When Brian Laundrie returned to Florida from his cross-country road trip without his fiancée Gabby Petito, a national search was begun. In September 2021, Petito's remains were discovered in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. In October of the same year the body of Laundrie was found in Florida. He died by suicide and left behind a confession to the murder of Petito.
In June 2024, the FBI released hundred of documents that were evidence in Petito's murder case. Among the documents were letters written by Petito to Laundrie. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Ziv Cohen reviewed the correspondence. He believes it offers insights into their toxic relationship.
In December 2020, Petito and Laundrie got a new van for their future road trips. In July of the following year, they set off. Being on the road might have revealed cracks in their relationship, according to Dr. Cohen. "Being alone and isolated for an extended period can really exacerbate the conflict in the relationship," he stated.
In the first of the two undated letters, Petito urges Laundrie to change his ways. "You know how much I love you," she began. "Just please stop crying and stop calling me names because we’re a team and I’m here with you."
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Another letter expresses similar sentiments. "So I hope you understand that I when I am upset it’s cause I love you too much," she wrote. "Now stop crying!!!"
Dr. Cohen shared his insights into the letters with People. "I don't think that there is anything in these letters that is a smoking gun, obviously we have much stronger evidence like when the police stopped them for a bona fide domestic violence incident," he stated. "But this seems like a confirmatory piece of evidence."
Dr. Cohen believes the letters show that Petito was struggling to process and share her feelings about her relationship. "It's the kind of thing we encourage in therapy," Dr. Cohen shared. "Sometimes when you can't put things into words directly to the person, we encourage them to write it down." Dr. Cohen did not treat either Laundrie or Petito.
Dr. Cohen did not want to offer an official diagnosis because he never interacted with Petito or Laundrie. He can't comment on whether Laundrie's behavior after receiving the letters was manipulative, because we simply don't know how he responded. Dr. Cohen did feel comfortable saying that the letters showed signs of co-dependency and that Petito was not completely happy.
"Sadly we'll never know exactly what was going on in this relationship," he concluded.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Abuse Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women's shelter domesticshelters.org.
