Brian Laundrie admitted to killing Gabby Petito in notebook, FBI says
Brian Laundrie privately admitted that he killed his fiancée Gabby Petito, the FBI said Friday.
Laundrie, 23, wrote about the killing in a notebook that was found next to his body in a Florida nature reserve in October, the feds said.
“A review of the notebook revealed written statements by Mr. Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms. Petito’s death,” the bureau said.
Shortly before the FBI shared its evidence, Petito’s family released a statement that said there was “no doubt” that “Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby.” The family met with the FBI on Thursday.
Petito, 22, went on a cross-country trip with Laundrie in the summer of 2021. When Laundrie, 23, arrived back in Florida without her in early September, a nationwide search ensued.
Petito, who was born and raised on Long Island, was found dead Sept. 19 in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, and her death was ruled a homicide by strangulation. Laundrie was named a “person of interest” but then disappeared before speaking with police.
“While law enforcement investigated all logical leads, the investigation quickly focused on the last person believed to see her alive — Mr. Laundrie,” the FBI explained.
On Oct. 20, Laundrie was found dead in a Florida nature reserve. Law enforcement missed his body during initial searches of Carlton Reserve near North Port because the area was underwater, the feds said. The FBI also confirmed that Laundrie died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In August, police officers in Utah intervened in a domestic dispute between Petito and Laundrie. The cops told the couple to spend the night apart in the city of Moab, about 200 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.
“It’s very likely Gabby was a long-term victim of domestic violence, whether that be physically, mentally, and/or emotionally,” wrote Price, Utah, police Capt. Brandon Ratcliffe, in a report on the incident.
