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TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The type of weapon Brian Laundrie used to kill himself, and several previously undisclosed personal items found near his remains, were revealed in a 47-page autopsy report released Monday.
Laundrie, 23, was being sought in his fiancée Gabby Petito’s disappearance and death when his skeletal remains were found in a thickly wooded park in Sarasota County.
Laundrie himself disappeared shortly after Petito was reported missing. His parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, initially said he went missing on Sept. 14, but later revised that date to Sept. 13. He was reported missing on Sept. 17.
After a monthlong search, Laundrie’s remains were found Oct. 20, in an area that had been about three feet under water during the search of the Carlton Reserve, north of the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park.
“The vast majority of the skeleton has been recovered,” the report from Florida’s District Twelve Medical Examiner stated.
Laundrie’s death was ruled a suicide in November and the cause of death was said to be a gunshot wound to his head. According to the report released Monday, Laundrie shot himself in the left temple with a .38 special with a .387 magnum barrel.
“The cylinder contained two live rounds and one spent round of ammunition,” the report said.
Laundrie had personal items with him, including a pair of green shorts, two slip-on shoes, a white metal ring and the rusted handgun.
According to the report, investigators divided the scene where the remains were found into three zones, dug about two inches into the ground and sifted through the soil.
What was identified as “a handwritten half note” was found along with “a hat with the logo MOAB Coffee Roasters.” The cap connected the North Port resident to the city where police recorded a tearful confrontation with the couple who discussed the difficulties in their relationship.
The FBI had previously said a journal was found in a dry bag but the autopsy report revealed the bag also held “a wooden box that contained a small notebook” and pictures that included some of Laundrie.
“I was advised there were additional photographic pictures, but the contents were undisclosed to me at that time,” the report said.
The document also included a toxicology report that stated a drug screen indicated no drugs were detected in Laundrie’s system.
The medical examiner noted Laundrie’s remains showed “extensive animal predation,” adding that “most of the distal long bones have moderately extensive carnivore activity evidenced by multiple gouging and gnawing marks. These areas are consistent with carnivores and or omnivores, including canines such as feral dogs and coyotes along with rodents and raccoons.”
According to the report, the Laundrie’s told the medical examiner their son was “very healthy” and had “no known medical history.” He did not take any medication and had no known primary care physician, the couple said.
“When I asked about the decedent’s social history,” the report said, “Mr. and Mrs. Laundrie stated that they did not want to provide that information.”
Laundrie and Petito were on a cross-country trip before she went missing and Laundrie returned home to North Port, Florida without her.
Petito’s remains were found in a Wyoming campground on Sept. 19. Her death was ruled homicide by manual strangulation.
Laundrie was wanted for using her bank card in Wyoming.
He claimed responsibility for Petito’s death in his notebook, the FBI said in January.