Parents of Brian Laundrie seen shopping amid claims they ‘KNEW gun was missing’ after Gabby Petito’s fiancé vanished
FUGITIVE Brian Laundrie’s parents were seen shopping at a Walmart store – weeks after "realizing one of their guns vanished" when Gabby Petito’s fiancé fled.
Chris and Roberta Laundrie apparently discovered a handgun was missing from their collection when they voluntarily surrendered all their firearms to police on September 17 – the day that they reported Laundrie missing, attorney Steve Bertolino said.
The 23-year-old’s skeletal remains were found in a marshy patch of land inside Myakkahatchee Creek Park on October 20, and officials revealed that he died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
Chris and Roberta were snapped at a local Walmart store, walking through the aisles and pushing a shopping cart.
Body language expert Patti Wood said the couple was “very close” based on the proximity of their bodies as they were snapped standing face-to-face.
She told The Sun: “Usually one person is walking in front of the other or calling the other person from another aisle. You don't really see this face-to-face connection.
“It's obvious that they know each other and that they have a close relationship even if you didn't know they were a couple.”
When analyzing the pictures, Wood said that Chris and Roberta have their feet pointing at each other or are walking in sync.
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She said: "That is the most primal part of the body. "It is the most honest part of the body as it is under the least amount of conscious control."
Pictures also appear to show a “notebook” in their grocery cart.
Earlier in the day, the couple was also pictured in the Florida wilderness.
Both carried a backpack as they marched into the same campgrounds that investigators and volunteers intensely combed through when they searched for their son.
On November 23, Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino revealed to The Sun that Laundrie's cause of death was suicide.
He said: "Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was suicide.
"Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families."
'MISSING WEAPON'
The weapon was reportedly missing from its case; however, according to Bertolino, the discovery was made when officers from the FBI and North Port Police Department were inside the home.
When pressed as to why information about the missing gun wasn't disclosed publicly, Bertolino told The Sun both he and law enforcement agreed it was "best for that information to not be public."
He said: "Imagine, with the frenzied atmosphere at the time, if the public thought Brian had a gun.
"I cannot speak to why [police] did not reveal the info, but we spoke about it at the time and I believe they felt as I did."
Bertolino said he "does not know" if the weapon was recovered by police near Laundrie's remains or his possessions.
Cops also discovered a notebook as they combed the reserve.
Online sleuths speculated that the journal may contain a note or his artwork as criminologist Casey Jordan suggested it could provide investigators with "answers".
The contents inside the notebook remain unknown. It's not known if anything was written inside the journal.
Laundrie was never charged in relation to Gabby's disappearance and death; however, he was the sole person of interest in the case.
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Cops issued an arrest warrant, accusing the 23-year-old of swiping a Capital One debit card and running up a $1,000 balance from August 31 through September 1,
The remains of Gabby, 22, were found in a campsite near Wyoming's Grand Teton Nation Park on September 19.
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