What happened to Brian Laundrie? Story behind Netflix's American Murder boyfriend

Brian Laundrie's disappearance and subsequent death is also explored in the three-parter, which is now available to watch on Netflix, as the documentary takes "viewers on a journey through Gabby and Brian's final days together", featuring interviews from those closest to Petito.

Read on to learn more about what happened to Brian Laundrie in the case of Gabby Petito.

What happened to Brian Laundrie?

After returning to his family home in Florida and refusing to speak to law enforcement about Gabby Petito's disappearance, Brian Laundrie was reported missing on 17th September 2021 by his parents, who said that they had not seen him for four days.

Two days later, Petito's body was found.

On 23rd September 2021, an arrest warrant for Laundrie was issued after his unauthorised use of Petito's debit card.

Just over a month after his disappearance, Laundrie's skeletal remains and belongings - including a notebook - were found in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park.

Laundrie's cause of death was determined via an autopsy and in November 2021, a forensic anthropologist confirmed that Laundrie had died via a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Did Brian Laundrie murder Gabby Petito?

In January 2022, the FBI revealed that Laundrie's notebook contained an entry in which he admitted to killing Gabby Petito.

The FBI then closed the investigation and said: "The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito. The FBI's primary focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice to Gabby and her family."

In June of the same year, the lawyer for the Laundrie family released the contents of the notebook entry, in which Brian Laundrie claimed that he killed Petito to end her "pain" after she allegedly fell into a creek.

"I ended her life," he wrote. "I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but now I see all the mistake I made."

Medical and law enforcement experts have disputed Laundrie's version of events, while Petito's mother Nicole Schmidt told the TODAY show that she did not believe his claims.

"That was his character," Schmidt said. "Even in his last moments, he wanted to make sure he looked like the good guy. That’s ridiculous. We know how she died."

What have Brian Laundrie's family said about the Netflix documentary?

While Brian’s parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, are yet to publicly speak about the documentary, his sister Cassie has addressed a flood of hate comments on her Instagram.

Cassie, who has consistently denied any involvement or knowledge of Gabby’s death, captioned her most recent post confirming that she no longer speaks with her parents, writing: "If you’re new here. And just starting to attack me today. I’ve been non contact with my parents for almost two years. Have fun."

In the post, Cassie denied a report by Suffolk County detective Tracey Barry, who recalled a phone call she had with Cassie in 2021, in which she claimed Cassie had told police Brian had come back home after he and Gabby got into a fight.

Cassie wrote on Instagram: "No one from any family contacted me until detective Barry called me. Det. Barry gravely miscommunicated what I told her in the phone."

What was in the burn after reading letter sent to Brian Laundrie?

In the docuseries, part of a letter titled ‘burn after reading’ is shown to viewers, which was penned by Brian’s mother, Roberta Laundrie.

The letter in question was given to Gabby Petito’s parents ahead of a civil trial between them and Laundrie’s parents.

You can read the letter in full below:

"I just want you to remember I will always Love you and I know you will always Love me. You are my boy. Nothing can make me stop loving you, nothing will or could ever divide us. No matter what we do, or where we go or what we say- we will always Love each other.

"If you’re in jail I will bake a cake with a file in it. If you need to dispose of a body I will bring show up with a shovel and garbage bags. If you fly to the moon, I will be watching the skies for your re-entry. If you say you hate my guts, I’ll get new guts.

"Remember that love is a verb, not a noun. It’s not a thing, it’s not words, it is actions. Watch people’s actions to know if they love you — not their words.

"Therefore I am certain that neither death nor Life, nor angels nor the ruling spirits, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers from above, nor powers from below, nothing in the entire created world can separate our love. Neither hostile powers nor messengers of heaven nor monarchs of earth. Nothing has the power to separate us…

"Romans 8:38 (extended version!) (Nothing can separate us: not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not threats, not even sin, not the thinkable or unthinkable can get between us.) ~Not time. Not miles and miles and miles."

Brian's mother has denied that the letter was linked to Brian's crimes and said that she wrote it before his trip.

In a statement via her lawyer, she said: "I truly loved my son and simply wanted to convey to him how much he meant to me and how much I loved him.

"I am sure people use phrases all the time to express to their loved ones the depth of their love. Although I chose words that I thought would be impactful with Brian given our relationship, the letter was in no way related to Gabby."

Brian's parents were never charged in connection with Petito's death and have strongly denied any involvement.

American Murder: Gabby Petito is available to stream on Netflix now. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

Check out more of our Documentaries coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.