Opinion | Where does the Gabby Petito investigation go from here?
Now that Laundrie’s remains have been located, the unanswered questions abound: Did Laundrie die by suicide out of guilt or out of the fear of being arrested and charged with murder in Petito’s death, or did some unknown perpetrator kill him? Did an animal, like an alligator, attack Laundrie in the reserve, resulting in his death? Did Laundrie die from natural causes, such as exposure or hunger?
There are also the questions about what Laundrie’s family truly knew about his whereabouts leading up to his disappearance on Sept. 13. Why were his parents able to so quickly locate his remains after authorities spent weeks searching for him? The notebook found near Laundrie’s remains could hold the key to answering several of these questions, so we will have to wait and see what the police release to the public about its contents, if they are salvageable.
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The Laundries’ family attorney claims that the family notified the FBI of his failure to return home the day he left for his hike, but it seems incredible that the police would get something as critical as that date wrong.
More important, his family has yet to advise the police why they, as well as Laundrie, refused to cooperate with authorities since his return to Florida (without Petito), even though they knew the police urgently needed to learn more about Petito’s disappearance. It is also odd that Laundrie would leave his wallet and his cellphone behind when he went for his hike, unless perhaps he did not want his location to be tracked by way of his cellphone.
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So where does the investigation into the death of Petito go now? Does it stop, or can it keep on going? And if it keeps going, what are the prospects of any kind of satisfactory end that would give closure to both of the families?
Interestingly, and still oddly without further explanation or any details, the Laundrie family’s attorney has told the media that his clients have been cooperating with the FBI “since day one” of Laundrie’s disappearance but that they “had absolutely nothing to say” about Petito. The attorney has further gone on record saying, in response to being asked whether Laundrie told his parents anything about Petito before he went on his hike: “Not something I can comment on right now. I’d like to just leave it at that.”
