Police Say Brian Laundrie ‘Probably’ Died By Suicide Following Gabby Petito's Death

Trigger warning - this article discusses suicide.

Police have suggested that Brian Laundrie 'probably' died by suicide, following the death of Gabby Petito.

Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman made the comments on Friday.

He said: “That guy went out there and by all accounts probably committed suicide and he was right out there where we thought he was. There was four feet of water out there at the time.

“Now, we know that, by the time we became the lead agency, Brian had already left the house and presumably had already been deceased out in the Carlton Reserve."

Instagram)

Laundrie's remains were discovered, along with his backpack and notebook, on 20th October.

Last week, a spokesperson for the Gabby Petito case has said there was a "very good possibility" that Brian Laundrie was dead two days after the travel blogger was reported missing.

North Port Police spokesman Josh Taylor told People that officers mistook Laundrie's mother for him in the days after Petito was reported missing.

He said: "Other than confusion, it likely changed nothing. There is a very good possibility that Brian was already deceased.

"He still needed to be found. We just wanted people to better understand why we thought we knew Brian was in his home."

At the time, officers saw Roberta Laundrie in a baseball cap driving her son's silver Mustang, but in error, believed the woman was Laundrie himself.

However, it has now emerged from lawyers that Laundrie left his home "very upset" on 12th September.

At a press conference held on 16th September, Police Chief Todd Garrison told reporters that he knew where Brian Laundrie was located, but now, according to the North Port Police spokesperson, it is likely that Laundrie was already dead at the time.

Instagram/Gabby Petito)

"Now to be clear, none of this may have made a difference with respect to Brian's life but it certainly would have prevented all of the false accusations levelled by so many against Chris and Roberta with respect to 'hiding' Brian or otherwise financing an 'escape'," said Taylor.

"In the end, LE searchers did their best to locate Brian and their efforts are appreciated."

Topics: News

Lucy Devine

Lucy is a journalist working for Tyla. After graduating with a master's degree in journalism, she has worked in both print and online and is particularly interested in fashion, food, health and women's issues. Northerner, coffee addict, says hun a lot.

@lucedevine