Gabby Petito's Cause Of Death Revealed As Manual Strangulation After Coroner's Autopsy Confirmed 22-Year-Old Vlogger Died By Homicide
Oct. 12 2021, Published 2:36 p.m. ET
The autopsy results for Gabby Petito are in.
According to Teton County Coroner Brent Blue, the slain 22-year-old vlogger from New York died by manual strangulation/throttling.
Blue had already determined that the manner of her death was homicide, which he announced on Sept. 21, two days after her remains were discovered in Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park, where she and her fugitive fiancé – 23-year-old Brian Laundrie – were known to have visited while on their weeks-long cross-country road trip from which she never returned.
Blue revealed the cause of Petito's death Tuesday afternoon in a virtual press conference, during which he also answered several questions about the case that's garnered nationwide attention.
Blue estimated that Petito died three to four weeks before her body was found, which would have been around the end of August/beginning of September. He said there would not be an exact date of death listed on her death certificate.
According to the FBI's search warrant for Laundrie, the "last communication anyone had" with Petito was Aug. 27 when her mother, Nichole Schmidt, received an "odd text" from her daughter that read, "Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls."
Her remains are currently at a mortuary in Wyoming.
When Blue was asked during the briefing, "Are you sure it's Brian Laundrie who killed her?" he responded, "Who committed the homicide is up to law enforcement."
When he was asked if there was any bruising or markings found on Petito's body – including an injured neck – he said he couldn't go into details and that no other information was being released right now.
When asked why the autopsy results took so long, Blue said he was waiting for specialists to come in and also for the toxicology results to come back. He said everyone wanted to make sure they did a thorough job.
When asked if the toxicology results showed any drugs in Petito's system, Blue said that was not public knowledge and that he could not comment.
When asked if there was any impact on Petito's body from either weather or animals, he reiterated, "All I can comment is her body was outside for three to four weeks."
When asked if Petito was murdered at the location where her remains were found, the coroner once again explained he could not say and claimed that was a question for the FBI.
He confirmed Petito was not pregnant when she died.
On Sept. 1, Brian returned to his parents' home in North Port, Florida, following his trip with Gabby, who he met in New York, where the two grew up. He was alone, but he had her white 2012 Ford Transit van.
Brian and Gabby had been living with his parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie, for two years.
Gabby was reported missing by her family 10 days later on Sept. 11, as both Brian and his parents refused to cooperate with authorities.
Worried about her whereabouts, Gabby's parents and stepparents said they desperately tried to get in contact with the Laundries but that they never heard back.
It's since been revealed that the Laundries went camping in Fort De Soto Park from Sept. 6 to 8, and it's being suggested that Christopher and Roberta left there alone.
Their home has since been raided by FBI agents, who declared the property an "active crime scene" while they confiscated "boxes and boxes" of evidence. They also seized Gabby's van and Brian's car.
Christopher and Roberta reported Brian missing on Sept. 17, initially claiming that the last time they saw him was on Sept. 14, the day he alleg