Brian Laundrie may have faked his death and PLANTED his backpack to throw cops off tracks, ex prosecutor says

BRIAN Laundrie may have faked his death and planted the backpack found by police at a Florida nature reserve on Wednesday to throw them off his trail, a former prosecutor has suggested.

A backpack and notebook belonging to Laundrie were found by police near human remains at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, near the Calton Reserve, yesterday during a brief search with the missing 23-year-old's parents.

5

5

Brian's dad, Chris Laundrie, found a white plastic bag containing some of his son's items in a patch of bushes next to a trail before police later found the backpack and remains, the family's lawyer Steve Bertolino said.

The remains have not yet been identified, but Bertolino said there's a "strong probability" they belong to Brian.

The area of discovery inside the vast alligator and insect-infested swampland had until recently been submerged in floodwaters caused by hurricanes last month.

But suspicions have been raised that Chris and his wife, Roberta, may have planted the evidence at the park to throw investigators off their son's scent.

While police have been searching the park for weeks without success, Chris and Roberta led them to the spot where the items were found in less than 90 minutes.

The breakthrough discovery also came just 24 hours after the park was reopened to the public for the first time in a month.

'POSSIBLY PLANTED'

Neama Rahmani, a former assistant U.S. Attorney and the current president of , told The Sun that it's possible the evidence may have been planted - though likely not by Brian's parents.

"Law enforcement found a backpack and notebook, that’s key evidence," he said.

"It’s certainly likely that those human remains they found belong to Brian Laundrie, unless he was trying to plant evidence next to someone else’s remains to throw law enforcement off his tracks."

Read our Gabby Petito live blog for the very latest news and updates...

If the remains do turn out to be Laundrie's, Rahmani said that means "one of two things happened."

"He was either killed by an animal or a person or he killed himself. If he killed himself, it’s much more likely that he wrote something in the notebook about Gabby," Rahmani said.

"That’s what people who kill themselves often do, they open up about everything so their family and friends know what they had been dealing with before their death."

'DIFFICULT TO GET TRUTH'

The former prosecutor said that Brian's death would mean Gabby Petito's family may never get the full truth about what happened to her.

“Unfortunately, if Brian Laundrie has died it would make it more difficult to get to the bottom of this case. But there’s no question that Gabby was killed and by far the most reasonable explanation is that Brian Laundrie did it," he said.

“All signs point to Brian Laundrie. I’m sure Gabby Petito's family wants some sort of closure, but if Brian Laundrie is dead, this is as good as it’s going to get.

"Law enforcement could hold a press conference to say they believe Brian Laundrie killed Gabby Petito and at that point, they should disclose all the information they withheld until now.

"That's really the extent of their obligation, law enforcement will have to move on to other cases."

Rahmani added that, despite speculation, he doesn't believe Laundrie's parents helped him escape.

“The fact Brian Laundrie’s parents seem to have cooperated with law enforcement in the last 24 hours and the fact they may have led investigators to their son's possessions and possibly his remains - that all undercuts the argument that they were aiding and abetting his escape," he said.

"That leads me to believe they’ve been cooperative and not the other way around.”

SUSPICIONS RAISED

The couple, who have been under fierce scrutiny,  left their North Port home at 7.15am local time for the park, where two men in hiking gear began trailing them, according to a Fox News report.

Chris and Roberta were seen moving in and out of areas of the brush, before separating for roughly 12 minutes when Chris lead the two men into the brush on the left side of a trail.

He returned without the cops and the couple continued on. A video captured by Fox shows Chris wading through another patch of bushes while Roberta stands motionless in the middle of a trail, staring off in the opposite direction.

The video then cuts to Chris holding the white bag while speaking to Roberta out of earshot from police.

They could be seen putting a dark object inside the bag before handing it over to the officers.

The couple reportedly made a phone call and then received a call, before Chris and Roberta were seen talking with the officer in footage in which Laundrie's dad appeared to shed a tear after being told "I think we found something."

They then left the park at 8.45am, less than 90 minutes after arriving.

'HOGWASH'

The Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino called it "hogwash" to suggest the evidence had been planted by Brian's parents in an interview with CNN on Wednesday night.

He said the area where the remains and belongings were found was the same location Chris and Roberta had told cops to search a month ago.

“Indeed, this is the very area of the park that we initially informed law enforcement, on I believe it was September 17th, that Brian would be most likely in the preserve,” Bertolino said. 

“Mr. Laundrie informed me that it was quite near the entrance... He put a time frame of about 30 minutes in, a mile or two into the reserve.”

