Found Deceased WY - Gabrielle ‘Gabby’ Petito, 22, Grand Teton National Park, 25 Aug 2021 #85

[Sundog]

Yes, this is what I can't figure out/get over!! What do you think it *might* mean?

I wonder if RL wrote a letter to BL after BL returned home after the Moab incident. If BL told his parents about it, then no doubt they would have been concerned. BL may have told them that LE in Utah separated BL and GP and that GP was the one who had abused BL, according to police reports. Perhaps when BL decided to return after his trip home, his mother sent or gave him a letter expressing her concerns about this relationship. Maybe they offered to pay GP some money to end the relationship, who knows.

I think the dueling lawyers are trying to get the most out of these documents that the FBI has released now, particularly anything that will help their respective cases in the civil lawsuit.

I don't think any of it will change the fact that BL killed GP, and that the grieving is still underway all three sets of parents, made harder for the Petito's since justice was not served by BL.

 

[RANCH]

The saw in the cake tho'

Obviously not a serious statement. JMO.

 

[RANCH]

They have insisted the date of death was Aug. 27, without showing evidence. They even said they hoped BL wrote the date in the journal (which he didn't). If they don't have evidence to prove the 27th, maybe they are using this letter from RL as a means to prove it had to be the 27th because he couldn't have received it before getting home had it been sent any late than then. Idk.

So you think RL mailed the letter to BL?

 

[tennyson77]

And a 5-minute WALK is nothing! According to a site on the benefits of walking:

How far can you go in 5 minutes? It depends on your walking speed.

• 2.5 mph (4 kph) – 0.2 miles (0.32 km)
• 3 mph (4.8 kph) – 0.25 miles (0.4 km)
• 3.5 mph (5.6 kph) – 0.29 miles (0.47 km)
• 4 mph (6.4 kph) – 0.33 miles (0.53 km)

And he could have RAN to the van. Cannot believe he didn't know where it was.

Brian was an experienced hiker, even with a backpack. That he wouldn't know how far the van was to me is completely improbable as an experienced hiker. I also don't buy the fact he said he was exhausted from carrying Gabby. He's a guy who goes on multi-day hikes with a large backpack, moving Gabby wouldn't have been a burden. And how does she suddenly get thin from being cold? Like what, she burned through 10 lbs of fat in an hour? The whole thing doesn't add up.

 

[RANCH]

I wonder if RL wrote a letter to BL after BL returned home after the Moab incident. If BL told his parents about it, then no doubt they would have been concerned. BL may have told them that LE in Utah separated BL and GP and that GP was the one who had abused BL, according to police reports. Perhaps when BL decided to return after his trip home, his mother sent or gave him a letter expressing her concerns about this relationship. Maybe they offered to pay GP some money to end the relationship, who knows.

I think the dueling lawyers are trying to get the most out of these documents that the FBI has released now, particularly anything that will help their respective cases in the civil lawsuit.

I don't think any of it will change the fact that BL killed GP, and that the grieving is still underway all three sets of parents, made harder for the Petito's since justice was not served by BL.

Your scenario makes sense. I think Reilly didn't say why he believes RL's letter was written after GP died is because the letter may not be clear on the date. JMO

 

[Sundog]

Your scenario makes sense. I think Reilly didn't say why he believes RL's letter was written after GP died is because the letter may not be clear on the date. JMO

RL probably knew that the relationship between BL and GP was extremely toxic since they had lived with the Laundrie parents for awhile. RL probably became even more concerned when she learned about the Moab incident from BL when he returned home the first time without GP, who stayed in a motel in Salt Lake City while BL returned home to Florida. Being stopped by the police for domestic violence and then LE placing BL in a domestic abuse shelter for the night and the LE threat of charging GP with domestic violence would have really concerned RL, I am sure.

So whatever was in that letter, if it was written at that time, would surely be a parent's desparate attempt to help get BL out of the situation, and who knows what she offered him. If it was written at that time, after Moab but before the death of GP, then it would probably make sense to have offered him a way out of the relationship and get him the heck out of there. Would have been an appropriate parental instinct.

I just don't trust the dueling attorneys at this point as they have a vested interested in a court case that is underway.

