The parents of Brian Laundrie, who reportedly killed himself in September amid the search for his missing girlfriend Gabrielle Petito, reportedly discovered one of their handguns was missing when they turned over their weapons to law enforcement — on the same day they reported their son’s disappearance.
Chris and Roberta Laundrie reportedly surrendered the guns on September 17. The same day, the couple told law enforcement — including the FBI — that one handgun was not in it its case, attorney Steven Bertolino told CNN on Friday.
Regarding the missing gun, Bertolino told the news outlet that he and law enforcement agreed “it was best for that information to not be public.”
“Imagine, with the frenzied atmosphere at the time, if the public thought Brian had a gun,” he said. “I cannot speak to why (law enforcement) did not reveal the info but we spoke about it at the time and I believe they felt as I did.”
At the time Brian Laundrie, 23, vanished, he was wanted for the unauthorized use of a debit card for allegedly withdrawing $1,000 between August 30 and September 1 — when Petito, 22, was missing. He reportedly arrived in Florida on September 1 without Petito, and Petito’s family reported her missing on September 11.
Petito reportedly spoke to her mother over a video chat for the last time on August 23 or 24, when she said she and Brian Laundrie were leaving Utah and driving to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. Petito would be found dead at that park weeks later.
Laundrie, who was named a person of interest in Petito’s initial disappearance and murder, is believed to have left his parents’ North Port, Florida, home on September 13 or 14. His parents reported him missing on September 17, the same day they reportedly informed law enforcement of the missing gun.
In late October, Laundrie’s partial skull was found at Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida. This week, the medical examiner in Sarasota County determined he died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
Authorities have not confirmed or denied the claims Bertolino made to CNN on Friday, or revealed whether Brian Laundrie used the missing gun to fatally shoot himself.
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[Featured image: Brian Laundrie/Instagram]
