Autopsy confirms body found in US national park is missing woman Gabby Petito
- The coroner determined that the manner of death was homicide, but the cause of death remains pending final autopsy results
- The news is the latest turn in a story that has gripped Americans since the road tripper was reported missing after setting out on a road trip with her fiancé
A body found in a US national park in Wyoming has been identified as Gabrielle “Gabby” Petito, the young woman who went missing during a road trip with her fiancé and that her death was a homicide, the FBI said on Tuesday.
The confirmation is the latest turn in a story that has gripped Americans since Petito’s family reported the 22-year-old missing on September 11 – 10 days after the fiancé, Brian Laundrie, returned home from the cross-country trip without her.
“Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999. Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide,” the FBI’s Denver office said on Twitter. “The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results.
Investigators have called Laundrie, 23, a “person of interest” in the case. Laundrie has not been seen since leaving his family’s home in North Port, Florida, last Tuesday. Before disappearing, Laundrie refused to speak with investigators and retained a lawyer.
Police and FBI agents on Sunday said they found a body that was “consistent” with Petito in a remote area of Bridger-Teton National Forest, less than 1,000 feet (300 metres) from where a pair of travel bloggers filmed the couple’s white van parked along a dirt road near Spread Creek on the evening of August 27.