lawyer knew Petito was dead at the time of a Sept. 14 statement Laundrie attorney Steve Bertolino released to the media, which reads, in part, "On behalf of the Laundrie family it is our hope that the search for Miss Petito is successful and that Miss Petito is re-united with her family."
Her remains would be discovered on Sept. 19 at a campsite near Jackson, Wyoming. where she was last seen alive. Brian Laundrie allegedly killed her around Aug. 28.
He was found on Oct. 20 – dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and severely decomposed after spending weeks undiscovered in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park near his parents' home, according to the FBI.
In a handwritten confession found near his remains, first published by Fox News Digital, Brian Laundrie declared, "I ended her life."
"I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made," he wrote. "I panicked. I was in shock."
