NEWS

'Fed up,' Gabby Petito's mom responds to Brian Laundrie's notebook

Melissa Pérez-Carrillo
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Gabby Petito's parents, Joseph Petito, left, and Nichole Schmidt, right, listen to arguments by an attorney for Brian Laundrie's parents as he seeks to have a negligence lawsuit dismissed in court in Sarasota County, Florida on Wednesday, June 22, 2022. Petito and Schmidt claim in their lawsuit that the Laundrie's acted maliciously by not telling them where their daughter was and if she was alive.

NORTH PORT – Gabby Petito's mother responded with a tweet calling for justice after Brian Laundrie said he killed Petito to take away her pain in his released notebook. 

The Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino, released a copy of the notebook to Wink News on Friday. 

Laundrie disappeared on Sept. 14 after telling his parents he was headed to the Carlton Reserve, five days before Petito's body was found. His body was found on Oct. 20 after he committed suicide with a gun at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in North Port. His notebook was found in a dry bag near his body. 

In the released eight pages, Laundrie describes his regrets and gave a confession to Petito's murder. 

Brian Laundrie:What we know about his death

Related:Sarasota judge to rule in 2 weeks if lawsuit against Brian Laundrie's parents is dismissed

He said in the notebook that he killed her after Petito was suffering from extreme pain and cold after falling in a stream at the Teton Nation Forest in Wyoming. 

"I ended her life. I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made," Laundrie said in the notebook. "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." 

Petito's death was caused by strangulation, a Teton County Coroner ruled in October. 

Nichole Schmidt, Petito's mom, tweeted "Fed up." along with a photo on Monday after the release of Laundrie's notebook.

 "Narcissists rewrite history to escape accountability," the text in the photo said. 

Petito's parents filed a negligence lawsuit against Laundrie's parents on March 10. A circuit court judge will decide if the lawsuit will be dismissed or not.