Brian Laundrie, the sole suspect in the death of Long Island native Gabby Petito, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, a lawyer for the Laundrie family said Tuesday.
via: The Blast
“Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families,” Bertolino said.
His remains were discovered on October 21 along with a backpack and notebook in the a Florida nature reserve.
Up until now, it was not known the official cause of his death, but many law enforcement officials believed it to be suicide.
A day after his body was discovered, the FBI confirmed through dental records that the remains were in fact Brian’s.
The initial autopsy came back “inconclusive,” and his remains were sent to a forensic anthropologist to be analyzed, Bertolino has said.
He was the only person of interest in the disappearance and murder of Gabby Petito.
The couple set out on a cross-country National Parks road trip, but things turned sour between the couple in August.
After having almost daily contact with her parents, Gabby’s text messages and calls became few and far between toward the end of August.
Gabby’s parents reported her missing on September 11, just days after Brian returned to Florida without Gabby in their camper van.
Roberta and Chris Laundrie reported Brian missing on September 17, and the FBI set out on a weeks-long manhunt for the missing person.
Gabby’s remains were discovered in a Wyoming National Park on October 19 and confirmed to hers on October 21.
Her death was ruled a homicide by strangulation.
Since the tragic passing of Gabby, her parents have set out to help other parents and families with missing person cases.
The Petito/Schmidt families spoke to WFLA last week and revealed they’d like to set up an AMBER Alert system to help victims of domestic violence and missing persons.
Gabby’s family would love to create a form of AMBER Alert potentially called the “Gabby Alert” for missing persons ages 18-64.
Nicole Schmidt, Gabby’s mother, added that if a family knows their loved one is missing, the alert can help people start looking for them immediately.
“I want to make sure Gabby is looking down and saying ‘I’m Proud,’” Joe Petito said.
Must have been the guilty conscience.
