TAMPA, Fla. (1010 WINS) -- Brian Laundrie’s confession to killing his fiancé -- 22-year-old Long Island native Gabby Petito -- written in a notebook that was found by his body after he took his own life in a Florida swamp has been made public for the first time.
"I ended her life," Laundrie, 23, wrote in a notebook obtained by Fox News of Petito. "I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked. I was in shock."
In the note, Laundrie said he was trying to end Petito’s suffering after she fell and injured herself in Wyoming.
"From the moment I decided, took away her pain, I knew I couldn't go on without her," he wrote.
He also beseeched the public not to harass his family.
"Please do not make life harder for my family," he said. "They lost a son and a daughter. The most wonderful girl in the world. Gabby I'm sorry."
Petito and Laundrie were traveling cross-country in a van when she was reported missing in September.
The FBI discovered her remains at a Wyoming national park and launched a manhunt for Laundrie, who was a person of interest in the investigation.
A month later, Laundrie was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in Florida.
The FBI recovered the notebook that included Laundrie’s confession from Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park near his body.
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