The Teton County Coroner has released the cause of death for22-year-old Gabby Petito: death by strangulation. Petito's body was found on Sept. 19 in Bridger- Teton National Forest along the border of Grand Teton National Park. Her death has already been ruled a homicide.
Dr. Brent Blue said in a press conference Tuesday, October 12 that the date of death was about three to four weeks before her body was found.
"Our initial determination is the body was in the wilderness for three to four weeks," said Blue, however he was unable to comment if the body was found buried or not.
It's been about a month since her body was found and Blue said the main reason for the delay was because they were very thorough in their examination.
"We were waiting for various specialists to come in and help us with this investigation. We were waiting on toxicology to be returned," he said. "And it was just a matter of making sure we have everything right."
He also added that she was not pregnant. He was unable to release any more specifics on the autopsy due to Wyoming state statute 7-4-105.
According to Blue, forensic pathologists, anthropologists, local law enforcement, and the FBI were involved. The FBI also sent materials to a forensic entomologist.
The mortuary is currently working with Petito's family to return the body.
The search continues for her fiance Brian Laundrie, who is a person of interest in the case. Blue added that Petito's case was one of many deaths tied to domestic violence in the country.
"And it's unfortunate that these other deaths do not get as much coverage as this one," he said. "There are a lot of both men and women who have lost their lives that aren't covered with this kind of media attention."
