Coroner: Petito died by strangulation 3 to 4 weeks before body was found
Search continues for suspect boyfriend
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Crosscountry traveler Gabby Petito was strangled, a Wyoming coroner announced Tuesday.
Petito, 22, died three to four weeks before her body was found Sept. 19 near an undeveloped camping area along the border of Grand Teton National Park in remote northern Wyoming, Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said in a news conference.
It wasn’t clear if the determination might lead to additional charges against Petito’s boyfriend and traveling partner, Brian Laundrie, who is considered a person of interest in her disappearance and remains unaccounted for.
Blue declined to say more about the autopsy, or the case overall, saying he was prevented by Wyoming law that limits what coroners can release.
Petito had been on a crosscountry trip with Laundrie, visiting Colorado, Utah and other states. She was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents after she did not respond to calls and texts for several days while the couple visited national parks in the West.
Blue previously classified Petito’s death as a homicide — meaning her death was caused by another person — but had not disclosed how she was killed pending further autopsy results.
A “detailed analysis” led to his conclusion Petito was strangled, Blue said.
“Nothing is obvious in a case like this,” he said.
Blue said little more about Petito’s physical condition — including whether she may have been strangled directly by somebody’s hands, a rope or some other item — but noted when asked that she wasn’t pregnant.
The three to four weeks her body was believed to be in the wilderness, however, put her death around the Aug. 27-30 period during which investigators believe Petito and Laundrie had traveled to the area.
Petito’s case has led to renewed calls for people to pay greater attention to cases involving missing Indigenous women and other people of color, with some commentators describing the intense coverage of her disappearance as “missing white woman syndrome.”
The search for Laundrie has generated a frenzy, with such TV personalities as Duane Chapman — known as Dog the Bounty Hunter — and longtime “America’s Most Wanted” host John Walsh working to track him down.
Petito and Laundrie posted online about their trip in a white Ford Transit van converted into a camper. They got into a physical altercation Aug. 12 in Moab, Utah, that led to a police stop, which ended with police deciding to separate the quarreling couple for the night. No charges were filed and no serious injuries were reported.
Investigators have searched for Laundrie in Florida and also searched his parents’ home in North Port, about 35 miles south of Sarasota.
“At this time, Brian is still missing,” attorney for the Laundrie family Steven Bertolino said.