First appeared on FOX: Gabby Pettit tried to soothe Brian Landry in a previously unreleased letter released by the FBI this week, telling him to “stop crying” and appearing to make peace with the unknown issue.
The pages appear to have been written before the couple set off on their ill-fated road trip, and read: “We’re back from New York.”
“Brian, you know how much I love you, so (and I write this with love) please stop crying and stop yelling at me because we are a team,” Pettit wrote in the undated letter. “And I’m here for you. I will always be there for you.”
In two handwritten letters written by Pettit, 22, to Landry, 23, that were included in a 366-page document released by law enforcement in the case, Pettit apologized for being upset over a “silly piece of paper” and tried to console the man who would eventually kill her.
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Gabby Pettit, 22, of Long Island, New York, was reported missing by her family on Saturday, September 11, 2021, after she and her fiancé returned home alone after the pair went on a cross-country road trip in early July. Her body was subsequently discovered at a campsite in Wyoming, close to where she was last seen, following an FBI-led search. (Steve Pettit)
“It hurts because I love you,” Pettit wrote. “Your pain is what hurts me. I don’t mean to be negative, but I’m frustrated that there’s nothing more I can do.”
In his letter, Pettit was full of hope and ambition, vowing to achieve the couple’s shared dreams and repeating declarations of love, but also apologizing for unstated mistakes.
“I want you to know that if I’m feeling down it’s because you love me,” she wrote on page 2. “Now… stop crying! And come home and hug me and tell me you love me.”
Despite her words, the files reveal that the FBI quickly launched a kidnapping and murder investigation just days after Pettit was reported missing in September 2021.
Brian Landry’s parents acknowledged they were concerned about Gabby Pettit’s welfare when she called them days after the murder.
read Gabby Pettit’s notes To Brian Landry
The files also include photographs of personal items belonging to both Pettit and Landry, as well as internal FBI memos, warrant returns and police reports from local police departments across the country.
According to a search warrant affidavit from North Port, Florida, an unnamed person who was in near-daily contact with Pettit noted growing tensions between the couple.
Investigators also collected photographs of sketches Landry had made and diaries, one of which showed him musing about suicide and keeping a gun under his mattress.
Brian Landry is seen in body camera footage released by the Moab, Utah Police Department. (Moab Police Department)
Pettit was last seen in public leaving Jackson, Wyoming on August 27. Landry had been in the area for about three days before returning to her family’s home in North Port, Florida in her van, and the mystery of her disappearance quickly made headlines around the world.
According to unclassified documents, investigators already suspected Landry was responsible for her death before an FBI-led search discovered her body at a campground in Bridger-Teton National Forest where she had been staying with Landry.
“At the start of this incident, Landry would not speak to investigators about Pettit’s location,” investigators wrote on Sept. 15. “The writer is requesting that an investigation be opened into Pettit’s kidnapping and murder on federal property.”
The families of Pettit, Schmidt and Landry said they received no advance notice from the FBI before the documents were made public.
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Memorial to Gabby Pettit in Florida. (Michael Lewis/Fox News Digital)
Steve Bertolino, an attorney for Landry and his parents, said he saw some of the photos and documents when the FBI returned Landry’s belongings to the family, but other items, including internal FBI documents, were new to him.
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Gaby Petito poses in front of the mural. (Steve Pettit)
Last week, Pettit’s mother, Nicole Schmidt, said at a rally in Nashville that she had forgiven Landry.
“Brian, I speak for myself here: I forgive you,” she told a packed audience at CrimeCon 2024. “I needed to free myself from the chains of anger and resentment, and I refuse to let your despicable actions define the rest of my life.”
After Pettit’s death, her parents and parents-in-law established a foundation in her honor to combat domestic violence and raise awareness of missing persons.
Gaby Petito posed for an Instagram photo at Bryce Canyon National Park. (Gabby Pettit’s Family)
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They have lobbied for federal legislation, some of which became law with bipartisan support last year, as well as lethality assessment laws in Florida, Utah and New York.
Foundation Last year, he donated $100,000 to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
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If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233 (SAFE).