 

[Wallendo]

How about we consider the letter was not written in the time frame the P’s lawyer is saying… IMO. The letter is not dated. The letter was found in the van but actually in the L’s house having been taken from the van. The lawyer then says Brian received this letter most probably before returning home in the van. That’s a lot of confused info IMO. How did he get the letter then? On the road during a 3 day time frame driving across the States the letter was written, sent and received? It doesn’t make sense. I wonder if perhaps the letter was written sometime around the MOAB incident and when he returned home to empty the storage. Perhaps his mum thought Gabby had been the one in the wrong because after all the police did blame her back then and maybe she was just giving him an offer of how to escape an unhealthy relationship and a way out of this trip, start a new life away from G. Depending on how it was worded or how you read into it with everything we all know now, put this in the wrong time frame, apply it to murder and it could seem incriminating and applicable to the situation. All IMO and pure speculation on my behalf, of course.

Link to JB interview with Pat Reilly

I suspect you are correct. We may never know what BL told his parents, and will likely never know what they may have suspected. IMHO, the events immediately after the Moab incident set the stage for everything that followed. After BL and GP were separated for the night, did BL call his parents? Did he give a truthful account? I believe that the unplanned flight to Florida was directly related to the Moab event. Maybe it was a cooling-off period. On the other hand, I wonder if BL was finished with the relationship and his parents convinced him he couldn't just leave GP all alone in Utah. I seriously doubt the L's told him to fly back to Utah and murder her, but what did they talk about? I suspect their conversations set the stage for their responses when he suddenly returned home.

It doesn't seem plausible to me that BL would have called home and told his parents he murdered his girlfriend and they responded by telling him to hike around for two days to create an alibi and then drive straight home, not use any of his $20,000 in the bank but use his dead girlfriend's credit card, and park her van in the driveway and leave it there for all to see. I suspect he initially lied to his parents (about Moab and whatever happened with her death) and their initial responses put them in an untenable situation that makes them feel they are in legal peril.

 

[gliving]

@WFLAJB

Petito/Schmidt attorney Pat Reilly claims the contents of this letter to Brian Laundrie are "pretty extreme." He wouldn't reveal more than that during our live interview on #WFLANow. Later, Laundrie attorney Steve Bertolino then responded to my request for comment.


5:23 PM · Jun 24, 2022


@WFLAJB

From Bertolino: “I do know it’s a movie and what she wrote on the cover of a letter to Brian many months before the trip had the title of the movie on there.” This might be a reference to the 2008 film, "Burn After Reading."


5:23 PM · Jun 24, 2022

I wish Mr. Reilly would just say what the letter implied. I tend to agree with Mr. Bertolino that the letter was written months before the trip. I don't see Gabby and Brian having access to mail delivery while living their van life. Seems emails and texts would be the route of communication.

 

[Skigirl]

My husband and I were talking about this. We wondered if she was offering to take the blame...or maybe offering to go stage the scene better...or maybe even offering to retrieve her body and hide it.
It could be many scenarios.

I suspect that the Roberta Laundrie letter was found on the car at the preserve and said something along the lines of "we love you and support you even though you did a terrible thing and we will hire the best defense possible for your trial. The best thing to do is turn yourself in, you won't serve a long sentence and you have a long life ahead of you to live for." MOO

 

[TL4S]

So you think RL mailed the letter to BL?

I don't personally think she mailed the letter. The P's attorney says the undated letter appears to have been written after GP died, before BL killed himself, was in the van at one point, was retrieved from the house, and references helping Brian in regards to something about GP, which he didn't want to elaborate on just yet. The mere fact that it references BL going to jail is significant, imo, but as @Sundog pointed out, it could be referring back to the DV incident in Moab, and/or their violent relationship in general. Or, maybe it was an attempt to assist him, get him to turn himself in, or whatever. I remember SB talking about the day BL left for the reserve, and how he was distraught and his dad tried to keep him from leaving. Maybe BL was impossible to deal with and that's why RL wrote him a letter. Just some guesses.

We don't really know that much about the L's activities during the timeframe between Sept. 1, when BL got home, and Sept. 11th, when the van was seized (except for a couple camping trips). Did any of them ever go into the van, take things in and out, or drive it anywhere? Was BL hanging out in there sometimes?

And I don't know...reading BL's letter...maybe the whole household was coming unhinged after BL killed GP.

