Gabby Petito's Cause of Death Revealed as Brian Laundrie Manhunt Wages On

Close to a month after YouTuber Gabby Petito was confirmed dead by homicide, authorities have publicly released more information about the 22-year-old's tragic passing.

By McKenna Aiello, Jess Cohen Oct 12, 2021 6:35 PMTags
Watch: Gabby Petito's Cause of Death Revealed

New details have emerged from the investigation into Gabby Petito's tragic passing.

During a Tuesday, Oct. 12 press conference, the Teton County Coroner's Office revealed the 22-year-old influencer's cause of death. According to officials, Petito died of strangulation. Her time of death is estimated to be three to four weeks before her body was found.

Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue also confirmed Petito was not pregnant. 

It was close to a month ago, on Sept. 21, that the FBI confirmed Petito's remains were found in Bridger-Teton National Forest. At the time, Petito's manner of death was confirmed to be homicide. 

The YouTube creator was first reported missing by her parents on Sept. 11 after her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, returned home to Florida alone following a cross-country road trip they took together. According to New York's Suffolk County Police Department, Petito's parents hadn't spoken to her since late August, when she was traveling with Laundrie in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. And although Laundrie—and the couple's campervan—made it back to his parents' residence in Florida, Petito did not.

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The FBI is currently searching for Laundrie, who was previously named a person of interest in the case—after he went missing from the North Port, Fla., home he and Petito shared with his parents, Christopher Laundrie and Roberta Laundrie. The Laundries have denied assisting their son in his disappearance. 

On Sept. 23, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Laundrie after a grand jury indictment stated he "knowingly and with intent to defraud, used one or more unauthorized access devices," referring to a debit card and bank account, between Aug. 30 and Sept. 1. 

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After Petito was remembered during a memorial service in Holbrook, New York on Sept. 26, her family participated in an emotional press conference,

"We're just hoping that through our tragedy losing Gabby, that in the future, some good can come out of it, that we can help other people who may be in a similar situation," Petito's stepfather, Jim Schmidt, told reporters. "What can we do to help people?"

Her father, Joseph Petito, added, "We need positive stuff to come through this tragedy that happened. We can't let her name be taken in vain. We need positive stuff."

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