Brian Laundrie took his own life.
That’s according to the Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino, who released a statement saying that the family was informed that the cause of Brian’s death was a gunshot wound to the head, and that the manner of death was suicide:
BREAKING: “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. Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families.”
— Josh Benson (@WFLAJosh) November 23, 2021
Brian Laundrie is, of course, the main suspect in the disappearance of his fianceé Gabby Petito, who went missing while the couple was on a cross-country road trip. Her body was later found in Grand Teton National Forest, and her death was ruled a strangulation.
After returning to his home in Florida, Laundrie seemingly disappeared, setting off a nationwide manhunt (one that included Dog the Bounty Hunter) but one that focused on the Carlton Reserve in Florida.
Then last month, authorities located his body in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park after his parents went searching for Laundrie and found a bag and a notebook that they believed to belong to their son.
This obviously led to conspiracy theories that Laundrie’s parents were somehow involved, or that they had killed their own son and had known where the body was located all along.
But apparently the part of the preserve where Laundrie’s body was located had been under water in the prior weeks to the discovery of his body, and although it had been searched previously, only when the water receded was the body able to be discovered.
Investigators suspect that his body had been underwater for “weeks” when it was found.
Police admitted to potentially botching the search for Laundrie from the start, losing track of Brian when they mistook his mother Roberta for the fugitive while they were watching the Laundrie home.
After the discovery of his remains, investigators suspected from the beginning that Laundrie had taken his own life after entering the nature preserve, although initial autopsy results were inconclusive due to the decomposition of the remains.
The Sarasota County, Florida Sheriff says Brian Laundrie “by all accounts probably committed suicide and he was right out there where we thought he was.”
And the North Port Police chief says Laundrie was "presumably" already dead when they became the lead on the case. pic.twitter.com/Q5nc5Rkcea— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) November 2, 2021
And after today’s announcement, it looks like they at least got that much right – but the question remains, what happened to the gun?
All of us trying to figure out how Brian Laundrie killed himself with a gun that was never found pic.twitter.com/9XftLU4Yek
— Pizza Dad (@Pizza__Dad) November 23, 2021
Wait, if Brian Laundrie shot himself…then where is the freakin' gun? And why is this info coming from the family's shady ass attorney?
— KT (@sloyoroll01973) November 23, 2021
Me and the boys asking the FBI why they didn’t mention there was a gun when they found Brian Laundrie’s body pic.twitter.com/NSRoK0ij6x
— Guy P. Football (@Guy_P_Football) November 23, 2021
