Grisly new details emerged Monday in the death of Brian Laundrie, including that his scattered bones had been gnawed on by rodents and feral dogs after his death.
Laundrie, 23, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head that caused extensive fractures in his skull, according to a newly released report by a Florida medical examiner’s office.
The single bullet entered his brain at the left temple and exited through the right, traveling slightly upward, said the full autopsy and forensic report.
Authorities recovered “the vast majority of” [his] skeleton” — aside from a few bones from his teeth and his face — scattered “in plain sight,” they said.
His bones showed signs of “gnawing and chewing” from “post-mortem scavenging/carnivore activity” — including on portions of his arms and legs, the report said.
“These areas are consistent with carnivores and/or omnivores including canines such as feral dogs and coyotes along with rodents and raccoons,” the report said.
Laundrie’s toxicology report showed no sign of drug use, the document said.
Authorities also found personal items at the scene belonging to the young man — including a pair of green shorts, slip-on shoes, a white metal ring, a backpack and a handgun — on the dirt ground. The scene was secluded by “overgrown vegetation,” the document said.
The firearm found next to the remains was a Windicator revolver with two live rounds and one used round of ammunition, according to the report.
At the nearby “secondary” scene, authorities found animal skeletal remains, a handwritten half note and a “MOAB Coffee Roasters” hat, according to the report. Authorities also located a drybag with Laundrie’s journal and a wooden box with a small notebook and a picture of himself.
His body was believed to be submerged in up to 3 feet of water in the Florida swamp “for an extended period of time,” the examiners said. When the swamp waters receded, his remains were discovered. The scene was excavated by authorities to search for additional bones and personal items that might have been buried, and the uprooted dirt was placed in 5-gallon tubs and sifted through, the document said.
Authorities used dental records provided by Laundrie’s dentist to identify the skeletal remains, as well as genetic material from one of his teeth and two femur bones that they matched with DNA swabs taken from his parents.
The report said Laundrie took no medications and didn’t have a primary-care physician. Authorities said they asked his parents about their son’s “social history” but that “Mr. and mrs. Laundrie stated they did not want to provide that information.”
Laundrie was sought in Gabby Petito’s disappearance and death when his remains were discovered at the 25,000-acre Carlton Reserve near his parents’ home in North Port, Fla., on Oct. 20.
The young couple was on a cross-country trip when Petito, a 22-year-old Long Island native, went missing and Laundrie returned home in her van without her Sept. 1.
Her remains were found in a Wyoming campground on Sept. 19.
