Coroner: Petito strangled to death

Brady Oltmans, boltmans@pinedaleroundup.com
Posted 10/14/21

Gabby Petito was strangled to death, the Teton County coroner announced in a news conference earlier this week.

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Coroner: Petito strangled to death

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WYOMING – Gabby Petito was strangled to death, the Teton County coroner announced in a news conference earlier this week.

Dr. Brent Blue, who has served as Teton County Coroner since 2014, said in the Tuesday announcement that a complete autopsy confirmed the 22-year-old traveler died three to four weeks before her body was found near Spread Creek on Sept. 19.

A document submitted by the coroner’s office into the Teton County Clerk of District Court specified the manner of death as “manual strangulation/throttling.”

Blue was limited by Wyoming law in what additional details he could release. He previously concluded she died by homicide, meaning her death was caused by another person. Blue did dismiss the rumors of her being pregnant when asked by a reporter.

“I can’t make any comment about any suspects because we’re not involved in that part of the investigation,” Blue said. “We are only involved in the investigation of the body of the deceased. So who committed the homicide is really to be determined by law enforcement.”

Blue said the Valley Mortuary is in possession of Petito’s remains and the funeral home is in contact with the Petito family to return them.

He said the autopsy included a whole body CT scan, an examination by a forensic pathologist and anthropologist, as well as a toxicology analysis.

Blue was also asked of the media attention Petito’s case received compared to other missing persons cases, especially in Teton County, and domestic violence cases.

“Unfortunately, this is only one of many deaths around the country of people who are involved in domestic violence, and it’s unfortunate that those deaths don’t receive as much coverage,” Blue said.

It remains unclear if this could lead to additional charges for Brian Laundrie, Petito’s boyfriend and traveling partner who is considered a person of interest in her disappearance and remains on the run from authorities.

Following the discovery of Petito’s remains on Sept. 19 by authorities, the Petito family has started the Gabby Petito Foundation. That foundation, which is live and has scheduled its first fundraiser, remains without a mission statement at press time.

Petito was reported missing on Sept. 11 by her parents and her body was found at the northern part of a campground in Bridger-Teton National Forest on Sept. 19. The timeline Blue’s findings indicated placed her death in the window of Aug. 27-30. That fell in line with the timeline investigators estimated Petito and Laundrie had driven through the area.

Petito and Laundrie got involved in a physical altercation in Moab, Utah, about two weeks before her estimated death. A concerned caller pointed police to the two. That stop ended with police deciding to separate the two for an evening with no charges filed.

“After evaluating the totality of the circumstances, I do not believe the situation escalated to the level of a domestic assault as much as that of a mental health crisis,” Moab City Police Department officer Daniel Robbins wrote in his report.

According to the Moab Sun News, officers then contacted a local nonprofit that provides aid to victims of domestic and sexual violence to obtain a hotel room for Laundrie to stay in while Petito stayed in the van that evening. The report of the stop noted scratches on Laundrie’s faces and arms. Neither wanted to press charges.

A week after Petito’s body was found in Wyoming and a flurry of national attention cascaded on this case, Moab Police Chief Bret Edge requested indefinite leave under the Family and Medical Leave active. No reason was publicly specified for his request, the Sun News reported. The department had been under scrutiny for misconduct, including misusing body cameras. In the case of stopping Petito and Laundrie, one officer’s body camera footage was released while the other’s bodycam appears to have not been activated.

Robin Clover, SAFV executive director in Sublette County, previously told the Roundup that Petito’s death was likely the result of institutions that failed. She reiterated her opinion, as someone who has worked with domestic and sexual assault survivors for over two decades, as to what led to Petito’s death.

Because Laundrie used a Capital One Bank card with Petito’s personal identification number to make unauthorized withdrawals or charges over $1,000 on his trip back to Florida before Petito was reported missing, he has been charged with felony bank fraud. That’s allowed the FBI to lead a search for Laundrie. Searches in the Carlton Reserve, where Laundrie’s parents say he went since returning from the long trip, haven’t resulted in any findings.