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Topics: Gabby Petito, US News, Crime
Emily Brown
Topics: Gabby Petito, US News, Crime
A medical examiner has released the full autopsy and forensic reports for Brian Laundrie, whose remains were discovered in Florida following the death of missing woman Gabby Petito.
Police in the United States launched a weeks-long manhunt to find Laundrie after his fiancé, Petito, went missing in September while travelling with Laundrie and was later found dead in a remote part of Wyoming.
Laundrie was later thought to have gone to the vast Carlton Reserve park in Florida, and following weeks of searching by his parents. FBI dental records confirmed in October that his remains had been found.
The District Twelve Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Laundrie had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, while the FBI also revealed a notebook found near Laundrie's remains showed he claimed responsibility for Petito's death.
Now, a 47-page report reveals new details about the circumstances surrounding Laundrie's death, describing personal items found at the 'main' scene, which included a 'pair of green shorts with a green belt, two slip-on shoes, a backpack with unknown contents, a white metal ring', as well as a handgun, Fox 13 News reports.
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The 'secondary' scene contained skeletal animal remains, a 'half handwritten note' and a hat with the logo 'MOAB Coffee Roasters'.
Injury to Laundrie's skull and the presence of the handgun were determined to be 'consistent with a gunshot wound to the head', Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Wilson Broussard Jr. wrote in the report, which also revealed that his body was likely submerged in 'up to three feet and possibly more' of floodwater 'for an extended period of time'. This may be why it took investigators so long to find him.
The documents also revealed that there was evidence of carnivore and rodent scavenging at the scene, and as a result only Laundrie's skeleton remained. Investigators also found a dry bag 'approximately 250 feet southwest of the main area' which contained a journal and a wooden box holding a smaller notebook and photos, including at least one of Laundrie.
Petito was reported missing on September 11 after she and Laundrie set out on a cross-country trip in June. Her remains were found on September 19 on the edge of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, one of the places she and Laundrie had showed themselves visiting in social media posts.
Authorities revealed Petito's body had been there for about a month, and that she had died by strangulation in a homicide.
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