Cross-country traveller Gabby Petito was strangled to death, a Wyoming coroner announced Tuesday.
Gabby Petito, 22, died three to four weeks before her body was found on Sept. 19. She was found near an undeveloped camping area along the border of Grand Teton National Park in remote northern Wyoming.
In particular, the cause of death was “manual strangulation/throttling,” according to the coroner’s verdict, a legal document Blue filed on October 5 with the Teton County Clerk of District Court. During the news conference, Blue said the cause of death was strangulation but did not go into specifics.
“After a detailed investigation by our forensic pathologist, our anthropologist and local law enforcement, with assistance from the FBI, the Teton County Coroner Office is filing the following verdict in the death of Gabrielle Venora Petito. We hereby find the cause and manner of death to be: the cause, death by strangulation, and manner is homicide,” he said.
It wasn’t clear if the determination might lead to additional charges against Petito’s boyfriend and travelling partner, Brian Laundrie, who is considered a person of interest in her disappearance and remains unaccounted for.
FBI agents take away evidence from the family home of Brian Laundrie. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
Authorities have been scouring the 24,565-acre Carlton Reserve for Laundrie ever since. There have also been unconfirmed sightings of Laundrie along the Appalachian Trail, in Canada and in Mexico.
Petito’s family has issued public pleas for Laundrie’s parents to cooperate with authorities. Police say the Laundries initially did not share “any helpful details” in the search for Petito.
Petito and Laundrie posted online about their trip in a white Ford Transit van converted into a camper. They got into a physical altercation on Aug. 12 in Moab, Utah. That led to a police stop, which ended with police deciding to separate the quarrelling couple for the night. No charges were filed, and no serious injuries were reported.
Published by HOLR Magazine