The lawyer for Gabby Petito’s family suggested there may soon be charges filed against “additional individuals” after authorities confirmed Brian Laundrie, her fiancé and the lone person of interest in her strangulation slaying, died by suicide.
Attorney Richard Stafford floated the possibility in a press release late Tuesday, which also emphasizes that federal prosecutors and Wyoming authorities have urged both Petito’s and Laundrie’s family members against issuing comments on the case.
“The Schmidt and Petito family has been aware of the circumstances surrounding the suicide of the sole suspect in Gabby’s murder,” attorney Stafford said in a statement Tuesday, referring to both the victim’s parents and stepparents.
“Gabby’s family will not be making a statement at this time due to the request of the United States Attorney’s Office and the Teton County Prosecutor’s Office.”
Last month, Laundrie’s remains were found following a weekslong manhunt in Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, not far from his family’s Florida home. He disappeared just days after his fiancée was initially reported missing.
The couple had spent the summer traveling cross country and documenting their adventures with photos and video later shared across social media platforms. Family members grew concerned, however, when Laundrie quietly returned home from the road trip without his bride-to-be.
He vanished on Sept. 13 or 14, according to his parents.
On Tuesday, five weeks after his body was discovered on the 25,000-acre nature reserve in North Port, authorities confirmed Laundrie, 23, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Mystery still surrounds what exactly led to Petito’s murder. While the FBI named Laundrie a person of interest in the case, he was never charged in connection with her death. But he had been indicted for allegedly using two accounts that belonged to someone else in the days after she died.
While it’s not yet clear who the “additional individuals” may be, speculation has been swirling in recent weeks regarding whether or not Laundrie’s parents would face any charges in the case. They have faced scrutiny over their failure to ask about Petito when their son returned without her.
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