Gaby Petito news – latest: Family shares holiday tribute, saying ‘Live with love, laughter and gratitude’

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Brian Laundrie shot himself in head, family attorney confirms

The family of Gabby Petito have shared a number of Thanksgiving messages that pay tribute to the 22-year-old, more than two months after her remains were found in rural Wyoming by FBI investigators.

Her father, Joseph Petito, posted a moving Thanksgiving Day message to his daughter in which he said he missed his daughter, who “should be with us but now all we have are the pictures.”

Nichole Schmidt, her mother, also wrote: “Gabby will forever remind me to be grateful for every moment, every breath, and every memory. I will cherish what I’ve had, and have in the present, always. Live with love, laughter and gratitude”.

Both parents, as well as Ms Petito’s mother and stepfather, are founders of the non-profit Gabby Petito Foundation to help raise awareness and reunite families with their missing loved ones.

The touching Thanksgiving messages follow reports on Thursday that the whereabouts of the gun used in Brian Laundrie’s death remains unknown, days after a lawyer for the family revealed the results of an autopsy on the 23-year-old’s remains.

Mr Laundrie, who was the focus of a manhunt for more than a month as investigators searched for clues in the death of Ms Petito during their cross-country van trip together, was found to have shot himself in the head.

Key Points

• Brian Laundrie shot himself in the head, family attorney says
• Gabby Petito family waiting to see if others will be charged as Brian Laundrie lawyer reveals cause of death
• Brian Laundrie: Parents say they hope cause of death verdict ‘brings closure to both families’
• Florida police who lost Brian Laundrie charged 100k in overtime on the case

[24 November 2021 00:02 · Graeme Massie]

Florida police who lost Brian Laundrie charged 100k in overtime on the case

ICYMI: The months-long investigation by North Port police into the disappearances and deaths of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie allegedly cost more than $100,000 (£74,000) in overtime pay.

A spokesperson for the North Port Police Department said on Monday that although it did not track how much it was spending on its investigations, the cost of paying overtime was over $100,000 (£74,000).

Gino Spocchia has the story.

[24 November 2021 01:03 · Graeme Massie]

Timeline of events in Petito-Laundrie case

ICYMI: Timeline of events in Petito-Laundrie case

2 July – Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie leave New York for van-life road trip.

12 August – The couple is seen arguing in Moab City, Utah. Concerned bystanders call the police, who intervene, capturing the altercation on video on the officers’ body camera. One officer describes the incident as a “mental health crisis”.

17 August – Laundrie flies from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Tampa, Florida, alone, to collect some items and close a storage unit as the couple allegedly contemplates extending their road trip.

23 August – Laundrie returns to Salt Lake City to rejoin Petito.

24 August – Petito spotted checking out of a hotel in Salt Lake City with Laundrie.

25 August – Petito has a video call with her mother.

27 August – Louisiana couple see Petito and Laundrie involved in a “commotion” at the Merry Piglets Tex-Mex restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming. Last known sighting of Petito.

30 August – last text messages sent from Petito’s phone.

1 September – Laundrie returns to North Port, Florida, where the couple lived, without Gabby.

11 September – Petito’s family launch missing person’s investigation

14 September – Police declare Laundrie a “person of interest” in the case.

17 September – Laundrie’s family call investigators to their home, admit Brian has been missing since 14 September.

19 September – FBI announce that a body has been discovered in Wyoming, believed to be Petito.

20 September – FBI search the Laundrie home, declared it a crime scene.

21 September – Petito family attorney confirms that the body found in Wyoming is Gabby. FBI confirm her death to be a homicide.

23 September – FBI issue federal arrest warrant for Brian Laundrie, related to “activities following the death of Gabby”.

12 October – Teton County Coroner announces Petito’s cause of death was strangulation.

20 October – Human remains discovered in Florida’s Carlton Reserve, alongside personal items that belonged to Laundrie.

21 October – FBI match Laundrie’s dental records to human remains found in the Carlton Reserve.

23 November - Autopsy results confirm Brian Laundrie died from self-inflicted gunshot wound to head and verdict of suicide recorded.

