Lawyer releases Brian Laundrie notebook containing confession

(NewsNation) — A notebook reportedly belonging to Brian Laundrie, in which he claims responsibility for killing Gabby Petito in September 2021, was publicly released by the Laundrie family attorney Friday.

The notebook is a scrawled mix of a confession and suicide note in which the writer admits to taking Petito’s life.

“I ended her life, I thought it was merciful,” Laundrie reportedly wrote in the notebook. He claimed Petito was injured and in “extreme pain” before he killed her.

None of Laundrie’s claims in the notebook have been corroborated by investigators.

The notebook goes on to assert Laundrie contemplated allowing Petito’s stepfather James Schmidt or brother T.J. Schmidt to kill him but decided to take his own life instead.

There is no mention in Laundrie’s notebook of the fights he and Petito had on their trip out West, which Laundrie told officers had put an “emotional strain” on their relationship. In August 2021, before Petito went missing, witnesses reported to police they had seen Laundrie hitting Petito in Moab City, Utah.

Petito, 22, vanished while on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie in a converted camper van. The trip was well documented on social media until it abruptly ceased, allegedly somewhere in Wyoming.

She was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents after she did not respond to calls and texts for several days. Petito’s body was found Sept. 19 just outside Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. A Teton County coroner said Petito died by strangulation three to four weeks before her body was found.

Laundrie was at the center of a nationwide search after Petito vanished, a search that ended when his remains were found in October 2021, after more than a month of searching a 24,000-acre Florida nature reserve. A month later, authorities confirmed he’d died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

If you or someone you know needs help, resources or someone to talk to, you can find it at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website or by calling 1-800-273-8255. People are available to talk to 24×7.