I didn't read it that way when I first read the letter, and still don't.
Found Deceased WY - Gabby Petito, Grand Teton National Park #86
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I interpreted it as BL stating that the disclosure in his letter would be a shock to his parents but I also found his letter to a mix of fabrication and truth.
He did accept responsibility for killing but fabricated a story that he felt would absolve him of moral responsiblity while trying to explain injuries he felt would have been found during an autopsy.
I'm of the opinion that if someone is incapable of telling the truth in a suicide note, there's a strong change they haven't told the truth to anyone before that point.
Warwick7
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This is something I've been thinking about all day while on a cleaning job. NS did think both Gabby and Brian were missing.
"She was frantic and hoping that RL would know what was going on and looking for reassurance that they were okay." Bam!!
Yet she was blocked on the phone and she was blocked on facebook.
In today's age anyone can run off the road or be abducted. (Just look at all the threads we follow). Yet, in NS's fear of the worst she never did get the decency of an answer.
GRT
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I find it odd that the L's attorney would be in possession of a letter from Brian's mother to Brian that said to burn it after reading it.
How could he possibly come to be in possession of such a letter? If Brian's mother wanted it burned, it seems as though she would not be the one to hand it over to the attorney. Did investigators find a letter like that? If so, what are the odds they would hand it over to the L's attorney? If Brian had said letter on his person when he died, and the investigators released his possessions to his parents, which one of them gave the letter to their attorney?
And, if the L's attorney did have such a letter--why would he share that with the P's attorney?
Too many things seem farfetched here.
How could he possibly come to be in possession of such a letter? If Brian's mother wanted it burned, it seems as though she would not be the one to hand it over to the attorney. Did investigators find a letter like that? If so, what are the odds they would hand it over to the L's attorney? If Brian had said letter on his person when he died, and the investigators released his possessions to his parents, which one of them gave the letter to their attorney?
And, if the L's attorney did have such a letter--why would he share that with the P's attorney?
Too many things seem farfetched here.
I totally agree the facts about that letter are very murky. Supposedly it was found during the house search but the P's attorney claims it had been in the van. How he could possibly know that is beyond me unless it was found in a box of "van crap" found in the house. But even then he'd be guessing. And he acted like it wasn't a guess (but attorneys do that sort of thing-- pretending to know stuff...)
It's my understanding the letter was returned to the L's attorney (SB) by the FBI when the notebook was returned. The P's attorney was present at that meeting which always seemed odd to me. But that's why the P's attorney started talking about the letter. It sounds like he was shown the letter by LE although it's not clear to me why he would have been. Would SB have been shown GP's mail? But the P's attorney said the L's attorney didn't know about the letter before the meeting while he (PR) did. (Could just be one-upmanship-- attorneys sometimes do that too.)
Earlier when the letter was discussed on WS various suggestions were made about it. The P's attorney says he thinks it was written after GP was dead. Some here agreed. I don't think BL ever told RL she was dead so I disagree. But if I did think he told her and CL that on the phone on the 28th as the P's claim, I really really would doubt after BL said GP was dead, RL said I'll write you a letter. I think the letter was from much earlier and the "burn after reading" was a joke or an indication it wasn't for sharing with GP. After all, RL likely did know the relationship was somewhat volatile & she could have been advising BL to rethink marriage and/or to end the relationship.
It's also unclear how this letter was sent to BL. Apparently it was not in a mailing envelope and while it could have been sent overnight mail arriving in WY on Monday Aug 30 (if RL wrote really fast and got to the PO really fast on that Sat. FL is two hours earlier than WY) why would RL have wanted BL to hang around waiting for a letter? Makes no sense. I guess it could have been waiting on his pillow when he got home but why not just talk to him at that point?
Attorney for Petito family claims Roberta Laundrie sent Brian an ‘odd’ letter
Patrick Riley, an attorney for Gabby Petito’s family, claims that Brian Laundrie’s mother sent him an “odd” letter before his death.
ktla.com
Edited to add: JMO, of course
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Warwick7
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Gabby's family as well as both attorneys went to meet the FBI to retrieve Gabby's private belongings (Bertilino obtaining BL's belongings amongst other reasons).
NS was uncomfortable that Bertilino was there while she was picking up the belongings of her deceased daughter.
While there (aound the 3:20 mark) Reilly states: "I don't believe Mr. Bertolino knew about the letter. And the surprise on his face was very interesting as he read that letter."
Reilly requested a copy of Raberta's letter and Bertilino refused.
Wonder why...
