SARASOTA, Fla. — Authorities released multiple documents related to the Brian Laundrie investigation, detailing the completed autopsy and the forensic investigation into the case.
The District Twelve Medical Examiner's Office earlier confirmed Laundrie, who the FBI said claimed responsibility for killing his fianceé, 22-year-old Gabby Petito, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Deputy Chief Medical Examiner Wilson Broussard Jr. wrote fracturing on Laundrie's skull "is consistent with gunshot wound trauma."
Petito was reported missing on Sept. 11, 2021, after setting out on a cross-country trip with Laundrie. Her disappearance captured the nation's attention when Laundrie returned home to North Port with the van but without her.
The 23-year-old Laundrie was reported missing on Sept. 17, 2021, after his parents said he went for a hike on Sept. 13 and never returned home. Detectives and FBI agents searched the vast Carlton Reserve area in Sarasota County for more than a month, looking in the only place they had seen a sign of Laundrie.
His parents, Roberta and Chris, helped search the reserve twice, each time with North Port police officers. On their second attempt on Oct. 20, Laundrie's father found a drybag and brought it to the officers. Authorities then say they found skeletal remains nearby, along with a notebook and other personal items.
The FBI positively identified Laundrie's remains a day after on Oct. 21.
Although it is not known how long exactly Laundrie had been dead, the medical examiner wrote many of his bones appeared to have "gouging and gnawing marks." Their presence indicates they were disturbed "with carnivores and/or omnivores including canines such as feral dogs and coyotes along with rodents and raccoons."
Search teams for weeks trekked through difficult swampland, with the medical examiner noting it was said that Laundrie's remains were found in an area that had previously been covered by up to or at least 3 feet of water.