Brian Laundrie Died From Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound To The Head, Says Attorney

Brian Laundrie died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to an attorney representing the Laundrie family.

The partial skeletal remains of Laundrie, 23, were found with his backpack, notebook, and other personal belongings in the Mary T. Carlton Jr Memorial Reserve and the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida on Oct. 20, 2021, as previously reported. Laundrie had been named a person of interest in the disappearance of his fiancée, Gabby Petito, who vanished during a cross-country trip she and Laundrie had embarked on over the summer and was later found dead in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest.

The Laundries’ family attorney, Steven Bertolino, stated a forensic anthropologist told him Brian Laundrie died by suicide.

“Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was suicide,” Bertolino texted WFLA News reporters. “Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families.”

Bertolino stated Laundrie’s remains were sent to an anthropologist when medical examiners could not determine a cause of death, according to WFLA. The remains included “a portion of a human skull, badly decomposed.”

Brian Laundrie Photo: Instagram

The FBI used dental records to confirm Laundrie’s identity.

Laundrie was named the only person of interest in Petito's disappearance after returning to his family’s Florida home without her. In a case that captivated the nation, Petito frequently posted on Youtube about their adventures as they traveled across the country in a van before Petito’s family reported her missing on Sept. 11, 2021.

Petito’s body was found on Sept. 19. The Teton County coroner announced Petito died by strangulation.

“The body was in the wilderness for three to four weeks,” said the coroner, Dr. Brent Blue.

On Sept. 22, a federal warrant was issued for Brian Laundrie after a grand jury indicted him for the unauthorized use of a credit card. Although authorities named Laundrie as a person of interest, Laundrie was never charged with Petito’s murder.

Laundrie’s family told police that they hadn’t seen him since Sept. 14, eliciting a massive search around acres of gator-infested wilderness in Florida where Laundrie was last known to be traveling.

The search for Brian Laundrie ended after weeks of leads and false sightings. Authorities have not yet released the contents of his personal belongings found with his remains.