Brian Laundrie died by suicide, family’s lawyer said

Brian Laundrie died by suicide, according to the attorney representing his family.

Laundrie, 23, was a person of interest in the death of his fiancee 22-year-old Gabby Petito.

“Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was suicide,” said the Laundrie attorney Steven Bertolino.

Bertolino said one gun was missing when Laundrie’s parents handed over their guns to investigators.

According to a news release by the District Twelve Medical Examiner’s Office, the cause of death was determined by examining the skeletal remains and with consultation with a forensic odontologist and forensic anthropologist. Investigators also identified the remains through DNA testing.

Petito’s family declined to comment “due to the request of the United States Attorney’s Office and the Teton County Prosecutor’s Office.”

“The family was also asked to wait for the United States Attorney’s Office to make a determination on whether any additional individuals will be charged,” according to the statement.

WINK News Safety and Security Specialist Rich Kolko said U.S. laws don’t allow dead people to be charged with crimes.

“But that doesn’t stop district attorneys, U.S. attorneys, grand juries from doing final reports. So it’s likely they’ll task the investigators from the FBI for local law enforcement to provide a summary report for what they learned throughout their investigative period,” Kolko said.

https://winknews.com/wp-content/uploads/Schmidt-and-Petito-Statement-November-23-2021.pdf

Laundrie returned home on Sept. 1 after going on a cross-country trip with Petito in a converted camper van. He returned to his parents’ home in North Port without Petito.

Petito was reported missing on Sept. 11 after her family failed to get in contact with her.

Her remains were found in Grand Teton National Park on Sept. 19. Investigators determined she was killed by manual strangulation and named Laundrie a person of interest.

Laundrie was also wanted for misusing Petito’s bank card after her death.

Laundrie was last seen on Sept. 13 after his parents said he went for a hike in the 24,000-acre Carlton Reserve in Sarasota.