 

[NCWatcher]

I suspect that the Roberta Laundrie letter was found on the car at the preserve and said something along the lines of "we love you and support you even though you did a terrible thing and we will hire the best defense possible for your trial. The best thing to do is turn yourself in, you won't serve a long sentence and you have a long life ahead of you to live for." MOO

But if it was there when the L's went to get the car, why wouldn't RL have destroyed it? Why would she take it home and put it in the house or van? (I'm still not clear on where it was found. Multiple sources seem to say in the van.) I honestly doubt that's what the letter said but if it did, why keep it? LE couldn't have it unless they got it from the van, the house, or found it with his remains (which they didn't.)

 

[TL4S]

But if it was there when the L's went to get the car, why wouldn't RL have destroyed it? Why would she take it home and put it in the house or van? (I'm still not clear on where it was found. Multiple sources seem to say in the van.) I honestly doubt that's what the letter said but if it did, why keep it? LE couldn't have it unless they got it from the van, the house, or found it with his remains (which they didn't.)

And according to the P's attorney, RL said something about if BL went to jail she'd bake a cake with a saw in it, plus something in regards to GP. My take, no matter what she's referencing, is that BL might end up going to jail because of GP. That could mean anything...her reporting him for DV, her getting them busting for having pot in the van, her forcing him to hurt her while defending himself, him killing her, etc. JMO. If it isn't blatantly clear she's referring to the murder, it would be highly open to interpretation. Nonetheless, she must have had concerns that BL was going to get into trouble because of GP.

 

[Arkay]

But if it was there when the L's went to get the car, why wouldn't RL have destroyed it? Why would she take it home and put it in the house or van? (I'm still not clear on where it was found. Multiple sources seem to say in the van.) I honestly doubt that's what the letter said but if it did, why keep it? LE couldn't have it unless they got it from the van, the house, or found it with his remains (which they didn't.)

I find this bewildering, as well.

If the Laundries did know that Brian had killed Gabby, why wouldn't they destroy a letter to him that was inculpatory?

The one thing I feel sure of is that it is NOT Roberta offering to take the blame for Gabby's murder. How could it be, when she clearly was not in Utah?

I haven't heard or read anything about Brian's sister Cassie, now that Brian's letter has been made public.

IIRC, she was the only Laundrie who got out there and spoke to the press, and did not defend Brian. This must be hellish for her and especially for her children, who had what seems to have been a close relationship with Brian.

Tragic all around.

 

[gliving]

“I will tell you, by the way, that on the envelope that contained the letter, the words ‘burn after you read this’ were written,” Reilly said.

"According to Reilly, the letter was found in the Laundrie family’s home but was taken out of the van that Brian and Gabby had been traveling the country in."

snip

“I’m led to believe he received that before he came back to North Port but I don’t know that for certain,” Reilly said."

Updated: Jun 25, 2022 / 11:19 AM EDT

Gabby Petito family attorney claims Roberta Laundrie sent letter to son marked ‘burn after you read’

One of the lawyers representing the parents of Gabby Petito told WFLA.com on Friday that there is more evidence they would like to see released from the Laundrie family.

fox8.com

So it is a letter in an envelope and it was found in the van after Brian arrived at his parents home in North Port. I'm with others here that the timeline of the letter is a bit off for Mr. Reilly's explanation. How would Roberta send/give Brian a letter knowing about Gabby's death before he even arrived home from WY?

 

[TL4S]

“I will tell you, by the way, that on the envelope that contained the letter, the words ‘burn after you read this’ were written,” Reilly said.

"According to Reilly, the letter was found in the Laundrie family’s home but was taken out of the van that Brian and Gabby had been traveling the country in."

snip

“I’m led to believe he received that before he came back to North Port but I don’t know that for certain,” Reilly said."

Updated: Jun 25, 2022 / 11:19 AM EDT

Gabby Petito family attorney claims Roberta Laundrie sent letter to son marked ‘burn after you read’

One of the lawyers representing the parents of Gabby Petito told WFLA.com on Friday that there is more evidence they would like to see released from the Laundrie family.

fox8.com

So it is a letter in an envelope and it was found in the van after Brian arrived at his parents home in North Port. I'm with others here that the timeline of the letter is a bit off for Mr. Reilly's explanation. How would Roberta send/give Brian a letter knowing about Gabby's death before he even arrived home from WY?

So strange. Here's a random idea, which I don't really think happened...

