Police in Florida said Brian Laundrie “probably” died by suicide well before his remains were discovered on Oct. 20 in Florida’s Carlton Reserve after his initial autopsy was ruled inconclusive due to advanced decompisition.

Laundrie was named a person of interest in the disappearance of his fiance Gabby Petito. Her death was later ruled a homicide by strangulation when her body was found on Sept. 19 in Wyoming and Laundrie became the prime suspect in the case.

Laundrie’s parents reported him missing on Sept. 17 and police later admitted they mistook Laundrie’s mother, Roberta, for him when they saw Laundrie’s Mustang drive away on Sept. 13 and arrive back home two days later.

A citation was issued on the vehicle on Sept. 14 when it was spotted at the Carlton Reserve. Laundrie family attorney Steven Bertolino said the police should have watched the vehicle to determine Brian was not the one driving it.

North Port Police Chief Todd Garrison apologized for the confusion, adding the surveillance team told him Laundrie was inside the house. "Now, we know that, by the time we became the lead agency, Brian had already left the house and presumably had already been deceased out in the Carlton Reserve," Garrison said.

Laundrie and Petito set out on a cross-country road trip in June, posting details of their trip on social media before their relationship hit the rocks and Laundrie returned home without her. He disappeared into the Carlton Preserve until his remains were discovered near some of his personal belongings.

Police used dental records to postively identify the remains as Laundrie's but the body was too decomposed to offer any clues into the cause of death. Laundrie’s remains will be sent to an anthropologist for further evaluation. The results are expected by the end of November.

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