The contents of Brian Laundrie’s notebook were revealed on Friday in which he confessed to killing Gabby Petito and claimed that she injured herself before her death.
A copy of the notebook was provided to Newsweek by the Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino and shows Brian Laundrie discussing the final days the couple spent together part of his reasoning behind killing Petito.
In the notebook, Laundrie wrote how during their cross-country road trip, Petito injured herself after falling into water in Utah. According to Laundrie, Petito was “gasping in pain,” and “begging for an end to her pain.”
The release of the letter comes shortly after Petito’s parents, Joseph Petito and Nicole Schmidt filed a lawsuit against Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta, claiming that they knew their son killed Petito.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Getty
In October 2021, officials with the FBI discovered Laundrie’s notebook and some other belongings in Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. Some of Laundrie’s remains were also found as it was later ruled that he took his own life by a gunshot wound to his head.
Several months after the discovery of Laundrie’s body and the notebook, the FBI in Denver issued a statement revealing that Laundrie took “responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death,” in the notebook.
In the contents of the notebook revealed on Friday, Laundrie wrote, “I don’t know the extent of Gabby’s injuries, only that she was in extreme pain. I ended her life, I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked, I was in shock. But from the moment I decided, took away her pain, I knew I couldn’t go on without her.”
Petito was found dead in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park in September 2021, after she was reported missing while on a road trip with Laundrie, as the two were engaged. Petito died by manual strangulation, officials previously said.
Prior to the discovery of Petito’s body, Laundrie traveled back to his parent’s home in North Port, Florida without Petito. Laundrie was named a person of interest in Petito’s death, but he eventually was reported missing by his own parents. Laundrie’s parents informed law enforcement that they believed their son went for a hike in the T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve.
In a statement sent to Newsweek on Friday, Bertolino said, “Today the Petito family attorney, Patrick Reilly, and myself met with the FBI in Tampa to sort through and take possession of the personal items that belonged to Gabby and Brian. This was a previously agreed upon exchange to enable both the Petitos and the Laundries to receive what belonged to their respective children.”
The statement continued, “Although I have chosen to release this letter as a matter of transparency I will not be commenting further as there are still proceedings pending in Court. These are Brian’s words.”
