As widely expected, authorities have announced that the body found in Grand Teton National Park over the weekend has been positively identified as 22-year-old Gabby Petito, who was last heard from in late August during a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.
According to the FBI’s Denver field office, Gabby died by homicide.
via People:
“The FBI and our partners remain dedicated to ensuring anyone responsible for or complicit in Ms. Petito’s death is held accountable for their actions,” Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said in the FBI’s tweet.
Schneider added that Laundrie is a person of interest, saying, “Anyone with information concerning Mr. Laundrie’s role in this matter or his current whereabouts should contact the FBI.”
Petito was reported missing on Sept. 11 — 10 days after Laundrie quietly returned to his parents’ Florida home without her — prompting a search through the Wyoming wilderness where authorities believe she was last seen.
During the search, unusual details about the case continued to emerge, turning one family’s nightmare into a nationwide demand for answers.
Soon after Petito’s disappearance first garnered attention, authorities in Utah revealed that a couple of weeks before her last conversation with family — while Petito and Laundrie were traveling through Moab — officers received a 911 call reporting a domestic dispute that involved the couple.
Officers located them and pulled their van over to investigate. Their emotional interaction with police, which ended with the couple being asked to separate for the night and get some space from one another, can be seen in body camera footage released to the public.
Once Petito was reported missing, Florida police tried interviewing Laundrie and his family, but allege that they refused to cooperate and instead directed authorities to their attorney, who instructed their clients not to talk.
On Sept. 17, the Laundrie family spoke with FBI for the first time — but instead of getting answers about Petito’s disappearance, investigators were informed that Laundrie himself had now gone missing. His parents said he hadn’t been home since he left for a hike on Sept. 14.
On Sunday, the FBI held a press conference, where they announced that human remains had been found in Grand Teton National Park that were “consistent with the description” of Petito.
Despite saying they would need to conduct a forensic analysis before confirming it was her, they offered their condolences to Petito’s family and asked that they be given space to mourn.
On Sept. 15, Petito’s father, Joseph, spoke with PEOPLE about his daughter, calling her a “free spirit” who would’ve gone to the 1969 Woodstock Festival if she could.
“She’s so artistic. She’s an amazing artist. She loves to draw. She has a great eye with decorating,” Joseph said. “She’s that flower child type of personality. The old soul, you know?”
Sad. They need to go ahead and arrest that boyfriend.
