Brian Laundrie’s confession to the murder of Gabby Petito last year has been released by his family.
A notebook found by Laundrie’s body, which was originally obtained by Fox, explains why he killed his girlfriend while the two vloggers were on a cross-country trip across the US in their van.
Laundrie claims in his hand-written confession that the killing was ‘merciful’ after Petito was allegedly injured and in extreme pain.
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Patrick Reilly, an attorney for Petito’s family, told People that Laundrie’s claims are ‘nonsense’.
Laundrie writes that he and Petito suffered ‘an unexpected tragedy’ after Gabby slipped in a freezing creek in Utah.
He says: “I found her breathing heavily, gasping my name, she was freezing cold.
“The temperature had dropped to freezing and she was soaking wet. I carried her as far as I could down the stream towards the car, stumbling exhausted in shock, when my knees buckled and knew I couldn’t safely carry her.
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"I started a fire and spooned her as close to the heat, she was so thin, had already been freezing too long.
“She had a small bump on her forehead that eventually got larger. Her feet hurt, her wrist hurt but she was freezing, shaking violently, while carrying her she continually made sounds of pain, laying next to her she said little lapsing between violent shakes, gasping in pain, begging for an end to her pain.
“She would fall asleep and I would shake her awake fearing she shouldn’t close her eyes if she had a concussion.
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“She would wake in pain, start the whole painful cycle again while furious that I was the one waking her.
“I don’t know the extent of Gabby’s injuries. Only that she was in extreme pain.
"I ended her life, I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked, I was in shock. But from the moment I decided, took away her pain, I knew I couldn’t go on without her.”
Laundrie continued: “I’m sorry for everyone’s loss. Please do not make life harder for my family, they lost a son and a daughter. The most wonderful girl in the world. Gabby I'm sorry.
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“I have killed myself by this creek in the hopes that animals may tear me apart. That it may make some of her family happy.”
The note ends: “Please pick up all of my things. Gabby hated people who litter.”
In a statement alongside the release of the notebook, the Laundrie family’s attorney Steve Bertolino explained he wanted to ‘share with the public the note that the FBI alluded to when they said on January 21, 2022 that Brian claimed responsibility for the death of Gabby Petito’.
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The Petito family attorney Patrick Reilly slammed the note, saying: “He is writing a letter as though he wants people to feel sorry for him.”
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
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Simon Fearn