Brian Laundrie shot himself in the head, according to authorities. He was discovered dead in a Florida swamp last month.
Investigators had been searching for clues in the death of Laundrie’s girlfriend, Gabby Petito, during their cross-country van trip together for more than a month.
The cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head. The manner of death was suicide, according to the medical examiner in Sarasota County, where they found Laundrie’s body.
The family knew the autopsy results, according to attorney Steve Bertolino, who represents Laundrie’s parents.
“Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families,” Bertolino said.
Laundrie’s skeletal remains were in a Florida nature preserve last month and its identification was positive using dental data.
The officials discovered the remains following a huge search involving federal, state, and local law enforcement. It began shortly after Laundrie went missing on Sept. 14, two weeks after returning alone to his parent’s house in North Port, Florida.
However, the investigation concerning Petito’s death is still ongoing. However, only Laundrie was a person of interest in the case by law authorities.
Brian Laundrie: Person of interest
Petito’s family reported the 22-year-old lady missing on Sept. 11. It sparked a worldwide search that, in Laundrie’s case. It centered primarily on the Carlton Reserve wilderness park near her home. Alligators, coyotes, bobcats, snakes, and a variety of other critters live in this densely wooded, marshy environment.
Officials found Petito’s body on the outskirts of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming on Sept. 19, one of the areas the young couple visited on their journey, which they recorded with social media recordings. The body had been there for almost a month, according to authorities.
Petito died by strangulation and was a homicide, according to an autopsy performed in Wyoming. Laundrie was a “person of interest” in her death. But he only faced charges for unauthorized use of a debit card that was not his. But now, officials confirm that Brian Laundrie shot himself fatally in the head.
Petito’s attorney, Richard Stafford, said the family would have no immediate comment on Laundrie’s cause of death.