Police have not yet said when they expect to identify the remains they found on Wednesday.

BRIAN'S TIMELINE

Brian has been on the run since September 13, two days after Gabby Petito was reported missing by her mother in New York.

Her remains were discovered at a campsite in Teton County, Wyoming on September 19.

A coroner later ruled that she had been strangled to death by a "human force" and that she'd been killed between three to four weeks before she was found.

The pair had been on a cross-country road trip touring the US' national parks at the time of Gabby's death.

Brian has not been named as a suspect but is the only named person of interest in the case.

He returned home to Florida without her on September 1 in the couple's repurposed van before disappearing himself 12 days later.

Brian's parents initially claimed to have last seen him on September 14 but later revised that date in a statement issued through their attorney.

After finally reporting him missing on September 17, they told police they had driven to the reserve in search of him.

While they say they didn't find Brian, they did find his silver Ford Mustang and drove it back to their home before contacting the cops the next day.

READ MORE SUN STORIES

LAST TANGO

Huge blow for Strictly live tour as ANOTHER star pulls out

ALL FOR ONE

One Direction spark reunion rumours as Zayn Malik is joined at gig by bandmate

Chris and Roberta Laundrie are not currently facing any charges in relation to the case.

An investigation continues.

5

5

5

Gabby Petito timeline

Gabby Petito, 22, was last seen on August 24, leaving a hotel in Utah. Here is a timeline of Gabby Petito's disappearance:

• June 2021 - Gabby Petito and her fiancé Brian Laundrie set off on a cross-country trip across the US.
• July 4 - Gabby posts photos of herself barefoot in Gove County, Kansas.
• July 8 - Gabby posts photos of herself at the Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado.
• July 18 - Gabby and Brian post photos of themselves at Utah's Zion National Park.
• August 12 - Body camera footage was released in September showing an encounter Brian and Gabby had with police in Utah. Police confirmed that no significant injuries were reported.
• August 19 - Gabby and Brian post a video on their YouTube channel chronicling their trip.
• August 24 - Gabby is spotted leaving a hotel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• August 25 - Gabby Facetimes her mom, Nichole Schmidt, for the final time. In a later police report, Schmidt said her conversations with her daughter revealed "more and more tension" between her and Brian.
• August 25 - Gabby also posts her last Instagram. No location is given.
• August 27 - Gabby is seen for what's believed to be the final time. Witnesses claim they saw Brian in an explosive argument with staff at a restaurant in Jackson Hole, leaving Gabby in tears.
• August 27 - Four hours later, travel bloggers driving through Grand Teton National Park drive past the couple's van "abandoned" on a dirt road.
• September 1 - Brian returns home to Florida without Gabby.
• September 11 - Gabby's parents report her missing to Suffolk County police.
• September 14 - Brian's family issues a statement saying he has retained an attorney and will not be cooperating with investigators.
• September 14 - Brian is allegedly last seen by his family. He reportedly told them he was going hiking in Cartlon Reserve but failed to return.
• September 15 - Florida's North Port police announce Brian is a person of interest in the case. He is not charged with any crime.
• September 16 - Utah police release body camera footage of the police encounter with Brian and Gabby.
• September 17 - Brian's parents say they have not seen their son in a couple of days and report him missing.
• September 18 - Police announce they were searching Carlton Reserve in Florida for Brian. Police announce they have not found anything.
• September 19 - Authorities in Wyoming say they found a body in Grand Teton National Park. The FBI announces the body was believed to be Gabby's but a full forensic identification needs to be completed first to confirm.
• September 20 - Police execute a search warrant on Laundrie's home, seizing his silver Mustang and a hard drive that may contain "evidence relevant to proving that a felony has been committed."
• September 21 - Officials announce they will be conducting an autopsy on the remains found in Wyoming to confirm whether or not they belong to Gabby. Police also resumed their search for Laundrie, this time on the Venice side of Carlton Reserve.
• September 21 - The FBI announced the body found in Wyoming was identified as Gabby's. The cause of death was not yet revealed.
• September 21 - The Teton County Coroner's office said Gabby's official cause of death was still pending but the initial manner of death is homicide.
• September 22 - Police continue to scour Carlton Reserve for a trace of Laundrie but yield no leads. A specialist dive team is called in to assist with the hunt.
• September 23 - Officials announced a federal arrest warrant for Brian was issued.
• September 26 - Gabby's funeral was held on Long Island, New York.
• October 12: Gabby's autopsy results were made public. Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue confirmed Gabby died by strangulation.
• October 20: Laundrie's personal items were found at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. A medical examiner was called to the scene.