FBI says Laundrie's notebook admits killing Gabby Petito; case closed
On September 11, 2021, Gabby Petito's mother filed a missing person report. The 22-year-old from Long Island, New York, had not returned from a cross-country van trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. That report set off a weeks-long search that would end in a Wyoming forest, a Florida swamp, and a closed case with an admission written in a dead man's notebook.
The couple had been traveling through national parks in the western United States. On August 12, 2021, police in Moab, Utah, encountered them after a witness reported a domestic dispute. Officers separated the pair for the night but filed no charges — a decision later criticized. Body-camera footage from that encounter was eventually released, and an internal review was conducted, but no officers were disciplined.
On September 1, Laundrie returned alone to his parents' home in North Port, Florida, driving the couple's white 2012 Ford Transit van. Petito was not with him. He refused to cooperate with investigators and hired a lawyer. On September 14, he disappeared.
On September 17, the FBI executed a search warrant on the Laundrie home and seized the van. Two days later, on September 19, a witness led investigators to Petito's remains in the Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, near the eastern edge of Grand Teton National Park. The Teton County coroner ruled her death a homicide by manual strangulation.
On September 23, a federal arrest warrant was issued for Laundrie, charging him with unauthorized use of a debit card belonging to Petito, based on transactions made after her death. He was already gone.
On October 20, 2021, Laundrie's remains were found in the Carlton Reserve in Florida. The FBI later confirmed he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. With his remains, investigators found a notebook and a firearm. The FBI later stated that the notebook contained writings admitting to killing Petito, though the full contents were not released.
The weapon used in the homicide was never recovered.
There was no trial. Brian Laundrie was never charged with Petito's murder because he was dead. The federal arrest warrant for debit card fraud was the only formal charge filed against him. After his remains were identified, the FBI closed the case, stating that Laundrie was responsible for Petito's death.
No charges were filed against any member of the Laundrie family. A civil lawsuit brought by Petito's parents against the Laundrie family was settled in 2024, with the terms confidential.
What is still unknown: the full contents of Laundrie's notebook were never released, and investigators have not said exactly what the writings contained beyond the admission. The exact circumstances of Petito's death — where it happened, how it unfolded — have not been publicly detailed.
Gabby Petito's family has established a foundation in her name focused on missing persons and domestic violence awareness. The case prompted widespread public discussion about domestic violence, missing persons cases involving women, and the role of social media in investigations.
The Laundrie family has remained largely out of public view. No further legal proceedings are pending. The criminal case is closed.
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