Bertilino within 30 minutes of the time they left the FBI office, released the notebook to the public. The timing shocked Reilly.
So who was in a hurry to influence public opinion? Bertilino.
And add Bertilino picks and chooses like a buffet what to release and what to hide.
Reilly told WFLA: “I find it ironic that Mr Bertolino says he was, in full transparency, releasing this."
“Well, someone should ask him why he doesn’t release the entire notebook – but more importantly, ask him why he doesn’t
release Roberta Laundrie’s letter to her son.”
According to Reilly, the letter is undated, however, Reilly said "the time" the letter was written was based on what’s contained within the letter, it would appear as though the letter was written after Gabby was killed and before Brian took his life.
At the 3:29 mark he says Bertilino has the letter (which they both read while they were together). He said Bertilino has the original of the letter. Then he says he asked Bertilino to maintain the letter for purposes of the litigation. Then states Bertilino refused to allow him get a copy. After which is says he will be getting a copy.
NS was uncomfortable that Bertilino was there while she was picking up the belongings of her deceased daughter.
While there (aound the 3:20 mark) Reilly states: "I don't believe Mr. Bertolino knew about the letter. And the surprise on his face was very interesting as he read that letter."
Reilly requested a copy of Raberta's letter and Bertilino refused.
Wonder why...
Bertilino within 30 minutes of the time they left the FBI office, released the notebook to the public. The timing shocked Reilly.
So who was in a hurry to influence public opinion? Bertilino.
And add Bertilino picks and chooses like a buffet what to release and what to hide.
Reilly told WFLA: “I find it ironic that Mr Bertolino says he was, in full transparency, releasing this."
“Well, someone should ask him why he doesn’t release the entire notebook – but more importantly, ask him why he doesn’t
release Roberta Laundrie’s letter to her son.”
According to Reilly, the letter is undated, however, Reilly said "the time" the letter was written was based on what’s contained within the letter, it would appear as though the letter was written after Gabby was killed and before Brian took his life.
At the 3:29 mark he says Bertilino has the letter (which they both read while they were together). He said Bertilino has the original of the letter. Then he says he asked Bertilino to maintain the letter for purposes of the litigation. Then states Bertilino refused to allow him get a copy. After which is says he will be getting a copy.
BBM
Do you have a link saying NS was at that particular meeting? I've never read that before. That would have been very weird. I think there should have been separate meetings anyway but especially if any family were coming. I thought only the attorneys were there when the letter and notebook were released and I can't find anything that says NS or anyone else in GP's family was there. So a link would be good.
For example,
Lawyer releases pages from Brian Laundrie's notebook in which he admits to killing Gabby Petito | CNN
The attorney for the family of Brian Laundrie on Friday released eight pages from Laundrie's notebook that was found near his remains in Florida in October last year, according to a news release obtained by CNN affiliate WINK.
www.cnn.com
says
"Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino said he released the notebook pages after a meeting with the FBI and an attorney for Petito's family where they collected the personal belongings of Petito and Laundrie."
And
‘I Ended Her Life': Brian Laundrie's Confession to Gabby Petito Murder Revealed
The notebook recovered from the Florida nature preserve purporting to contain Brian Laundrie’s confession for the death of his fiancé, Gabby Petito, has been shared by his family’s attorney.
www.nbcnewyork.com
"On Friday, Bertolino said he met with the FBI in Tampa, along with the Petito family attorney, where personal items belongings to Laundrie and Petito were handed back to be returned to their families."
Even in the linked video PR doesn't say anything suggesting NS was there.
I do understand why SB wouldn't turn over the letter. The P's attorney claimed SB didn't know about the letter before the mtg. If that's true, SB couldn't have discussed it before with the L's. So he couldn't just haul off and hand out copies, especially since he's not representing the L's in court. That would have been very unprofessional. The notebook has been known about for months so he could have discussed that beforehand with the L's. And the material released was written by BL according to the FBI. Not RL or CL. The public has been anxious to see that material for months. I'm sure the L's and SB knew that.
JMO
Warwick7
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In my post you quoted I posted the link already.BBM
Do you have a link saying NS was at that particular meeting? I've never read that before. That would have been very weird. I think there should have been separate meetings anyway but especially if any family were coming. I thought only the attorneys were there when the letter and notebook were released and I can't find anything that says NS or anyone else in GP's family was there. So a link would be good.
For example,
Lawyer releases pages from Brian Laundrie's notebook in which he admits to killing Gabby Petito | CNN
The attorney for the family of Brian Laundrie on Friday released eight pages from Laundrie's notebook that was found near his remains in Florida in October last year, according to a news release obtained by CNN affiliate WINK.
says
"Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino said he released the notebook pages after a meeting with the FBI and an attorney for Petito's family where they collected the personal belongings of Petito and Laundrie."
