Gabby Petito Believed To Have Been Strangled To Death In Homicide, 22-Year-Old's Autopsy Results Expected Today
Oct. 12 2021, Published 11:16 a.m. ET
Gabby Petito may have been strangled to death, but we won't know for sure until her full autopsy results are revealed.
After reviewing the Aug.12 body-camera footage from the Utah police stop of the late 22-year-old vlogger and her fugitive fiancé, 23-tear-old Brian Laundrie, Salt Lake City-based private investigator Jason Jenson said he believes the cause of Petito's death could very well have been asphyxiation.
Teton County Coroner Brent Blue has 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 Laundrie were known to have visited while on their weeks-long cross-country road trip from which she never returned.
Blue is expected to reveal the cause of her death today during a virtual press conference taking place at 12:30 PM MT.
"I wouldn't be surprised that it's manual strangulation," Jenson told Fox News Tuesday morning, explaining that he had formed his hypothesis based in large part on Petito's interaction with police that day.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he's choked her before," he said, suggesting that Laundrie is Petito's killer. "Any victim that's been choked before – their natural reaction is to lower their chin to their clavicle to prevent that hand from going around their throat."
Indeed, the footage showed a nervous and crying Gabby telling cops that Brian had grabbed her face during a previous argument. She even demonstrated how he did so using her own hands.
Petito sat hunched and spoke softly and apologetically, admitting to officers that she, too, had put her hands on Laundrie. He did not admit the same.
"Some days I have really bad OCD, and I was just cleaning the back of the van before, and I was apologizing to him, saying, 'I'm sorry I'm so mean,' because sometimes I have OCD, and sometimes I get really frustrated," Gabby explained through tears. "Not like mean towards him, I guess my vibe. I'm just in a bad mood."
She also had a gash on her cheek, which she said she had sustained during the earlier disagreement. Brian had scratches on his face, neck and arm.