It does kind of sound like that. The problem is that everything we've read that was supposedly in the letter is outside the full context of the letter, so it's hard to interpret the real meaning. If RL said, "Your Guinea pig died. Being a shovel. Help bury the body," then that's a lot different then, "If you ever kill Gabby, I'll come over. Bring a shovel. Help bury the body."
Found Deceased WY - Gabby Petito, Grand Teton National Park #87
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You are certainly entitled to your opinion. RL writing the letter after Brian returned to Florida seems to be the claim the P's are making. (In other words, that the letter was written when the L's knew G was dead in early Sept and knew the whereabouts of her body. Hence they caused the P's distress.)
But why would RL write to BL after he returned to Florida from Wyoming and say "Bring a shovel. Help bury the body"? (Things the P's attorney claim the letter said.) It just makes no sense to me. And lots of things about that scenario don't make sense to me:
1. It doesn't make sense RL would put a serious offer to help bury a body in a letter. Some things are hard to talk about and sometimes writing is easier. But the only way the letter can mean what the P's claim it does is if B had already talked to RL about Gabby's death. I'm not at all convinced that happened. But the hypothetical scenario of RL offering aid in a coverup only works if he'd told her G was dead. And it's only legally relevant to the emotional distress lawsuit if it was written after G was dead and the L's knew she was dead seems to me. If B and RL had already talked about G's death before the letter was written, why start writing to plan a coverup? Why not keep talking? Writing is more risky even with burn instructions.
2. It doesn't make sense she'd write that sort of letter to BL to offer help in a criminal coverup if he was living in the house with her. On the other hand, writing a sort of combination relationship repair/goodbye letter to him when he and G were living there and leaving shortly made sense. B&G may have been joined at the hip whenever they were home so RL may not have seen B alone much. And for all she knew, they might come back from their trip married. Or they might have decided to settle down out west. Or maybe they were considering a move to NY as the NPPD spokesperson claimed. Even without the tragic outcome, it could have been the last time she could talk to "her baby." Hence the references to childhood books.
Some here have suggested she sent the letter to B in Wyoming offering to help after he called her to confess to killing G. But realistically that can't work. There's just not enough time. So IF the letter refers to G's death, it seems it had to be delivered to him in Florida.
We know it's been reported BL and RL left the house together sometimes after he returned to Florida-- to bike, shop, and so on. They had plenty of opportunities to talk. If they thought the house was bugged, that meant they thought LE was watching. So why write a letter to hatch a criminal plot with LE watching? Or was the goal to keep CL from knowing? If so, exactly how was RL going to help B bury G 2400 miles away?
3. It doesn't make sense she'd direct him to buy a shovel to help her bury a body. Wasn't the P's claim that she'd offered to help him? That's not what the reported words say--- "Bring a shovel. Help bury the body." If those things were merely included in a list of things she'd willingly to do for him-- climb the highest mountain, cross the widest sea....it would be pretty clear from the full context the scenarios weren't referring to real life. That it was just a horrible coincidence.
4. Criminals do make mistakes. But IF RL was really offering to help B cover up a crime, I'd think she'd have been worried about LE finding that letter even if it had said burn it. Why didn't she ask if B had destroyed it after the van was seized? Or search for it and destroy it after B left the house? Maybe she tried but it wouldn't seem the entire house would have required searching-- just B's room. Personally I don't think she gave the letter a second thought A) because it had been written months before, not days before. She might have even forgotten she wrote it. B) it was totally innocent.
5. As I said, personally I am not convinced the L's knew Gabby was dead. But if RL knew, was she proposing that she and B drive back to Wyoming in early Sept and bury her? It would take days to get there and back. How was that going to work with the 3-day camping trip to Ft. DeSoto that was already planned? Or were they going to fly out quickly carrying a shovel with them? (That would hardly be inconspicuous and they'd have to fly under their real names.) Both scenarios-- driving or flying--seem incredibly unlikely to me. But if a return to Wyoming was supposed to happen, why doesn't the letter say that? Or contain hints of that? The P's attorney would undoubtedly remember if it had and the FBI would have been interested too. And if the letter doesn't mention returning to Wyoming, how can the shovel scenario really be thought to refer to burying G? Or is it the case no one really thinks it does refer to her death but it seems callous anyway? So someone who would write those things in jest might actually do other things? Is it really "bad character" or "propensity" evidence?
While rumors suggest the letter was found with B's body, RL denies that and indirectly the P's attorney does too. He says the letter had been in the van but was found in the L's house during the Sept search.
