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Release Of Brian Laundrie’s Autopsy Report Reveals New Details In His Death
Brian Laundrie, the boyfriend of murdered woman Gabby Petito, was discovered in a gator-infested reserve not far from his Florida home.
The official autopsy report for Brian Laundrie has been released to the public four months after authorities found his skeletal remains in a Florida Reserve.
The 47-page report was released on Monday after months of unanswered questions following the discovery of the 23-year-old’s body, as posted by ABC affiliate WWSB. An attorney representing the Laundrie family stated Brian Laundrie died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound — as confirmed in the autopsy report — while the FBI announced Laundrie claimed responsibility for his girlfriend’s murder in a notebook found near his body.
Laundrie was the only person named as a person of interest in Gabby Petito’s August 2021 disappearance before she was found strangled to death on Sept. 19 in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming. A massive search for Laundrie followed, focusing on the gator-infested Carlton Reserve near his home in North Port, Florida, where his parents last saw him in Mid-September.
Laundrie was found just north of the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, according to the autopsy report, near “trees and overgrown vegetation that had total exposure to the outside elements.”
According to the findings, authorities found Laundrie’s bones (including his jaw, teeth, and parts of his skull) not far from his personal effects, which included green shorts, slip-on shoes, and a white metal ring. About 20 feet away, authorities found Laundrie’s camping gear in a green backpack, including a tent and flares. A "handwritten half-note" and a red hat with a “Moab Coffee Roasters” logo on it were also located in a grassy area nearby.
Moab, Utah was where witnesses saw Laundry and Petito arguing weeks before Petito’s disappearance.
Authorities noted they'd found a wooden box near Laundrie's body, which contained a small notebook and photographs. The notebook’s contents were not released.
A gun found in the reserve supported the medical examiner's findings that Laundrie took his own life.
“Based upon the markings and appearance, the firearm was a Windicator revolver,” the report stated. “The cylinder contained two live rounds and one spent round of ammunition."
After several searches over the course of two days, “the vast majority of the skeleton” was recovered, according to the autopsy report.
“The scene is consistent with skeletal remains of a single individual that appear constant with a moderately young male,” wrote Deputy Chief Examiner Wilson Broussard. “The cranial fragmentation and presence of a handgun are consistent with a gunshot injury of the head.”
Laundrie’s bones and their condition are listed in detail in the postmortem report and had sustained “moderate to extensive” signs that the body attracted animals. The medical examiner noted “multiple gouging and gnawing marks … consistent with carnivores and/or omnivores including canines such as feral dogs and coyotes along with rodents and raccoons.”
On Nov. 9, 2021, examiners reconstructed the 27 parts of Laundrie’s skull recovered from the scene. The fragments created a “clear picture” supporting their findings that Laundrie died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound that entered the left side of his head and exited the right side.
A later toxicology report detected no drugs in Laundrie’s system at the time of his death.
Photos of the scene where Laundrie’s body was found and from the postpartum examination were redacted from the report.
Last month, Brian Laundrie’s parents hoped to reclaim the notebook found near Laundrie’s body, according to News Channel 8. It’s not clear if the contents of the notebook will be released.
