Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Brian Laundrie shot himself in the head, coroner says

The finding in the Gabby Petito case is the latest twist in a true-crime saga that gripped the nation.

(CN) — Brian Laundrie, the 23-year-old sought in connection with the murder of his girlfriend Gabby Petito, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, a Florida medical examiner revealed Tuesday.

The Sarasota-based coroner said in a press release the cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was suicide.

Laundrie’s skeletal remains were found in a Florida nature preserve last month after a month-long search for the suspected murderer of Petito, who was found dead in Grand Teton National Park. A coroner later determined she was strangled to death.

The finding is the latest twist in a true-crime saga that gripped the nation, beginning with Laundrie and Petito embarking on a cross-country trip in July that was chronicled on social media.

After a traffic stop in August by Utah law enforcement, in which officers recorded a domestic dispute between the couple, Petito’s social media posts ended.

Body camera video shows Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito talking to an officer after police pulled over the van she was traveling in with her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie, near the entrance to Arches National Park in Utah on Aug. 12, 2021. Petito’s body was found at a national park in Wyoming after a cross-country trip with Laundrie. (The Moab Police Department via AP)

On Sept. 1, Laundrie returned to Florida without Petito. Days after Petito’s parents reported her missing on Sept. 11, Laundrie went for a hike in the Carlton Reserve, a swampy wooded area covering several thousand acres near Sarasota.

Laundrie was never charged in Petito’s death, but the FBI named him a person of interest. In addition, the agency issued an arrest warrant for him alleging the unauthorized use of a debit card between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1.

FBI and North Port police began searching a nature reserve near Sarasota soon after Laundrie’s parents reported him missing on Sept. 19, but the search was hampered by heavy rains and waist-deep water filled with alligators and snakes.

In late October, investigators found a backpack and notebook belonging to Laundrie next to human remains at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. The FBI’s Denver office said a comparison of dental records showed the remains belong to Laundrie.

The park had been closed to the public for several weeks until the discovery. That morning, Laundrie’s parents went to the park to look for their son along with the FBI and North Port police. The area where Laundrie’s remains and belongings were found was previously covered by water.

The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Follow @alexbpickett
Categories / Criminal, National

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...