ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 14 (UPI) — A full autopsy report of Brian Laundrie’s death, released Monday, revealed new details of how the suspected killer of Gabby Petito died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The 47-page report issued by the Sarasota, Fla., Medical Examiner, and obtained by People Magazine and CNN, indicated his remains had been underwater for an extended period of time before being located in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, in North Port, Fla., on Oct. 20.
The medical examiner revealed in November that Laundrie, 23, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, but full autopsy results were not released until Monday.
Laundrie’s parents reported him missing Sept. 13, less than two weeks after he returned home from a road trip without his fiancée, Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, 22.
Searchers found Petito’s body Sept. 19 at Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming and determined she died of strangulation.
Investigators launched a weeks-long manhunt for Laundrie as a “person of interest” in Petito’s death and on federal charges of using someone else’s credit card.
According to the full autopsy report, Laundrie’s remains were skeletal and had been subjected to “extensive carnivore activity” from scavenging animals, with many of the bones displaying gnaw marks.
The body had been under “up to three feet and possibly more” of water for a long period before being discovered, while a snub-nose revolver and personal effects such as a hat with the logo “Moab Coffee Roasters,” several small notebooks and photos were found nearby, according to the report.
The FBI earlier revealed that Laundrie admitted to killing Petito in one of the notebooks.
“A review of the notebook revealed written statements by Mr. Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death,” the FBI said a statement.
