Gabby Petito's autopsy confirms 'death by strangulation'; search for fiancé continues

In major developments in Gabby Petito's homicide, authorities ruled that she was strangulated until death. As per legal documents filed with Teton County Clerk of District Court, Coroner Dr. Brent Blue on Tuesday stated that the cause of death was "manual strangulation/throttling" about three to four weeks before her body was retrieved on September 19. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has continued the manhunt for Gabrielle's fiance Brian Laundrie, who is a "person of interest" but not for the homicide.

For the unknown, Gabby Petito's fiance Laundrie has been convicted of "knowingly and with the intent of defraud" using "one or more unauthorised access devices, namely a Capitol One Bank debit card," and PIN for two accounts. It is to be noted that Laundrie's whereabouts in recent days are unknown as he had gone missing since September 18 after he went hiking at the Carlton Reserve in Florida the previous week.

Where is Brian Laundrie?

The North Port Police had carried out rigorous search operations for Brian Christopher Laundrie. In a press briefing, the agents updated the media by stating that they had searched over 25,000 acres of swampy forestland and all the investigators had "exhausted all venues" near Sarasota before they raided Laundrie's home on September 23. Petito's family attorney, on September 16, requested Laundrie's family to help in the investigation to bring the girl back home.

Dog the Bounty Hunter joins frantic search for Laundrie

Besides police and the FBI, famed bounty hunter Duane "Dog" Chapman has launched an active search after he received "thousands of tip-offs" from people across the nation. The reality-tv star-turned-investigator and his team looked for the FBI-declared fugitive Brian Laundrie on an island near Fort De Soto Park in Pinellas County, FL. "K-9 teams have been brought in to assist. The search will continue into the evening," Duane wrote on Twitter. He also expressed gratitude to "everyone assisting & for the thousands of tips," he added. The private investigation team opened an anonymous tipline number to 833-TELL-DOG to receive any information regarding the case. “This has been a very different search,” Dog told Fox News.

Gabby Petito homicide: Timeline

On September 19, the FBI announced that they had discovered a body at the Moran Vista camping area of Wyoming park which resembled Gabby Petito. On September 22, the federal team, following an autopsy, confirmed that the human remains found were of the blogger whose sudden disappearance had rocked the United States. As per several media reports, Gabby last spoke to her mother Nicole Schmidt on August 11, sometime after she embarked on a cross-country trip with her fiancé, Brian. As per FBI updates on Twitter, Gabrielle "Gabby" Petito, who documented her road trip with her fiancé was last seen in Grand Teton National Park in late August. On September 11, Schmidt filed a missing report of 22-year-old Gabriella.

(With inputs from AP)

Image: @GABSPetito_Instagram