Gabby Petito begged the boyfriend who later killed her to stop berating her, according to a letter released by FBI shows

Gabby Petito, the 22 year old who was murdered by fiance Brian Laundrie wrote a letter in 2021 asking him to stop berating her and telling him she would “always have (his) back,” according to recently released FBI documents.

The letter is among more than 300 pages of documents related to the investigation. The handwritten letter is undated.

In the letter, Petito referenced an argument between the couple and alluded to the stressors Laundrie had experienced.

“You know how much I love you so (and I write this with love) please stop crying and stop cussing because we are a team and I am here with you,” Petito wrote in part. “I will always have your back. I just love you too much, so much that it hurts. So you in pain is the death of me. I’m not trying to be negative, but I’m frustrated that it’s not .” that’s all I can do.”

Petito and Laundrie, both from Florida, were on a cross-country trip that she documented on social media when she was killed in 2021. Petito last posted on social media on August 25 and became reported missing by her parents on September 11 after not hearing from her except for a few strange text messages. On September 15 Laundry was named as a person of interest in her disappearance. A arrest warrant was later issued.

Petito’s remains were found in Wyoming on September 19 and identified two days later. Her death was ruled on murder through strangulation.

It wasn’t until October 20 that Laundrie’s remains were found by the FBI in a Florida Reserve where they were looking for him. The FBI also found personal items, including a notebook he was in claimed responsibility before Petito’s death. The remains were identified the next dayand a month later Laundrie’s lawyer announced that he had died by suicide.

The Petito family and the Family Laundry working on one wrongful death lawsuit filed after authorities concluded Laundrie had strangled Petito. Petito’s family claimed as much Laundrie’s family knew their daughter was dead weeks before her remains were found, and they knew where her body was.

The Petito family received a $3 million settlement that their lawyer said would go to the Gabby Petito Foundation, which is dedicated to finding missing people and reducing domestic violence.