It doesn't make any sense the attorney knew it had been in the van. If it had been there, BL obviously didn't tell him. Neither did the L's. And LE wouldn't have taken stuff out of the van, looked through it to catalog it, and put it in the L's house when the van was seized. So it makes no sense the attorney knew it had been in the van (if it even ever was) but was found in the house. From the time anything was first written about the letter, RL and Bertolino have maintained she wrote it before B&G left on their trip. B could taken it with him on the trip. In the very small van G might have known about the letter and might have shared that knowledge in some way (was it seen in a photo, did she journal about it? Mention it to family? Could that be how the attorney knows it had been in the van?) Or B could have left it at home in his room where LE found it and the attorney is blowing smoke or just honestly mistaken. But no matter what, LE had the letter early on. They don't seem to have taken the letter as a serious coverup offer.
JMO
Wallendo
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It seems to be that the two lawsuits are being litigated by the plaintiffs through the press, not the courts.
Obviously, in the Utah case, they seem to be seeking an out of court settlement by creating public pressure.
The Florida case seems more personal.
Obviously, in the Utah case, they seem to be seeking an out of court settlement by creating public pressure.
The Florida case seems more personal.
wnk
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Right. Written before the trip, within a tongue-in-cheek list of "things I'm willing to do for you because I love you," this makes the most sense, IMO.
It still raises questions, though: how seriously did she actually mean it, and how seriously did BL take it? Did knowing that mother dearest would "protect" him make it easier for him to do what he did? Did this promise lead her to take steps, after his return to FL, to try to help him go on the run? (We already know she bought him a burner phone, right?) And can any of that be legally prosecuted?
Nikynoo
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IMO when pressure started to build e.g. visit to house by LE and then B leaving the house - I think it became clear to B that there was only an extent to which he could protect his parents from what he had done, and he took the steps he did.
Personally, I do not think that the L's did anything wrong, you don't know what you don't know. By all accounts the L's had a good relationship with all LE as could be seen on the final day of the search.
The FBI and other agencies went through all the possessions found with Brian and searched the L's house thoroughly and did not bring any charges against the L's. IMO they played it by the book, following advice that we are told to follow on this forum (call a lawyer and take that lawyers advice).
<modsnip: not victim friendly>
On a related note - re the MOAB lawsuit - the P's are laying the blame with MOAB, but again, the P's must have had some insight into the relationship (N even dismissed the MOAB incident initially). <modsnip>
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Brian might have felt unconditional acceptance from his mom. I don't think we know enough about their relationship to say. I'm not sure though that fits a "mother dearest" picture, in fact, it's kind of the opposite from what Joan Crawford's adopted daughter was said to have felt.
Regardless, it seems quite a leap to conclude knowing she would love him no matter what made BL more likely to kill Gabby. And what does that say about parent/child relationships? That psychologists are wrong and parents' regard for their children should be conditional not unconditional?
I could be wrong but I think the idea the L's will be prosecuted for anything is dead. Welcoming a son back to his legal residence isn't a crime (and we don't know what he told his parents about GP.) Buying someone a new cell phone isn't a crime even if it was a "burner phone" (although that's unclear.) And at the time Dog's daughter claimed the FBI confirmed to them Brian's mother was using a "burner" too but that's questionable IMO.
Brian Laundrie’s Mom Roberta Accused Of Using A Burner Phone As Manhunt For Her Son Continues
Internet detectives are convinced she's using a secret device.
Frankly I doubt the FBI was sharing information with Dog's team.
Apparently the phone purchased for Brian was left behind when he went hiking in the swamp. There's no evidence he ever went anywhere but the swamp where he committed suicide, an act that given the weather, flooding, and scene where he was found probably occurred the day he went there. And the swamp is where his parents always said he was. Certainly he wasn't escaping by boat from Ft. DeSoto as Dog's team suspected. And he didn't stay behind in the park after the family camping trip Sept 6-8 as that group also claimed. Dog the Bounty Hunter finds fresh campsite in Brian Laundrie search: report
He wasn't in Mexico as a certain retired FBI agent claimed well into Oct. And as late as Oct 13 John Walsh was claiming the L's were still aiding BL in his escape (he favored Mexico but admitted he could be on the Appalachian Trail) In Sept JW had claimed BL likely never went into the swamp but had escaped abroad. John Walsh, the former host of 'America's Most Wanted,' questions if anyone actually saw Brian Laundrie in his home when his attorney said he was there
While there have been lots of accusations of blame hurled at the parents, I'm betting the FBI/FL LE would have acted if there was convincing evidence of criminal actions.
JMO
Gardenista
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Lots of stuff to emerge come the discovery phase, for sure, G.. <modsnip>
Which is why I don't I think Brian offed himself, he murdered Gabby because she unsettled his grandiose idea of himself, she disturbed his inflated idea of his own wonderfulness, so she had to go. I just find it hard that he found that kind of remorse, or deflation of his own overblown value to shoot himself.
