We have an update on the case of YouTube star Gabby Petito.
Tragically, it’s the update we had been fearing ever since she went missing.
On Tuesday, authorities confirmed that the remains found in Bridger-Teton National Forest belong to the 22-year old social media influencer.
Moreover, the Teton County Coroner’s Office announced her manner of death was determined to be homicide.
“Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue confirmed the remains are those of Gabrielle Venora Petito, date of birth March 19, 1999,” the FBI stated in a press release.
“Coroner Blue’s initial determination for the manner of death is homicide.
“The cause of death remains pending final autopsy results.”
The mystery surrounding Petito’s disappearance made global headlines after her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, returned home from a cross-country road trip the couple had taken across the western United States… without Petito.
The pair had been documenting their travels on Instagram and YouTube.
“The FBI and our partners remain dedicated to ensuring anyone responsible for or complicit in Ms. Petito’s death is held accountable for their actions,” added the FBI yesterday.
“Mr. Brian Laundrie has been named a person of interest.”
Over this past weekend, a search party discovered human remains near a campsite on the eastern edge of the national forest.
At the time, the Denver Bureau of the FBI stated the deceased’s appearance was “consistent with the description” of Petito.
In the hours after the search for Petito concluded, her brother and father took to social media to honor the 22-year old.
“I don’t even know what to say,” her brother, TJ Schmidt, wrote. “I’m at a total loss. My heart is shattered #justiceforgabby.”
The vlogger had been traveling across the nation since July and was last seen on August 24 leaving a Utah hotel with Laundrie.
Laundrie returned to his native state of Florida on September 1 and hired an lawyer, but went missing after he was named a person of interest last week.
“Anyone with information concerning Mr. Laudrie’s role in this manner or his current whereabouts should contact the FBI,” said the organization on Tuesday.
Petito’s killer is now listed among the FBI’s Most Wanted… as the agency hunts for information on the young woman’s final movements; federal agents have narrowed down Gabby’s final days to between August 27 and August 30.
“#gabbypetito she touched the world,” Tweeted father Joseph Petito late yesterday.
According to an unsealed search warrant for a hard drive found in their van, Petito sent a text to her mother, Nicole Schmidt, on August 27, the same day authorities said her phone stopped operating.
The message was about her grandfather and read as follows:
“Can you help Stan, I just keep getting his voicemails and missed calls.”
The search warrant states that Schmidt described the message as “odd” because Petito didn’t refer to her grandfather by his first name.
“The mother was concerned that something was wrong with her daughter,” the documents read, implying Gabby was trying to hint that something was very wrong on her trip.
Petito’s parents eventually filed a missing persons report on Saturday, September 11, 10 days after her fiancé returned to his family’s home in Florida without Gabby.
As of this writing, the whereabouts of Brian Laundrie remain unknown.
A lawyer for the Petito family previouly said in a statement:
“All of Gabby’s family want the world to know that Brian is not missing, he is hiding. Gabby is missing.”
It’s unclear what took place during the course of their road trip, as police have also said Laundrie “has not made himself available to be interviewed by investigators or has provided any helpful details” on the advice of a family attorney.
During their time in Utah that the couple had an encounter with local authorities.
According to NBC News, two officers responded to a report of a “domestic problem” between the two on Augugst 12.
One officer wrote in the report that Petito said she slapped Laundrie during an argument, prompting Laundrie to lock her out of their van.
When Petito and Laundrie spoke to police, they indicated that tensions were high because of mental health problems.
“The time spent created emotional strain between them and increased the number of arguments,” read the official report from last month.
After talking to the couple, cops said they recommended Petito and Laundrie spend the night apart from each other — with Petito maintaining custody of the van.
We send our condolences to the friends, family members and loved ones of Gabby Petito.
May she rest in peace.
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