It’s been nearly one month since Gabby Petito was found dead near the campsite she and her fiancé Brian Laundrie were last seen. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Petito was officially reported missing on September 11, nearly two weeks after the last time her parents verbally spoke with her.
At the time of her death, Petito and Laundrie were traveling the country in a white Ford van which they modified for this specific vacation. The couple had dreams of becoming part of the #VanLife community.
However, the trip ended in tragedy. And the only person of interest in the case, Brian Laundrie, has also disappeared.
RELATED: New Bodycam Footage of the Domestic Call Involving Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie Revealed
Eight days after her parents reported her missing, Gabby Petito’s lifeless body was discovered on September 19. During the preliminary autopsy report, DNA confirmed the body belonged to the 22-year-old and that her death was ruled a homicide.
What Happened to Gabby Petito?
No other information regarding her cause of death was revealed. Now that has all changed.
In a statement just issued by the Teton County Coroner, Petito died as a result of strangulation according to Dr. Brent Blue. Her time of death has been revealed as four to five weeks from when her body was found. No other information will be released. The coroner further stated that she was not pregnant.
Update: As of October 12 at 3 EST, the Laundrie family’s lawyer just issued this statement:
“Gabby Petito’s death at such a young age is a tragedy. While Brian Laundrie is currently charged with the unauthorized use of a debit card belonging to Gabby, Brian is only considered a person of interest in relation to Gabby Petito’s demise. At this time Brian is still missing and when he is located we will address the pending fraud charge against him.”
Dr. Blue did mention that this “was many of the cases involving domestic abuse” during his press conference, seemingly revealing that Petito’s cause of death could have been because of that. However, he was adamant that he would not be speculating if Brian Laundrie is at fault.
As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie began what was supposed to be a four-month-long vacation together traveling across the United States in July. Prior to their trip, the couple lived in Florida together at Laundrie’s parents’ house.
During their trip, Petito and Laundrie were pulled over and questioned by police officers after a witness called 911 to report a domestic dispute. The 911 caller said that he saw Laundrie slapping Petito before they drove off in their van.
During police questioning, Petito told police that she had recently quit her job as a nutritionist to pursue traveling as a full-time gig. Petito and Laundrie were reportedly working together to start a traveling blog. However, Petito also told police that Laundrie didn’t often support her dreams of creating a successful blog.
During their recent domestic travels, which began on July 2, the couple used their social media pages to document their travels. They even began a YouTube page as well.
The page only has one video posted to it. That video was posted while Laundrie was reportedly back in Florida.
During an interview with Laundrie’s sister Cassie, Cassie told cameras that her brother flew home from Utah just days after they were stopped by police. He then returned to Utah to meet back up with Petito.
It’s unclear exactly when Petito went missing. However, the last verbal communication her family had with her was on August 25, when Petito called her mom to tell her what she and Brian were up to.
It was when Laundrie returned back to Florida on September 1 in the white Ford van and without Petito with him that questions began to arise. Two days after police officially named Gabby Petito a missing person, Laundrie left his parents’ home completely undetected on September 13. Law enforcement is still trying to locate him.
Mamas Uncut is THE online place for moms. We cover the latest about motherhood, parenting, and entertainment as well – all with a mom-focused twist. So if you're looking for parenting advice from real parents, we have plenty of it, all for moms from moms, and also experts. Because, at the end of the day, our mission is focused solely on empowering moms and moms-to-be with the knowledge and answers they’re looking for in one safe space.