By Aaron Miller-
The Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue, revealed on Tuesday that Gabby Petito died of strangulation.
According to Dr Blue, Ms Petito died 3-4 weeks before her body was located on 19 September. The coroner said that under Wyoming state law, he could only release the manner and cause of death. No other details concerning the autopsy is to be made public.
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A private investigator suggested Ms Petito was asphyxiated. He came to this conclusion having seen a bodycam video with Utah police, involving Ms Petito and Brian Laundrie.
Following the official confirmation of Petito’s death, FBI officers investigating the case confirmed that her partner, Brian Laundrie, remained a person of interest, calling on anyone with information as to his whereabouts to contact a tipline..
A police manhunt for Mr Laundrie has produced no leads after a Florida nature reserve was searched.
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Police also put the chance of Laundrie still being alive at 50 per cent.
Teton County, Wyoming coroner revealed that the main reason the cause of death took so long to be announced was that they ‘were very exacting in our examination and the detail that the examination was done. We were waiting for various specialists to help us in the investigation. It was just a matter of making sure we had everything right.’
Gabby Petito (Gabby Petito/Instagram)Gabby Petito/Instagram
When asked if he believed that Brian Laundrie was involved in the homicide, Dr. Blue said he could not comment on who committed the act of strangling Gabby Petito, as he was only involved in determining cause and manner of death. He was not involved in investigating who committed the act.
Dr. Blue said he could not comment on if the homicide had taken place at the location where the body was found or on the toxicology report from the autopsy , which is not yet in the public domain.’
Dr. Blue declined to confirm the manner of the strangulation, whether it was manual strangulation or if an item of any kind was used. There was also no comment on whether the strangulation could have been accidental.
Search for Brian Laundrie continues
Image: AP
Petito’s family reacted to the coroner’s report with a short statement on Facebook, posting, ‘Our hearts are broken…’ A lawyer for the family asked the media and the public for privacy as the family grieve, adding that a full statement would be published in due course.
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