WAITING GAME
BRIAN Laundrie's autopsy results will likely be returned in two to three weeks, potentially providing answers about the fugitive's cause, manner, and time of death, according to his family's attorney.
The skeletal remains of Laundrie, 23, were found in Myakkahatchee Creek Park on October 20 in a grassy stretch of land that had, for weeks before the discovery, been submerged in storm waters.
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While authorities shared few details, Brian's remains are believed to have only consisted of a partial human skull and bones.
Coroners made the positive identification by comparing teeth found to Laundrie's dental records.
However, investigators with the Florida 12 Medical Examiner were unable to determine a cause, manner, or time of death after an initial autopsy came back inconclusive.
The remains were then sent to a forensic anthropologist for further examination.
Forensic anthropologists analyze human remains, conduct DNA tests and look for any signs of weapon evidence to help determine how a person died.
Whether the anthropologist will be able to determine Laundrie's cause of death in the next two to three weeks remains to be seen.
"We will see," Bertolino told Fox News.
KEY EVIDENCE
Investigators may also be able to garner clues about what happened to Brian, and his slain vlogger fiance Gabby Petito, from a notebook and backpack recovered near to his remains.
The condition of the notebook is unclear but police have voiced confidence it "may be salvageable." No information has been released about its contents.
Laundrie's family left their homes in North Port on Oct. 24 to grieve together in an undisclosed location in Florida after Bertolino shared that they would not be holding a funeral for Brian.
Chris and Roberta Laundrie returned to their home on Oct. 26.
While the watching world waits for answers, attention has turned on the local police department's mishaps during their investigation into Brian that may have thwarted their investigation - and their chances of bringing him in alive.
North Port Police Department, Josh Taylor, admitted this week that investigators bizarrely mistook Brian for his mother while they were surveilling the family home through secretly planted cameras.
POLICE MISHAPS
According to Taylor, North Port Police began watching Brian after Gabby's family reported her missing on September 11 - ten days after he returned from their cross-country road trip without her.
On September 13, North Port Police watched Brian leave his parent's home in his grey Mustang, Taylor said.
Two days later, investigators thought they saw him return to the family home in the same car.
Amid increasing media attention, North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison told reporters on Sept. 16 that police were confident about where Brian was.
"All I'm going to say is I know where Brian Laundrie is at," Garrison said during a press conference.
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However, the next day, Brian was reported missing by his parents who said they hadn't seen him since Sept. 14. That date was later revised to Sept. 13 in a statement issued by the family's attorney.
"When the family reported him on Friday, that was certainly news to us that they had not seen him," Taylor said. "We thought we'd seen Brian initially come back into that home on that Wednesday."
Taylor said the department now believes it was Laundrie's mother, Roberta, wearing a baseball cap, who they saw getting out of his Mustang on Sept. 15.
"They had returned from the park with that Mustang. So who does that? Right? Like, if you think your son's missing since Tuesday, you're going to bring his car back to the home. So it didn't make sense that anyone would do that if he wasn't there." Taylor added.
"So the individual getting out with a baseball hat, we thought was Brian," he said. "They are built kind of similarly.
"No case is perfect," he added.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
Brian and Gabby Petito had been on a cross-country road trip touring the US national parks when Gabby vanished in late August, two weeks after the couple was involved in a domestic violence dispute in Moab, Utah.
Petito's family last heard from her on August 27, receiving a text they characterized as "strange" before Gabby's phone was switched off for good.
Brian has never been named a suspect in Gabby's death but is the sole person of interest in the case.
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He was also wanted on bank fraud charges after allegedly racking up $1,000 in charges on a credit card belonging to Gabby in the days after she was killed.
An investigation into Brian's cause of death and Gabby's murder remains active and ongoing.
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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.
- October 21: The FBI confirmed the remains found have been identified as Laundrie's.
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