[24 November 2021 02:05 · Graeme Massie]

Gabby Petito family waiting to see if others will be charged as Brian Laundrie lawyer reveals cause of death

ICYMI: The family of Gabby Petito has said it is waiting to see if other individuals are charged over their daughter’s murder, after it was reported the suspect in her death had shot himself in the head.

Andrew Buncombe has the story.

[24 November 2021 03:04 · Graeme Massie]

Brian Laundrie shot himself in the head, family attorney says

ICYMI: Brian Laundrie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, family attorney Steven Bertolino has revealed.

Bevan Hurley has the story.

[24 November 2021 04:01 · Graeme Massie]

Brian Laundrie death: No gun recovered amid reports firearm belonging to family is missing

ICYMI: A forensic anthropologist has ruled that Brian Laundrie‘s cause of death was suicide by way of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Laundrie is the only person of interest in the death of his fiancee, Gabby Petito. Ms Petito’s remains were found in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest in September, her death ruled a homicide by manual strangulation. Laundrie’s skeletal remains were found about a month later in Florida’s Carlton Reserve. A medical examiner sent the remains to a forensic anthropologist after a cause of death could not be determined.

Graig Graziosi has the story.

[24 November 2021 04:55 · Graeme Massie]

The little-known reporter who broke the biggest story in America

ICYMI: The journalist who became the most trusted source of information in the Petito-Laundrie story says the truth will eventually come out.

“I think the FBI knows a lot of those questions and they will be resolved,” he told Bevan Hurley.

[24 November 2021 06:36 · Namita Singh]

Brian Laundrie autopsy report not yet released in full

While the medical examiner has confirmed a gunshot wound to the head was the cause of Brian Laundrie’s death, officials have said that they will not be releasing the full report until the criminal investigation into the case is “complete”.

The press release from the District Twelve Medical Examiner’s office said that they are doing this “in accordance with Florida Statutes and at the request of Federal Bureau of Investigation”.

The District Twelve Medical Examiner’s office, which covers Sarasota County, Florida, said in a statement that the determination on cause and manner of death had been made through a complete examination of skeletal remains, DNA analysis, as well as consultations with a forensic odonatologist, including dental comparison for identification, and a forensic anthropologist, including skeletal reconstruction.

[24 November 2021 07:05 · Namita Singh]

Questions remain over gun that killed Laundrie

As the medical examiners ruled Brian Laundrie’s cause of death to be suicide by way of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, the lack of public information about the recovery of any weapon from the swamp where Laundrie’s remains were found has provoked many questions among followers of the case online.

“If Brian Laundrie shot himself, what happened to the gun? Don’t remember them saying they found one,” said Jack Posobiec, a senior editor at Human Events, a conservative American newspaper.

“All of us trying to figure out how Brian Laundrie killed himself with a gun that was never found,” wrote another user.

While the FBI issued a statement the day after it announced the recovery of skeleton remains from Carlton Reserve, it did not indicate locating a firearm. The agency, however, also has no obligation to reveal any of its findings to the public during an ongoing investigation.

[24 November 2021 08:43 · Chiara Giordano]

Brian Laundrie only person ever identified as person of interest in Gabby Petito’s death

The investigation into Gabby Petito's murder has not yet concluded, however Brian Laundrie was the only person ever identified by law enforcement officials as a person of interest in the case.

Ms Petito's family reported the 22-year-old missing on 11 September, prompting a search that garnered worldwide media attention and, in Laundrie's case, focused largely on the Carlton Reserve wilderness park near the Laundrie home.

It is a densely wooded, swampy area that's home to alligators, coyotes, bobcats, snakes and numerous other creatures.

Ms Petito's remains were discovered on 19 September on the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, one of the places the young couple had visited on the trip they documented through social media videos. Authorities said the body had been there for about a month.

An autopsy in Wyoming concluded the travel blogger died by strangulation and that it was a homicide.

Laundrie was listed as a “person of interest” in her killing but he was charged only with fraudulent use of a debit card that was not his.

[24 November 2021 12:06 · Charlene Rodrigues]

ICYMI: Who is Gabby Petito? ‘Sweet’ waitress whose dream of influencer fame ended in tragedy

Gabby Petito, 22, was an aspiring social media star who went missing in late August during a cross-country road trip from New York to Oregon with her fiancé. Her body was later found in Wyoming, where the couple had been travelling.

Sheila Flynn has more.