FBI confirms body found in Wyoming is Gabby Petito and manner of death is homicide
Fox News correspondent Laura Ingle has the latest on the FBI's confirmation on 'The Five'
As authorities continue the manhunt for Brian Laundrie — and the public speculates wildly about his whereabouts — The Post has acquired property documents that reveal a string of recent home sales by the Laundrie family, as well as photos that take us inside the residence he shares with his parents.
FBI agents raided the fugitive’s Florida bedroom Monday, a day after Gabby Petito’s now-confirmed remains were found — and the day before her death was ruled a homicide.
Authorities discovered Petito’s body Sunday in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest, where FBI, National Parks, and local law enforcement officials had been searching for the 22-year-old since last week. She was on a cross-country trip with her fiancé Brian, 23, when she disappeared there.
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"Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999," the FBI field office in Denver announced on Twitter Tuesday. "Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide," the agency added. "The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results."
Meanwhile, mystery swirls around Brian’s family after they went radio-silent Tuesday when their legal team canceled a press conference that was scheduled to take place in the wake of the FBI swarm.
After their home was officially declared a crime scene, Brian’s parents — Roberta, 55, and Chris, 62 — were seen being pulled out of their home while investigators worked on collecting and tracking down evidence that might help explain his sudden disappearance.
The Post has acquired photos inside the family’s three-bedroom, two-bathroom home in North Port, Florida, which was purchased by the Laundries in 2015 for $120,000. Two years later, they attempted to list the home for $215,000, with a price reduction a month later. The Laundries took the home back off the market shortly after, in January 2018.
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One of the images from the 2017 real estate listing takes us inside Brian’s presumed bedroom. A disturbing poster of dark figures with hammers and spheres violently attacking other figures can be seen resting on the two-case bookshelf.
Other items observed in the room include what appears to be a gun propped up next to the shelves over his bed, a Darth Vader mask, and a series of "Watchmen" books.
According to DC Comics, "Watchmen takes place in an alternate world where the mere presence of American superheroes changed history: The US won the Vietnam War, Nixon is still president and the Cold War is in full effect."
"It begins with a murder-mystery before unfolding into a planet-altering conspiracy: When a retired hero is killed, his former teammates must investigate. The conspiracy they uncover will entwine their secret traumas and twisted psychologies, ultimately asking where the fine line is drawn between heroes and villains?"
The rest of the home appears to be ordinary. Spanning three bedrooms and two baths, the property sits at a modest 1,448 square feet and comes with a small pool in the backyard.
Bodycam footage by the Moab City Police Department in Utah (Moab City Police Department)
But this isn’t the only home owned — or sold — by the Laundries recently.
Property records show they had also owned a Venice, Florida condo unit since 2015, which they bought for $99,500. They sold the property this summer for $144,000, after just two weeks on the market in July.
Brian’s mom, Roberta, can be seen pictured in one of the listing photos.
They also purchased another North Port home made up of two bedrooms and two bathrooms in January 2020, before the pandemic hit, for $128,000. They sold the home over a year later, on March 18, 2021, for $140,000.
The photos of the listing show vacant rooms with no furniture or possessions.
The Laundries also had a home in Bayport, NY, at one point, which they purchased back in 2008 for $330,000, property records reveal. They sold it in 2017 for $385,000 — the same year they attempted to sell their current Florida home.
Brian has been missing since Sept. 14, when he went for a hike in the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve and never returned, his family told police.
Brian vanished shortly before police named him a person of interest in Petito’s disappearance on Sept. 17 — two days before the former Long Island resident’s now-confirmed remains were found in Bridger-Teton National Park, near where her white van was spotted late last month.
Her family has said Petito met Laundrie at Bayport-Blue Point High School on Long Island, and she later worked at a pharmacy technician to save money for the doomed trip. The couple left New York on July 2 for what was supposed to be a four-month-long adventure. They documented their journey in upbeat social media posts: "Traveling the world in our tiny van" while enjoying "art, yoga, & veggies," Petito posted her in Insta bio.
GABBY PETITO’S LIFE, AS TOLD BY THOSE WHO KNOW HER
The eldest of six siblings, Petito last made contact with her family on Aug. 30.
Brian returned home to Florida without Petito two days later, on Sept. 1, retained a lawyer and refused to cooperate with authorities.
In the latest disturbing turn of events, Petito’s van was discovered in disarray from how it first appeared when Petito released a YouTube video documenting their cross-country road trip.
The van showed some of their belongings messily strewn throughout the back of the camper after they were stopped by police in Utah following a 911 report of a domestic incident.
A police report from the incident depicted Petito as the aggressor — but it has since emerged that the concerned citizen who called 911 claimed to have witnessed a man "slapping" a woman.
TIMELINE OF GABBY PETITO'S ROAD TRIP, DISAPPEARANCE
"We drove by and the gentleman was slapping the girl," the caller said, according to audio of the call that emerged Monday.
The dispatcher responded, "He was slapping her?"
"Yes, and then we stopped. They ran up and down the sidewalk, he proceeded to hit her, hopped in the car and they drove off," the caller replied.
On Tuesday afternoon, police revealed they are "actively" investigating deer camera footage that captured a hiker resembling Brian trekking through the wilderness.
A man named Sam Bass told investigators he spotted the man toting a backpack at 6:17 a.m. on Monday in the town of Baker, Florida — about 500 miles away from Laundrie’s home in North Port.
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"I’m not saying this is the guy but whoever was on my trail camera this morning in Baker, [Florida] strongly fits the description of Brian Laundrie," Bass wrote on Facebook. "Authorities have been contacted but people in the northwest Florida area be on the lookout."
Petito’s distraught parents are withholding public comment on the case until they are reunited with their daughter.
"I want to personally thank the press and news media for giving the Petito and Schmidt family time to grieve," lawyer Richard Stafford said in a statement. "We will be making a statement when Gabby is home."
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