Brian Laundrie's Mother Speaks Out About 'Burn After Reading' Letter

Brian Laundrie’s mother has broken her silence.

Roberta Laundrie has been under a magnifying glass in recent months due to a letter she wrote to her son prior to Gabby Petito’s murder.

The letter reportedly contained information about buying a shovel, and helping bury the body ... it was titled “burn after reading.”

Roberta is defending herself in a court of law and said the letter was all fun and games.

Her attorneys filed a motion for a protective order in Sarasota County Circuit Court on Monday, March 7th, seeking to block the attempts by Gabby’s parents to make the “burn after reading” letter admissible as evidence in the upcoming civil trial between the two families.

Joe Petito and Nichole Schmidt’s attorney claims the letter makes references to a shovel, burying a body, and helping Brian get out of prison.

To show her support for this piece of evidence NOT becoming public, Roberta wrote a letter to the court claiming the "burn after reading" letter was written months before Gabby and Brian set off on their cross-country road trip in the summer of 2021.

“Although I do not know the exact date I wrote the letter, I do know that I wrote it and gave it to Brian before Brian and Gabby left Florida for New York which was on June 2, 2021,” Roberta wrote.

She revealed that Brian and her bonded over books such as “The Runaway Bunny” and “Little Bear.”

Roberta said one book, in particular, was titled “Burn After Writing” and it became an inside joke between her, Brian and Gabby. She explained this is why she wrote “burn after reading” on the envelope which held the letter.

“In short, I was trying to connect with Brian and repair our relationship as he was planning to leave home – and I had hoped this letter would remind him how much I loved him,” Roberta claimed. “The purpose of the letter was to reach out to Brian while he and I were experiencing a difficult period in our relationship. Brian and I always had a very open and communicative relationship and in the months prior to the trip our relationship had become strained. Brian and I shared a love of stories and some of the language in the letter was using similar phrases to describe the depth of a mother’s love.”

She also claimed some references in the letter that people think are about Gabby and Brian have “no connection” to what happened to the couple.

“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,” she wrote. “The words in the letter could never have been a comment on that tragic situation as they were written so many months before. My words to Brian were meant to convey my love and support for my son through a light-hearted and quirky reminder that my love for him was not diminished and could not be shaken by the miles of separation we would soon be faced with.”