Anyways... I digress, I think that Petito lawyer is on the money, Roberta and the Mister , and even perhaps the sister, are going to have to spill the beans in the worst way possible, ie, in court under cross examination by a heavy handed clever bloke, who sounds up for it in a big way.
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From her statement it sounds like the mother (parents?) relationship was somewhat stressed before B and G went on the trip. At least that is her explanation why she felt the need to write him this letter.
Paints a bit of a picture on his state of mind at the time IMO.
I can understand that a lot of people, in retrospect, feel the L's actions were cold hearted and with bad intent. IMO at the time of the events they simply believed whatever story their son told them about returning on his own, and they certainly did not consider/expect their own child may have become a murderer.
GRT
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I think this is the most likely scenario. We have two sets of parents that are victims here all have admitted they saw no red flags in the young couple's relationship that would have prepared them for murder/suicide.
But, the fact that BL committed suicide tells me he may have been overly sensitive, and RL likely sensed and was responding to that. Sadly, people kill partners and significant others rather often but they don't usually kill themselves afterward. Most go on to fight the accusations, even after they're convicted.
I can understand RL having a wry sense of humor--my in-laws are just the same--and they would have said something similar in a joking manner. I really feel RL was trying to show BL that she was there for him. But, not there to truly bury a body--since the letter was written before the kids left on their journey.
<modsnip: quoted post was snipped> It's a sad situation all the way around.
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Petito-Laundrie trial moved to 2024, hearing set for Roberta’s ‘burn after reading’ letter
The civil trial between the families of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie won’t be happening anytime soon.
thehill.com
SeesSeas
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Civil Trial Between Petito and Laundrie Families Postponed
VIDEO: The civil trial between the families of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie is rescheduled for 2024. (3/15/23)
www.courttv.com
CIVIL TRIAL BETWEEN PETITO AND LAUNDRIE FAMILIES POSTPONED
The civil trial between the families of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie is rescheduled for 2024. The judge will rule on whether Roberta Laundrie's "Burn After Reading" letter will be granted to Petito's family in a May hearing. (3/15/23)
BetteDavisEyes
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Tonight (Thursday) on LMN:
The Gabby Petito Story
8:00 - 10:00p
Skyler Samuels Evan Hall Thora Birch
(2022)Police begin a nationwide search when 22-year-old Gabby Petito disappears while traveling with her fiance, Brian Laundrie.
The Gabby Petito Story
8:00 - 10:00p
Skyler Samuels Evan Hall Thora Birch
(2022)Police begin a nationwide search when 22-year-old Gabby Petito disappears while traveling with her fiance, Brian Laundrie.
Agree with all of the above. I think both sets of parents knew that the relatonship between GP and BL was not healthy, but that there was nothing they could do to intervene as both were adults.
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Not to derail the conversation but what is a home truth? I'd never heard that expression before today.
I don't think the parents knew about the issues. I recall Gabby's mom saying in the beginning how shocked she was by the stop, she hadn't noticed anything like that when they had stayed at her home before the trip.
True but at the time in a Daily Mail interview G's mother initially described the Moab incident not as shocking but as just an ordinary argument of the sort people have when they travel together for long periods. She also said then it was "irrelevant" to whatever had happened to GP. (The interview was before GP was found and obviously before the Moab lawsuit was filed.) So there may have been some denial there or at least some public denial.
Gabby Petito's mom slams Brian Laundrie's sister over interview
Gabby Petito's mom Nichole Schmidt blasted Cassie Laundrie for claiming she loves 'Gabby like a sister' yet failing to get her own brother to share information about her disappearance.
I seriously doubt any of the parents had any idea that what happened could happen. But I suspect deep down most of them knew the relationship wasn't healthy and most of all of them knew the couple fought alot. And that was just when G&B lived together and had "away from home and away from each other" outlets available, not when they lived together in a small van. (I believe GP also said in their first "van life" video they fought too much when traveling by car during their first trip because they were cramped.) And even Cassie said they had lots of fights when they lived with her family and that was a couple of years before the final trip. (She did deny that the fights were physical.) Still, while couples vary and so do cultural expectations about fighting, yelling, and screaming, generally people that fight constantly with their partners aren't in healthy relationships. Even high school classmates said they were "high drama," always fighting or making up. I think some part of all that had to be evident to the parents. But once G&B were adults....
JMO
housewife
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Dr. Laura Richards and the July 2022 Domestic Violence Report have detailed information regarding how the Moab police did not assess the situation correctly, and both agree that the Moab police did not even properly apply Utah's Physical Aggressor law correctly. I am not a lawyer, but found the above links helpful in understanding the reason for the lawsuit. <modsnip: quoted post was snipped>
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Nikynoo
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you can find the definition here home truth
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