Brian Laundrie left a murder confession before committing suicide, FBI reveals

The disappearance of Petito in September grabbed national headlines after her fiancé, Laundrie, returned to his parents' home without her during a cross-country road trip in their van. Her remains were later discovered at the Grand Teton National Park, and a medical examiner found that she had died as a result of “blunt-force injuries to the head and neck, with manual strangulation.”

A manhunt for Laundrie ensued when the family told law enforcement officials that he had left to go hiking at the T. Mabry Carlton Jr. Memorial Reserve in Florida near their home. His remains were discovered alongside a backpack, a notebook, and a revolver.

In a statement released Friday by the Denver office of the FBI, officials made their final investigative update on the case related to the death of Petito.