Gabby Petito’s mother holds a personal theory regarding the circumstances surrounding Brian Laundrie’s death.
Four years ago, Gabby, a travel influencer and YouTuber, was tragically murdered by her fiancé Brian Laundrie during a road trip across the United States.
The 22-year-old had embarked on the cross-country journey in her Ford transit van, documenting her travels online. In September 2021, Gabby’s mother, Nichole Schmidt, reported her missing to the authorities after losing contact with her daughter.
The case unveiled distressing details about Gabby’s relationship with Laundrie and the events leading up to her final moments.
Gabby’s parents, alarmed by their daughter’s disappearance, discovered that Laundrie had returned alone to his parents’ home in Florida with her van.
Despite attempts to reach out to Laundrie’s family for assistance in finding Gabby, her family received no response from him or his parents.
Gabby’s body was discovered on September 19 at the Spread Creek camping area in Wyoming following an extensive search. An autopsy confirmed she had died from blunt force injuries to her head and neck and manual strangulation.
As the investigation into her murder unfolded, Laundrie vanished from his parents’ home. Authorities later found that he had taken his own life, leaving behind a confession to the murder.
A heartbreaking incident was revealed during the investigation: police had stopped the couple’s van in Utah on August 12 following reports of a domestic violence incident. The couple was separated for one night but later reunited.
Following Gabby’s demise, several startling claims surfaced.
One notable claim involved Laundrie’s mother, Roberta. When Laundrie’s body was discovered, he had a letter from his mother instructing him to “burn after reading.” CNN released the contents of the letter, revealing disturbing remarks.
Roberta’s letter indicated she would assist her son in disposing of a body and smuggle a file in a cake if he were imprisoned, which the Petito family’s legal team argues could be incriminating.
However, Brian’s mother defended the letter, claiming it was merely a love note given to him before his trip with Gabby. The letter was undated, leaving uncertainty about when it was delivered.
Gabby’s mother has consistently harbored suspicions about Laundrie’s parents.
In a recent interview on The Squeeze podcast hosted by actor Taylor Lautner and his wife Tay, Nichole expressed her belief: “I will say straightforward, I don’t think he killed himself. I think either his father or [his mother] did. That’s just my opinion, it’s not a fact, it’s an opinion.”
When questioned by Lautner about why they might have done this, she explained, “Better than going to jail and facing what you did. That’s the only thing I can come up with in my mind.”
“The way you read [his mother’s] burn-after-reading letter and just the weirdness that [his parents] are, I don’t find it implausible. I think it’s very possible that they did something.”
Nichole also elaborated on why she doesn’t believe Laundrie took his own life.
“If you read the stuff he wrote in his notebook, he kind of made up excuses,” she said. “He didn’t want to take responsibility, so why then would he take his own life? He was a coward. It’s just a gut feeling that I have.”
It is important to understand that Nichole’s theory is purely her opinion and lacks factual support.
Steven Bertolino, the Laundrie family’s legal representative, was approached for comment by LADbible Group but declined to provide a statement.