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Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito’s cause of death was determined to be strangulation, authorities announced during a press conference with Teton County, Wyoming Coroner Dr. Brent Blue Tuesday, October 12th.
Due to Wyoming law, Blue said he was able to provide any details beyond the cause and manner of death, including how he came to his conclusions. “Autopsy findings, photographs and that sort of material is not released by state statute,” he said.
Blue said Petito’s remains have been returned to the mortuary in Jackson, Wyoming and the mortuary is currently figuring out how to return the remains to Petito’s family. He did not offer a specific time or date for Petito’s death, but estimated that she died about three to four weeks before her body was found.
In response to a question from a reporter at KHOL, a community radio station in Jackson Hole, Blue addressed the nationwide media attention Petito’s case has garnered: “Well it was quite the media circus and continues to be,” he said. “Unfortunately, this is only one of many deaths around the country of people who are involved in domestic violence. It’s unfortunate that these other deaths don’t get as much coverage as this one. I’m assuming that because the deceased was a blogger that this one received more coverage than others, but there are a lot of both men and women who have lost their lives, who aren’t covered with this kind of media attention.”
The press conference was held several weeks after the coroner confirmed that remains found on September 19th in Grand Teton National Park did belong to Petito. At the time, Coroner Blue determined the manner of death was a homicide, but was unable to offer any additional details.
Petito was reported missing on September 11th, disappearing two months into a what was supposed to be a four-month cross-country trip with her fiancé Brian Laundrie. Laundrie had returned to Florida at the beginning of September without Petito, but with her van. Petito’s family filed the missing person report after failing to get an answer about her whereabouts from Laundrie.
Laundrie then lawyered up and refused to speak with police. On September 17th, Laundrie’s parents allowed investigators Tinto their home in North Port, Florida. At that point, the Laundriees revealed that they had not seen their son in three days. The FBI is still searching for Laundrie, who is considered a person of interest and is wanted on a warrant for debit card fraud committed after Petito’s death.
A month before Petito’s disappearance, a police report as filed after Petito and Laundrie got into a fight in Moab, Utah. A person called the police about “some sort of altercation” outside a shop, and while officers pulled them over in their van, they decided the incident had been more of a “mental/emotional health ‘break’ than a domestic assault.” Neither Petito nor Laundrie wanted to file charges against the other, but police still separated them for a night, sending Laundrie to a hotel and leaving Petito with the van.
