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Gabby Pettit’s parents are currently A letter written by Brian Landry’s mother It included a mention of obtaining a shovel and burying the body.
In a courtroom in Sarasota County, Fla., on Wednesday, lawyers from both sides squabbled over whether the letter was related to a lawsuit filed by Gabby Pettit’s parents against Landry’s parents. And Landry’s former attorney.
The envelope containing the undated letter, which read “Burn it after reading”, was recovered from Brian Landry’s backpack when his body was found in October 2021.
“As we all know, the letter refers to burying the bodies with a shovel,” Petit family attorney Patrick Riley said in court Wednesday. “By the way, what Roberta Landry said he would commit was a criminal act.”
The Petites sued Laundry for emotional distress related to Gabby Petit’s death while traveling in the western United States with her fiancé, Brian Landry. Landry returned home from his trip without Petite and disappeared weeks later.
Gaby Petit’s body was found in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest in September 2021, and her death was ruled a homicide by manual strangulation. Brian Landry wrote before taking his own life: Note he was responsible for her death, according to the FBI. His body was found the following month at a reserve not far from his parents’ home in Northport, Florida.
Lawyers for Brian Landry’s parents fought to keep the letter from handing over, claiming it had nothing to do with the civil lawsuit filed by Petite’s parents.
In an affidavit filed before the hearing, Roberta Landry said she didn’t know the exact date of the letter, but said she was trying to mend her relationship with her son before Brian left for a trip with Gabby Petito. I wrote it in the hope that it would be helpful.
After lengthy courtroom exchanges on Wednesday, the parties agreed that no secrecy order would be required to seal the letter once the 12th Judicial Circuit concludes. Judge Daniel Brewer The letter may be relevant to the case, and plaintiffs’ attorneys determined that at least a copy should be obtained.
“Your Excellency, at this time, I think we probably do not agree to a non-disclosure agreement on this matter, simply because Mr. Riley has put two perhaps the worst parts of the letter on record in open court. , I mean, Landry’s attorney P. Matthew Luca said Wednesday:
However, it is unclear whether the letter will be made public.
Riley told CNN that he will consult with Petite’s parents to decide whether to release it to the press.
CNN also reached out to Luca but did not receive an immediate response.
The lawsuit alleges that Roberta and Christopher Landry deliberately inflicted emotional distress while Gabby was missing. The couple were so desperate to find her daughter that they refused to return calls or emails to the Petites.
The Landrys have argued in court filings that they have no obligations to Petit’s family.
At the beginning of a multi-hour hearing, lawyers for Landry’s and former attorney Steven Bertolino, who is also the named defendant in the lawsuit, argued for a motion to dismiss the civil lawsuit. The judge said he would rule the motion to dismiss with a written order placed in the case file.
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