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road trip tragedy

Who was Gabby Petito’s fiancé, Brian Laundrie?

GABBY PETITO and fiancé Brian Laundrie were on a road trip when Petito disappeared - and her body was discovered weeks later.

After being named as a person of interest, Laundrie took his own life, and admitted to killing Petito; the pair's story will be explained as a movie set to premiere in October 2022.

Gabby Petito and fiancé Brian Laundrie were on a cross-country road trip when she disappeared
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Gabby Petito and fiancé Brian Laundrie were on a cross-country road trip when she disappearedCredit: EPA

Who was Brian Laundrie?

Brian Laundrie, the fiancé of Gabby Petito, died of a self-inflicted gunshot after being declared a "person of interest" in her disappearance.

Brian and Gabby had been on a cross-country road trip that started in July 2021.

Gabby, had told her family she was visiting a Wyoming national park on August 25, 2021, then vanished.

Brian briefly returned home safely and hired an attorney but refused to cooperate with the police.

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Brian Laundrie later took his own life, and a note claiming responsibility for Gabby's death was found alongside his remains.

What happened to Gabby Petito?

Gabby, 22, last posted Instagram photos on August 25 and FaceTimed her mother a few days before.

According to , Nicole Schmidt, Gabby's mother, revealed she received texts from her daughter’s phone until August 30, 2021, but she is unsure who actually sent the texts out.

"It was just a text. I did not verbally speak to her," she said. 

“I can't say much, but she's no longer with the van.

"I don't want to say anything more than that but for people looking for her, I want them to look for her now, not look for that van anymore.”

On September 19, 2021, it was announced that authorities in Wyoming had found a body in the area where the search for Gabby has been underway.

During a press conference, authorities confirmed finding remains that match Gabby's identity.

Almost a month later, on Tuesday, October 12, the cause of death.  was revealed to be strangulation.

Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue added that decomposition suggested she had died three to four weeks before her body was found.

Where was Brian found?

On October 19, 2021, Laundrie's personal items were discovered near a trail in Myakkahatchee Creek Park.

Three days later, human remains were discovered near his backpack and notebook, five weeks after he vanished.

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He had told his parents he was going on a hike in the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve.

The specific location in the vast alligator and insect-infested swampland had been mostly submerged in hurricane-soaking water in September 2021 when authorities launched the manhunt for him.

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