FBI finally reveals that blogger Gabby Petito was killed her boyfriend Brian Laundrie before he committed suicide

Four months after the mysterious death of YouTuber and blogger, Gabby Petito, the FBI has revealed that her boyfriend , Brian Laundrie “admitted responsibility” for her murder in a notebook found with his body.

Brian Laundrie, 23, shot himself after Petito was found in September 2021 strangled in a Wyoming campground. The couple had been on a cross-country road trip in their van that Gabby Petito documented on YouTube.

But Laundrie returned alone to his family home in North Port, Florida, on 1 September without Petito sparking outcry by her family over her disappearance . Weeks later her body was found.

The murder of Petito, 22, drew national media attention and the FBI placed Laundrie as a person of interest in her death but weeks after disappearing, Laundrie’s own body was found in a Florida nature preserve near his parents’ home on 20 October

“The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito,” FBI Denver Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said in a statement on Friday, January 21.

“The FBI’s primary focus throughout the investigation was to bring justice to Gabby and her family.”

He said all “logical investigative steps have been concluded” in the case.

In a statement, the Petito family thanked law enforcement for their investigation. They gave particular praise to the FBI’s Victim Services Department, which they said helped the “entire family navigate through the worst moments of their lives”.

FBI says Laundrie’s body was found in an area of the nature preserve that had previously been underwater. He was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, along with the journal, a revolver and a backpack.

The FBI statement said that, on his journey back to Florida, Laundrie sent text messages between his and Petito’s phones in an attempt “to deceive law enforcement by giving the impression Ms Petito was still alive”. He also used her debit card without authorisation.

FBI Agent Schneider praised the public for submitting “thousands of tips,” calling their role “invaluable”.

A lawyer representing Laundrie’s family said the case “has caused enormous emotional pain and suffering to all who loved either or both” Petito and Laundrie.

“We can only hope that with today’s closure of the case each family can begin to heal and move forward and find peace in and with the memories of their children. May Gabby and Brian both rest in peace.”

TIMELINE OF GABBY PETITO DISAPPEARANCE AND DEATH

July 1: Gabby Petito and her boyfriend, Brian Laundrie left Blue Point, New York for a cross-country road trip

August 12: Police in Moab, Utah respond to a domestic incident involving the couple

Aug. 17: Laundrie allegedly flies back to Florida to ‘clear out a storage unit’

Aug. 21: Petito’s father, Joseph Petito, has his last FaceTime video call with his daughter who was in Salt Lake City, Utah

Aug. 23: Laundrie flies back to Utah to ‘rejoin Gabby’ on their trip

Aug. 24: Petito is last seen at a hotel in Salt Lake City with Laundrie

Aug. 25: Petito makes final call to her mother, Nichole Schmidt, saying she was in Grand Teton National Park

Aug. 25 or 26: The couple chats with the owner of a shop called ‘Rustic Row’ in Victor, Utah for about 20 minutes

Aug. 27: Video of Petito’s van was taken by blogger Jenn Bethune around 6.30 pm at the Spread Creek Campground; Witnesses say they saw a ‘commotion’ with the couple at Merry Piglets Tex-mex restaurant in Jackson, Wyoming

Aug. 29: The day that Wisconsin TikToker Miranda Baker claimed that she and her boyfriend were approached by Laundrie at Grand Teton National Park and asked them for a ride at 5.30pm

Aug. 30: Schmidt receives the last text from Petito’s phone: ‘No service in Yosemite’

Sept. 1: Laundrie returns to his parents’ home in North Port, Florida in a van without Petito

Sept. 6-7: Laundrie and his parents visit Fort De Soto campsite in Florida

Sept. 11: Schmidt reports Petito missing to authorities in New York; Petito and Laundrie’s van was impounded by police in Florida that same day

Sept. 12: Grand Teton National Park rangers search for Petito

Sept. 13: Laundrie’s lawyer says on October 5 that his parents now ‘believe’ this was the day they last saw him heading for a hike

Sept. 14: Laundrie issues a statement about Petito’s disappearance through his lawyer; Laundrie’s parents claim on September 17 that Laundrie left his parents’ home for a hike this day and they hadn’t seen from him since

Sept. 15: Laundrie is officially named a person of interest in Petito’s case

Sept. 17: Laundrie family attorney confirms his whereabouts are unknown

Sept. 18: North Port police and the FBI start searching the Carlton Reserve in Sarasota County for missing Brian Laundrie

Sept. 19: Bethune realizes she has video of Petito’s van around 12am and submits the FBI with the footage 10 minutes later; Officials announce a body was found near Grand Teton National Park that matched Petito’s description in the afternoon

Sept. 21: Coroner confirms remains found in Grand Tetons belong to Petito. Her death is ruled a homicide but her cause of death is still under invesetigation

Sept. 20 – 22: FBI and North Port police continue search for Laundrie in Carton Reserve

Sept. 22: Neighbors say they saw the Laudrie family pack up their detached camper on the day Gabby was reported missing. DailyMail.com photos show the camper was back in the driveway two days later, on September 13

Sept. 23: FBI issues an arrest warrant for Laundrie for ‘use of unauthorized access device’ for fraudulently using a Capitol One Bank debit card that was not his between August 30 and September 1 to spend $1,000; A probe is launched into the police handling of the Utah police incident on Aug. 12; Laundrie’s parents visit their attorney in Orlando

Sept. 25: Dog the Bounty Hunter joins the search for Laundrie

Sept. 26: A funeral is held for Petito in Holbrook, New York, and her family launch a charity to help parents find missing children

Sept. 27: Manhunt for Laundrie in the Carlton Reserve is scaled back after 10 day search doesn’t find him. Dog the Bounty Hunter says Laundrie and his parents stayed at Fort De Soto Park from September 1-3 and September 6-8 – and that on the latter visit only the parents left

Sept. 28: Laundrie’s mom is accused of using a burner phone to contact her son Sept. 29: Documents reveal Laundrie’s mom canceled a reservation for the Fort De Soto Park campsite for two from September 1 to 3 and booked for three from September 6 to 8; FBI seizes surveillance footage from site; FBI investigates lead Laundrie bought a burner phone on September 14;

Sept. 30: Bodycam footage from a second officer at the August 12 incident is released showing a distressed Petito admitting Laundrie hit her; FBI agents collect more evidence from the Laundrie home

Oct. 1: It emerges Laundrie’s sister had contact with him after she said she did

Oct. 2: A hiker along the Appalachian Trail claims to have seen Laundrie near the border of Tennessee and North Carolina

Oct. 3: Investigators searched the area on the Appalachian trail for any signs that Laundrie had been there

Oct. 4: Laundrie’s sister told protestors outside her home that her family has been ignoring her after they rebuked her story and that she does not know where her brother is

Oct 5: Laundrie’s sister appeared on Good Morning America to say she would turn her brother in if she knew where he is;

Oct. 7: Laundrie’s father Christopher joins FBI agents on the search for his son at the Carlton Reserve but the search brings up no clues

Oct. 12: Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue announces autopsy findings which show Petito died by strangulation; No specific date of death was given – only that she was dead 3-4 weeks before her body was found

Oct. 16: Petito’s parents are seen collecting her ashes from the Valley Mortuary in Jackson, Wyoming

October 20: Human remains found in Carlton Reserve