And
‘I Ended Her Life': Brian Laundrie's Confession to Gabby Petito Murder Revealed
The notebook recovered from the Florida nature preserve purporting to contain Brian Laundrie’s confession for the death of his fiancé, Gabby Petito, has been shared by his family’s attorney.
"On Friday, Bertolino said he met with the FBI in Tampa, along with the Petito family attorney, where personal items belongings to Laundrie and Petito were handed back to be returned to their families."
Even in the linked video PR doesn't say anything suggesting NS was there.
I do understand why SB wouldn't turn over the letter. The P's attorney claimed SB didn't know about the letter before the mtg. If that's true, SB couldn't have discussed it before with the L's. So he couldn't just haul off and hand out copies, especially since he's not representing the L's in court. That would have been very unprofessional. The notebook has been known about for months so he could have discussed that beforehand with the L's. And the material released was written by BL according to the FBI. Not RL or CL. The public has been anxious to see that material for months. I'm sure the L's and SB knew that.
JMO
Warwick7
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Brian Laundrie Possibly Made Two More Confessions Aside from Infamous Notebook Confession: Report
A lawyer representing Gabby Petito’s family in a civil suit against the Laundrie family says that Brian Laundrie may have made additional confessions in connection with Gabby’s death, only one of which has been released to the public. According to DailyMail, attorney Pat Reilly (who represents...
"Of course, we need to see the 3 letters and compare them but if they are different then that would indicate deception and that there was a strategy in place to deceive,” Richards said while speaking to News Nation Now reporter Brian Entin."
Leigh Egan is one of my several favorite journalists.
This is an intriguing information.
It was kind of a wandering interview and was all stuff I'd already heard. So I admit after 3-4 minutes I gave up on it. But I now see PR said that NS was there after the 6 minute mark (in a 7.5 minute interview) Sorry!
I do wonder why that fact doesn't seem to have been reported anywhere else by anyone? Even when I searched for that I couldn't find any mention. There is mention after mention about the meeting involving the 2 attorneys. And I also wonder why the FBI decided to do it that way? Obviously SB wasn't the one deciding the rules and if the P's were uncomfortable, it wasn't their idea either. So it must have been the FBI that decided. Weird. It's especially weird to me because in the video PR says NS had read the notebook material before that mtg. And he had read the letter (& probably she had too. That wasn't clear.) So there had been a mtg with the FBI & the P's before to show them those things that would be returned to the L's. So why the group mtg? Just odd.
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Warwick7
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I counted no less than 7 that have now reported in it. Most is which have been linked by many posters.
GRT
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That's really interesting! Thanks!
Brian Entin--in the comments following the original Twitter post says he contacted Bertilino and asked about the letter, Bertilino responded with, "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."
Not being a much of a movie fan, I had to google that, but, sure enough, there is a movie named, Burn After Reading, that was released in 2008.
To me, it seems odd that the FBI would arrange for both parties to pick up the deceased children's respective possessions at the same time. That just sounds like borrowing trouble, and it also sounds as if NS was hesitant--at first--when she knew SB would be there. I'm glad the tension level dropped, and that she was eventually comfortable, though.
PR also mentioned the letter was once in the van but seized from the Laundrie's house. Did BL take it inside? Did his parents go through the van and take it inside along with other possessions? Either way, it seems to me that most parents who were in the Laundrie's position--and knew law enforcement was gearing up--would have gone through the possessions/evidence they had access to, and if there was anything incriminating, they would have gotten rid of it. MOO
This whole thing is just too weird. I get the impression as another poster mentioned, that Reilly may be doing a bit of one-upmanship and that when the letter is finally released, it won't be anything of value. MOO
All the references to the June property division meeting with the FBI in Tampa that I can find do not mention the Petito family being present. Even WFLA.com, a primary source on WS, doesn't mention the Petito family being present in stories J.B. Biunno wrote. For example [italics added]
"Pat Reilly, the attorney for Gabby’s parents, says he and Bertolino are meeting with the FBI in Tampa on Friday to receive belongings of Laundrie and Petito that were collected over the course of the investigation. It is unknown whether the notebook is among the items being given back."
What happened to Brian Laundrie's notebook?..
"Reilly told WFLA.com the letter is one of the items that was revealed Friday during a meeting between him and Bertolino at the FBI Tampa offices."
