Federal prosecutors have indicted Brian Laundrie, 23, in the case of Gabby Petito, whose remains were discovered in a Wyoming national park after an extensive nationwide search.
The fiance of the 22-year-old “van life” blogger, whose death has been ruled a homicide, Mr Laundrie was travelling with Ms Petito on a cross-country road trip from New York to Oregon when she went missing in late August.
Mr Laundrie returned to his family’s home in Florida alone on 1 September in the white Ford transit van the couple had been living in and ultimately disappeared himself on 13 September, having apparently told his family he was going in the nearby Carlton Reserve, a 25,000-acre park.
Days later, when Mr Laundrie’s parents reported his disappearance, a major manhunt was launched, which remains underway amid a flurry of international media interest.
The FBI announced its charge against Mr Laundrie on 23 September for alleged “use of unauthorised access devices”, along with an arrest warrant.
Here’s everything we know about the missing man so far:
Indictment
Authorities had labelled Mr Laundrie a “person of interest” in Ms Petito’s disappearance as he was the last person known to have been seen with her before she went missing. The grand jury indictment against Mr Laundrie was not related to her death, but rather related to money he allegedly withdrew which “affected interstate commerce”.
After Ms Petito was reported missing, Mr Laundrie’s lawyer released a statement saying his client would not be speaking to authorities “on the advice of counsel”.
North Port Police, who said Mr Laundrie’s lack of cooperation was “hindering the investigation”, tweeted a direct plea to the lawyer, asking for help.
Mr Laundrie did not speak to police and instead went missing. He has not been seen since 13 September, despite a number of reported sightings that proved to be red herrings.
While the warrant allows for his arrest, the facts and circumstances of Ms Petito’s death are still being investigated.
Where is Brian Laundrie thought to be?
The search for Mr Laundrie is largely focused on the Carlton Reserve in Florida, which is close to the Laundrie’s family home in North Port.
His parents say he headed to the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, which connects with the reserve, for a hike on 13 September (they originally gave the date of his disappearance a day later but subsequently revised their statement). Mr Laundrie is said to have departed carrying only a backpack and is known to have driven there in a silver Mustang, which the family has since collected.
While authorities scaled back the search at one point, they later returned to the area with divers to continue searching for signs of Mr Laundrie among the park’s alligator-infested swamplands.
Following a tip from reality television celebrity Dog The Bounty Hunter, Mr Laundrie’s parents confirm they went camping with their son between 6 and 8 of September at the Fort De Soto Park in Florida’s Pinellas County, days before Ms Petito was reported missing by her mother Nicole Schmidt.
Brian Laundrie and Gabby Petito
(Brian Laundrie/Instagram)
Is he a survivalist?
Mr Laundrie told friends and co-workers that he was skilled in outdoor survival, allegedly boasting to a colleague that he had lived in a forest for weeks on just snacks.
He also reportedly told a friend of Ms Petito’s that he spent three months hiking alone in the Appalachians. However, experts have said the swampy region they are searching for him in is particularly unforgiving due to the prevalance of dangerous wild animals and the likelihood of suffering dehydration in the humidty.
Who are the Laundrie family?
Mr Laundrie’s father, Christopher Laundrie, 62, and mother Roberta Laundrie, 55, live in North Port, Florida. Mr Laundrie also has a sister, Cassie Laundrie, whose children Mr Laundrie and Ms Petito appear to have been close with.
Ms Laundrie appeared on Good Morning America on 17 September, saying she had not spoken to her brother since he returned from his trip, but that Ms Petito was “like a sister and my children love her and all I want is for her to come home safe and sound and for this to be a big misunderstanding”.
Mr Laundrie’s parents also appear to have had a close relationship with Ms Petito, as she lived with them for more than a year, as Ms Petito’s mother Nicole Schmidt outlined in an open letter to the Laundries when her daughter was still missing. Roberta Laundrie was a Pinterest “collaborator” on a “Life Goals” Pinterest board created by Ms Petito that showed pictures of newlyweds with backpacks, and posts of baby clothes.
Relationship with Gabby
Mr Laundrie met Ms Petito at Bayport-Blue Point High School on New York’s Long Island, according to Ms Petito’s stepfather, Jim Schmidt. The pair began dating in March 2019 and got engaged in July 2020, according to posts on their Instagram accounts.
Mr Laundrie wrote: “My biggest fear is that one day I’ll wake up and it will have all been a dream, because that is what every second has felt like since the moment we found each other. Till death do us part or until I wake up, I’m so happy the answer was yes, Love you hunny.”
Ms Petito’s mother Nichole Schmidt told the Daily Mail she believed the couple may have called off their engagement ahead of the trip because they were still so young.
Mr Laundrie presented an idyllic picture of the couple’s relationship on social media, posting pictures of them kissing, and posing for pictures together smiling.
But witness reports described a very different picture of Mr Laundrie’s treatment of his partner. He was allegedly seen slapping and hitting Ms Petito in the Utah town of Moab weeks before she went missing. A 911 call was made by a Moab resident who witnessed the alleged altercation and was concerned enough to report it to authorities.
Police later pulled their van over to find a crying and distressed Ms Petito, and Mr Laundrie with scratches on his face. “We’ve just been fighting this morning. Personal issues,” Ms Petito told police. One officer said in body-camera footage, that they considered Mr Laundrie to be the victim, although not at risk, and no further action was taken.
Job
Mr Laundrie does not appear to have been in full-time employment, but he did earn money selling his artworks online. On a Depop site called Bizarre Design, Mr Laundrie sold his artworks, including bookmarks, print stamps and t-shirts .
Social media presence
Mr Laundrie’s social media accounts show a man presenting himself as outdoorsy, a loving and devoted boyfriend, and an artist with conspiratorial leanings.
On Instagram, he railed against being “brainwashed by the media” and revealed a fondness for pop culture icons such as Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk and the creator of the Hellboy comics, Mike Mignola.
His posts are sprinkled with references to nature, and he showed admiration for film characters like Joaquin Phoenix’s The Joker, violent video games like Hotline Miami, and the book Lullaby by Mr Palahniuk, in which a man investigates the death of his wife and child.
