The boyfriend of Gabby Petito, an influencer murdered months ago in the United States, committed suicide by shooting himself in the head, the lawyer for the young man’s family reported on Tuesday.
Brian Laudrie’s body was found on October 20 in a nature reserve in the north of the state of Florida (southeastern USA).
This 23-year-old man had disappeared in September, shortly after the police described him as "person of interest" in the investigation into Petito’s death.
"Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was suicide"attorney Steven Bertolino said in a statement.
Both of them "They continue to mourn the loss of their son and hope that these findings will allow both families to turn a page."he added.
The Petito case caused a huge media stir in the United States for weeks.
She and Laundrie had left New York in July to tour the western United States in a pickup truck for four months after the woman quit her job.
For days, they published images on social networks in which they were seen smiling on a trip that seemed idyllic.
But on September 1, Laundrie returned without her to North Port, Florida, where they both lived with his family.
Her attitude raised suspicions about her role in the 22-year-old’s disappearance, especially after she refused to answer police questions and fled on September 13.
The worst omens were confirmed regarding Petito. His body was found on September 19 in Wyoming’s Great Teton National Park. And on October 12 it was announced that she had been strangled to death.
A video released in September by police in Moab, a small town in Utah, had further raised suspicions around Laundrie.
In the images, Petito appeared crying in a car, after the police intervened over a dispute with him.
Petito’s story is sadly common in a country where hundreds of thousands of people go missing every year.
But the media attention given to the case has sparked controversy over the disproportionate attention paid to the disappearances of white women compared to those of minority origin.
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