Photo of Gabby Petito and Brain Laundrie in a tent outside of Capitol Reef National Park in south-central Utah. Screengrab from video on Petito and Laundrie's Nomadic Statik Youtube Channel released 08/19/2021
DENVER — The FBI says it’s close to closing the murder investigation of Gabby Petito after her fiancé claimed responsibility for her death before he died.
“All logical investigative steps have been concluded in this case,” said FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider. “The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito.”
The FBI’s Denver office reports Laundrie claimed responsibility for Petito’s murder in writing in the notebook found with his remains in Florida about a month after Petito’s body was found in Wyoming. Laundrie was the only person of interest ever announced in the case.
The FBI began investigating the case in mid-September of 2021 when Petito’s family reported her missing. Her body was found and positively identified 10 days later.
The couple traveled through Utah in a van lifer trip they documented on social media. That includes a traffic stop in Moab, after a passer-by called police to report seeing Laundrie hit Petito.
A new timeline from the FBI confirmed Laundrie used Petito’s debit card on his way to Florida from Wyoming. They also found Laundrie used Petito’s phone to send messages to himself after her death in an apparent attempt to deceive police.
The Teton County Coroner’s Office subsequently concluded Ms. Petito died of “blunt-force injuries to the head and neck, with manual strangulation.”
Laundrie died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.