For argument's sake, let's say BL did kill GP on the 27th, then immediately called his mom and told her. His mom told him she was going to mail him something the next day, overnight, as a hold pickup to Jackson. So he hikes around for 2 days and on the 29th, tries to hitchhike to Jackson to pick up what his mom sent. Maybe the letter was only part of a larger package. Who knows. Like I said, I don't know that I actually believe this idea, but it's the only way I can see him getting the letter sent to him before he got home to North Port.

 

[Skigirl]

“I will tell you, by the way, that on the envelope that contained the letter, the words ‘burn after you read this’ were written,” Reilly said.

"According to Reilly, the letter was found in the Laundrie family’s home but was taken out of the van that Brian and Gabby had been traveling the country in."

snip

“I’m led to believe he received that before he came back to North Port but I don’t know that for certain,” Reilly said."

Updated: Jun 25, 2022 / 11:19 AM EDT

Gabby Petito family attorney claims Roberta Laundrie sent letter to son marked ‘burn after you read’

One of the lawyers representing the parents of Gabby Petito told WFLA.com on Friday that there is more evidence they would like to see released from the Laundrie family.

fox8.com

So it is a letter in an envelope and it was found in the van after Brian arrived at his parents home in North Port. I'm with others here that the timeline of the letter is a bit off for Mr. Reilly's explanation. How would Roberta send/give Brian a letter knowing about Gabby's death before he even arrived home from WY?

I think Reilly may simply be mistaken that it was received before he got back to North Port but time will tell. He did hedge the statement.

If there was an envelope with a letter, it's possible that RL put it into a fedex/UPS package along with some other things for him that he could have picked up at a packing/shipping/mailing store (I have a vacation cabin in a rural area where we do not get mail delivery and that's how I receive packages and that's also how hikers on the Appalachian Trail mail supplies to themselves to pick up along the way). But that scenario wouldn't jibe with the fact that he used Gabby's credit cards on the way home, since a package from them would have likely included some cash for him to use to get home.

Maybe he used Gaby's CC and ATM around Jackson Hole before he left town? Does anyone recall if there were charges on her CC from the trip home?

 

[Skigirl]

I suspect that the Roberta Laundrie letter was found on the car at the preserve and said something along the lines of "we love you and support you even though you did a terrible thing and we will hire the best defense possible for your trial. The best thing to do is turn yourself in, you won't serve a long sentence and you have a long life ahead of you to live for." MOO

I was wrong in my suspicion about the letter from RL being found on the car in the parking lot at the Preserve and was getting it confused with the police's note saying that the car needed to be moved. I still think it's likely that the RL letter is along the lines of "we love you no matter what and will help and support you."

 

[Skigirl]

For their own sake, I think Gabby's parents need to try to move on with their lives. This lawsuit is all speculation, and it's just going to rub salt in the wounds of both families.

I don't buy Brian's account of what happened, but I kind of think he was trying somehow to ease the pain he knew his parents would be feeling if they thought he killed Gabby strictly out of anger. He was suicidal so he wasn't thinking clearly, and he came up with a tall tale he felt would ease some of their pain.

Both sets of parents are victims in this.

I think Gabby's parents know what's best for themselves, and their attorney referenced information that they received from the FBI, so I doubt that what they are claiming is pure speculation. As for the Laundries, it's not the Petito-Schmidt's job to protect them.

 

[Sundog]

As for the Laundries, it's not the Petito-Schmidt's job to protect them.

And vice versa.

 

[TL4S]

I think Reilly may simply be mistaken that it was received before he got back to North Port but time will tell. He did hedge the statement.

If there was an envelope with a letter, it's possible that RL put it into a fedex/UPS package along with some other things for him that he could have picked up at a packing/shipping/mailing store (I have a vacation cabin in a rural area where we do not get mail delivery and that's how I receive packages and that's also how hikers on the Appalachian Trail mail supplies to themselves to pick up along the way). But that scenario wouldn't jibe with the fact that he used Gabby's credit cards on the way home, since a package from them would have likely included some cash for him to use to get home.

Maybe he used Gaby's CC and ATM around Jackson Hole before he left town? Does anyone recall if there were charges on her CC from the trip home?

My thought is if he did receive cash (like maybe $20,000 estate), perhaps he used GP's debit card as a ploy to make it appear she was still alive and using her cards. ??