TETON COUNTY, Wyo. (SBG) — Gabby Petito died by strangulation and her death is being ruled a homicide, according to a coroner's report delivered Tuesday.
Dr. Brent Blue said based on further autopsy results, he could confirm Petito's body was left outside for three to four weeks.
During the virtual news conference Tuesday afternoon, reporters peppered Blue with several questions via a Zoom call. When one reporter asked about toxicology results, Blue said he could not release toxicology results.
He said little more about Petito’s physical condition — including whether she may have been strangled directly by somebody’s hands, a rope or some other item — but noted when asked that she wasn’t pregnant.
“Nothing is obvious in a case like this,” he said.
Petito's parents reported her missing Sept. 11 after she didn't respond to any of their calls or texts over a period of several days while she was visiting parks with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie.
Petito had gained a social media following, detailing her excursion in the West in a white Ford Transit van converted into a camper. Her case has led to renewed calls for people to pay greater attention to cases involving missing Indigenous women and other people of color, with some commentators describing the intense coverage of her disappearance as “missing white woman syndrome.”
Laundrie and Petito got into a physical altercation Aug. 12 in Moab, Utah, that led to a police stop. That stop ended with police separating the pair for the night. No charges were filed, and no serious injuries were reported.
Petito's remains were recovered in a remote area of northwestern Wyoming on Sept. 18, near the place she was last spotted with a now-missing Laundrie.
Laundrie was last seen Sept. 13, according to his family. While he has not been directly linked to Petito's death, authorities said they do want to question him. Federal officials filed an arrest warrant against Laundrie, saying he illegally used someone's debit card, alleging he used a Capital One Bank card and someone’s personal identification number to make unauthorized withdrawals or charges worth more than $1,000 around the time Petito went missing.
They did not say who the card belonged to.
Asked about the coroner’s determination, the attorney for the Laundrie family, Steven Bertolino, in a statement noted his client only faces the fraud charge in the case.
“At this time Brian is still missing and when he is located we will address the fraud charge pending against him,” Bertolino said.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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