Roberta Laundrie’s chilling burn-after-reading letter ‘said she’d bake cake with shiv inside if son Brian went to jail’

A NEW court filing by the Gabby Petito family attorney has shed more light on the bizarre “burn after reading” letter by Brian Laundrie’s mom.

The Petito family alleges in their lawsuit that Brian Laundrie, his lawyer Steven Bertolino, and his parents knew that Gabby Petito was dead at the time it was thought she was a missing person.

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The undated letter “references bringing a shovel to help bury a body, and baking a cake with a shiv in it should Brian Laundrie go to prison,” court documents read.

The court filing by Petito family attorney Pat Reilly last week marked the first time that the “shiv” reference was mentioned in legal proceedings surrounding the letter.

Reilly wrote in the Sarasota, Florida, court filing on Friday, May 5: “A reasonable inference is that the letter was written at a time when Gabrielle Petito was as yet unburied and Brian Laundrie could go to jail for the crime of murder.”

There were suspicions of the letter about a year ago as Reilly claimed that he saw it with the words “burn after reading” stamped on it with other evidence.

In March 2023, Roberta Laundrie broke her silence over the letter.

Roberta said that the bizarre letter was written at a different time than when Petito went missing.

“While I used words that seem to have a connection with Brian’s actions and his taking of Gabby’s life,” she wrote in a court motion to protect the letter from release. 

“I never would have fathomed the events that unfolded months later between Brian and Gabby would reflect the words in my letter.

“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.”

The Petito family is requesting the letter be fully released, according to court documents.

Reilly called the document “self-serving” and claimed it “draws attention away” from what Roberta originally said, according to WFLA.

“Who writes a letter to their adult son saying I’ll help bury a body? It’s no surprise she wanted no one else to see it,” he said.

“It’s a very self-serving document intending to draw attention away from what it says.”

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