Gabby Petito family attorney claims Roberta Laundrie sent letter to son marked ‘burn after you read’
When I google, I can find plenty of references to the January mtg the Petitos had with the FBI (no SB or any other L attorney present) and contemporaneous discussion of the property division implying there was one big meeting but there wasn't, a fact that's clear in the actual articles. An example is this headline from January:
"Petito family meets with FBI, Laundrie and Petito family agree on splitting of items."
Petito family meets with FBI, Laundrie and Petito family agree on splitting of items
Except for the mention very late in the Entin video interview (posted by @Warwick7 above), I can find no references to the family bring present at the June mtg including in the thread here that was active in June (Thread #85) So I have looked! Does anyone have a link to a press report saying the June meeting when the notebook and the letter were given to SB the Petitos were physically present? If so, please post. It seems such an odd way for the FBI to do things I'm surprised that it hasn't been previously discussed here (at least not that I can find.)
TIA
"Pat Reilly, the attorney for Gabby’s parents, says he and Bertolino are meeting with the FBI in Tampa on Friday to receive belongings of Laundrie and Petito that were collected over the course of the investigation. It is unknown whether the notebook is among the items being given back."
What happened to Brian Laundrie's notebook?..
"Reilly told WFLA.com the letter is one of the items that was revealed Friday during a meeting between him and Bertolino at the FBI Tampa offices."
Gabby Petito family attorney claims Roberta Laundrie sent letter to son marked ‘burn after you read’
When I google, I can find plenty of references to the January mtg the Petitos had with the FBI (no SB or any other L attorney present) and contemporaneous discussion of the property division implying there was one big meeting but there wasn't, a fact that's clear in the actual articles. An example is this headline from January:
"Petito family meets with FBI, Laundrie and Petito family agree on splitting of items."
Petito family meets with FBI, Laundrie and Petito family agree on splitting of items
Except for the mention very late in the Entin video interview (posted by @Warwick7 above), I can find no references to the family bring present at the June mtg including in the thread here that was active in June (Thread #85) So I have looked! Does anyone have a link to a press report saying the June meeting when the notebook and the letter were given to SB the Petitos were physically present? If so, please post. It seems such an odd way for the FBI to do things I'm surprised that it hasn't been previously discussed here (at least not that I can find.)
TIA
It does appear to be an odd way of handling the situation but if I’m not mistaken, there was an agreement to turn over Gabby’s personal possessions that were with the Laundrie family via lawyers.
Perhaps this was an extension of that agreement. Lawyers were present to ensure proper distribution but I could understand why NS would want to be present as well. Nobody represents her daughter better than family and the FBI would have no reason to deny her presence.
Although the FBI probably anticipated only the attorneys for both families would be present, I am sure they would have allowed the parents of both families to attend if their attorneys requested that. It sounds like NS was the only parent who insisted on being there.
Yes, I think you are right about the possessions of GP's the L's had. The lawyers worked that out and as I recall, the process was set in motion by Rick S, the P's NY lawyer and was continued by their FL lawyer, Pat R, with SB always acting for the L's on that matter. And I guess I can understand NS wanting to be present (well, not really. The meeting was only 2 days after the court hearing.) But as @Sundog said, I'm sure the FBI wouldn't bar a family member from either family from attending (although I don't think it was anticipated to be a family meeting.) But what really puzzles me is the lack of reporting that NS (or any other family) was present. Honestly I can't find a single print report that says anybody but the two attorneys were there with the FBI agents. Odd.
JMO
I’m not sure if she was present or it was a media conclusion but she has been very clear that she wanted all her daughter’s possessions and for that reason, I could understand her desire to be present and ensure that nothing was missed.
I’ve been down this path many years ago and it’s just another way to deal with grief. Some of us now find things we felt were extremely relevant, weren’t quite as significant over time and others wish we had spoken out about things that still seem relevant.
True. And I wasn't really questioning why NS might have wanted to be there as much as I was questioning the lack of reporting that she was there. Report after report (even from local FL stations) said the meeting was between the two attorneys. Whether NS was there isn't key for understanding the case, but things like that do serve as a reminder that we may not always know what we think we know due to press omissions & inaccuracies.
JMO
I agree and have seen the media report things as fact, when there have been witnesses statements otherwise.
It’s hard on the family and becomes difficult for the public to separate fact from media spin.
Warwick7
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BBM
I had wondered the same thing. What I found interesting is PR never called the letter incriminating. There may not have been any reason for Laundries to "get rid of it." PR had called the letter odd, contained extreme things and there is an “offer” from Roberta to “assist her son.”
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