x
Breaking News
More () »

Brian Laundrie confesses to killing Gabby Petito in notebook: 'I ended her life'

Photographs of the notebook were released Friday.

NORTH PORT, Fla. — Editor's Note: This story may not be suitable for all audiences.

In a notebook, obtained by the FBI in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in October, Brian Laundrie confessed to the murder of his former fiancée Gabby Petito. 

"I ended her life. I thought it was merciful," the notebook reads. 

Photographs of the notebook were released Friday by Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino, who said the note was the one alluded to by the FBI when authorities said back in January that Laundrie claimed responsibility for Gabby's murder. 

Bertolino released a letter "as a matter of transparency." He wrote he would not be commenting further due to the proceedings pending in court. 

In the notebook, Laundrie described the couple's struggle to return to their van in the near dark and having to travel across water. He wrote that as they were crossing a stream, Petito fell into the stream and injured herself. 

"The temperature had dropped to freezing, and she was soaking wet," the note reads. "I carried her as far as I could down the stream towards the car... when my knees buckled, and I knew I couldn't safely carry her."

Laundrie then claimed in the book that Petito was in "extreme pain" and begged for it to end. He wrote that he ended her life to release her from her pain.

"From the moment I decided, I took away her pain, I knew I couldn't go on without her," Laundrie wrote. "I am ending my life not because of a fear of punishment but rather because I can't stand to live another day without her."

He apologized to Petito's family as well as his own in the note. 

"Please do not make life harder for my family, they lost a son and a daughter," the note reads. "The most beautiful girl in the world. Gabby I'm sorry." 

The release of pictures of Laundrie's notebook come a few days after the Laundrie and Petito case reached courts for the first time. 

Wednesday was the pre-trial hearing in the lawsuit filed by Gabby Petito's family against the parents of Brian Laundrie. The lawsuit claims the Laundries are responsible for "intentional infliction of emotional distress" in their failure to report their alleged knowledge of Gabby's death to her family.

The hearing resulted in the judge saying he will make his decision on whether the lawsuit will proceed to a jury trial within two weeks from Wednesday.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24/7 at 1-800-799-7233.

Before You Leave, Check This Out