Gabby Petito: Autopsy of Brian Laundrie's remains inconclusive, new expert steps in

There's been another twist in the Gabby Petito, Brian Laundrie case, with an autopsy of Laundrie's remains coming back inconclusive.

Laundrie went missing a month ago after returning to his parent's Florida home without his girlfriend Gabby Petito with whom he'd been travelling around the United States in a RV. Petito was later found dead in a Wyoming national forest but not before Laundrie disappeared after going for a hike in the T. Mabry Carlton Jr Memorial Reserve.

Earlier this week, belongings of Laundrie's were found in the swampy, alligator-infested Florida park alongside human remains. On Friday, the FBI confirmed the remains to be of Laundrie after comparing dental records.

However, according to a statement from the Laundrie family lawyer to the New York Post on Saturday, attempts to understand the man's cause of death have been unsuccessful. 

"No manner or cause of death was determined, and the remains were sent to an anthropologist for further evaluation," said Steve Bertolino. 

He asked that people did not speculate about how Laundrie died.

"I would hope people would stop doing that as well, especially with respect to this case," he told NBC. "And in respect to the cause or how Brian came to be dead I don't know.

"We'll wait, if possible, for some kind of cause of death from the experts."

According to Tom Joyce, a retired New York Police Department commander who spoke to The Sun, Laundrie's body would have likely been eaten by animals. 

"If the remains are skeletal, that means the tissue has been pulled away from the bones," Joyce said. "Most likely by alligators, crabs, fish and stuff like that. That's what it sounds like to me because it's definitely not long enough time for it to go naturally."

Joyce said it might be difficult to determine the cause of death. 

"Sometimes, the medical examiner can't make a ruling. It's just something that might happen. And so in that case they can't say it's a homicide. They can't say it's a suicide. They can't say it's accidental. They can't say it was an animal attack - they might not be able to."

Anthropologists were also necessary in identifying Petito, who may have been dead for weeks before being discovered. It was determined that she died by strangulation.

Her body was only found after her disappearance and Laundrie's refusal to speak to police about her whereabouts began receiving global attention. After images of the pair's RV was released publicly, a pair of YouTubers recognised it as having been in Bridger-Teton National Forest in western Wyoming.

Laundrie was named as a person of interest in her disappearance and then death, and was also charged with illegally using Petito's bank debit card.