Gabby Petito's Mom Slams Brian Laundrie's "Ridiculous" Notebook Confession

In an NBC interview, Gabby Petito's mother Nichole Schmidt shared her thoughts about the notebook confession left behind by her daughter's killer and late fiancé Brian Laundrie.

By Corinne Heller Aug 04, 2022 4:55 PMTags
Watch: Gabby Petito's Mom SLAMS Brian Laundrie's Notebook Confession

Gabby Petito's mom is not buying Brian Laundrie's notebook confession about why he "ended her life."

In June, an attorney for his parents, who are being sued by Petito's parents, released excerpts from a letter Laundrie had written in a notebook before he died of suicide. In it, Laundrie claimed that during the couple's van road trip, Petito was injured while the two tried to cross a stream and was "begging for an end to her pain." He wrote, "I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted." 

When asked if she thought Laundrie's words were "blatantly untrue," Petito's mother, Nichole Schmidt, said on NBC's Today show, "100 percent."

On June 27, two days after the notebook's contents were made public, Schmidt had tweeted, "Fed up" and shared a viral quote that read, "Narcissists rewrite history to escape accountability. You are not crazy."

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Further clarifying her thoughts on NBC's Today show, Schmidt said, "That was his character, even in his last moments, he wanted to make sure he looked like the good guy. Right? That's ridiculous. We know how she died."

Laundrie's attorney had no comment in response, according to the Today show.

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The disappearance and murder of Petito, 22, shook the nation last fall. Laundrie, 24, had returned home to Florida from the couple's van trip on Sept. 1 without Petito. Ten days later, her family reported her missing. On Sept. 15, police named Laundrie a person of interest in her disappearance and two days later, his parents reported their own son missing. Petito was found dead in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming on Sept. 19. A medical examiner later determined the cause of her death to be homicide by strangulation.

In October, Laundrie's remains were discovered in an area previously underwater in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida, with the notebook found nearby.

Steven P. Bertolino, the lawyer for Laundries' parents, said in a June 25 statement that he was given the notebook after he met with the attorney for Petito's family and the FBI in Tampa to "sort through and take possession of the personal items that belonged to Gabby and Brian. This was a previously agreed upon exchange to enable both the Petitos and the Laundries to receive what belonged to their respective children."

Bertolino continued, "Although I have chosen to release the letter as a matter of transparency I will not be commenting further as there are still proceedings pending in Court. These are Brian's words."

 

In March, Schmidt and Petito's father, Joseph Petito, filed a civil lawsuit against Laundrie's dad Christopher Laundrie and mom Roberta Laundrie, alleging that they knew their son killed Petito, kept his whereabouts hidden after reporting him missing and were "making arrangements for him to leave the country." At the time, the Laundries' attorney said the family had "no obligation to speak to Law Enforcement."

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In June, a judge denied a motion from the Laundries to dismiss the lawsuit. Their attorney for the Laundries later said in a statement to E! News that they "are disappointed" with the decision and "will continue to use all available legal means to preserve their rights."

Schmidt also filed a separate wrongful death lawsuit against the curator of Laundrie's estate in May, seeking at least $30,000 in damages. No trial date has been set. At the time, the Laundries' attorney told E! News that the lawsuit was "fully expected" and "will most likely not be defended and the Petitos will have gained nothing more than a piece of paper that tells them what everyone already knows, which is that Brian was responsible for Gabby's death as indicated by the FBI."

(E! and NBC are part of the NBCUniversal family.)

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