Quick Facts About Brian Laundrie: Age, High School, Parents and Did They Find His Body?

In 2021, the world was gripped by the disappearance of 22-year-old travel vlogger Gabby Petito, who vanished during a cross-country road trip with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie. The case quickly became a media sensation, with people following every development online as the truth slowly emerged.

The investigation took a dramatic turn when Laundrie returned home to Florida alone, driving the van he and Gabby had been travelling in. As authorities searched for answers, Gabby's whereabouts remained unknown.

Now, the 2025 Netflix docuseries American Murder: Gabby Petito revisits the case. Directed by Julia Willoughby Nason and Michael Gasparro, the three-part series delves into the months leading up to Gabby's tragic death, exposing the disturbing dynamics of her relationship with Laundrie.

But who was Brian Laundrie before his name made headlines? What do we know about his background, his family, and the mystery surrounding his own fate?

Who Was Brian Laundrie?

Born on 18 November 1997, Brian Laundrie was just 23 years old when his life took a tragic turn.

Laundrie and his fiancée, Gabby Petito, set off on a cross-country road trip in July 2021, which was supposed to last several months. However, what began as an exciting adventure turned dark. According to reports, the couple got into a domestic dispute in Moab, Utah, just a month into their trip.

In late August 2021, Petito's family grew concerned after they had not heard from her. Although her last Instagram post appeared to show her still enjoying the road trip, text messages from Petito to her family became increasingly concerning.

By 11 September 2021, Petito had been reported missing. Meanwhile, Laundrie quietly returned home alone to Florida on 1 September without offering meaningful cooperation with the police.

Brian Laundrie: Early Life and School Years

Before becoming infamous, Brian Laundrie was a relatively ordinary young man.

He grew up on Long Island, New York, before moving to North Port, Florida, with his family. He attended Bayport-Blue Point High School in New York, where he met Gabby. As friends of both families describe, Brian and Gabby were two loners, and because of that, they clicked.

According to his classmates, Laundrie was quiet and introverted and did not stand out for any particular achievements or activities. For now, there is no proof that he ever had a full-time job, but he reportedly used to sell self-designed bookmarks and T-shirts on a Depop site called Bizarre Design.

Meanwhile, Laundrie's relationship with Gabby Petito was also initially relatively private, but their social media presence began gaining attention as they documented their travels.

Tragically, beneath the pictures and videos shared with their followers, a dark side to their relationship lurked and would soon come to light.

Who Are Brian Laundrie's Parents?

After leaving Long Island, Brian grew up in North Port in a suburban neighbourhood with his parents, Christopher and Roberta Laundrie and older sister, Cassie.

According to reports, Roberta was listed as working for the Suffolk County Government in an office position from 2011 to 2020. Later, Chris and Roberta settled in North Port, establishing Juicer Services, which sells and services commercial juicing equipment.

Chris is reportedly the president, while Roberta is the company's vice president. However, the business is listed as 'temporarily closed.'

In 2020, Gabby Petito moved in with the Laundries and lived under the family roof. The couple converted a Ford Transit van to travel around the USA on their ill-fated van-life trip.

After their son's return to Florida without Gabby, they were under intense scrutiny for handling the situation. The Laundries hired a lawyer shortly after Brian was named a person of interest in the case, and their behaviour sparked suspicion among the public and media.

Initially, the Laundries claimed they had no knowledge of Gabby's whereabouts and refused to assist in the search for her. However, when Brian went missing himself in September, their stance shifted. Amid growing public pressure and a nationwide search, they joined the search efforts for their son.

Did Brian's Body Was Ever Found?

Brian Laundrie's body was found after a long and tense search. After Gabby Petito's body was discovered on 19 September 2021 in Bridger–Teton National Forest, Wyoming, the hunt for Brian began in earnest.

With the help of Brian's parents, on 20 October 2021, authorities found Laundrie's remains in the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida, where he had been hiding for over a month.

According to reports, Laundrie had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and near his remains, police found a notebook in which he confessed to killing Gabby Petito.

In his confession, he claimed that he had killed Petito after she fell and injured herself and that he acted out of a misguided sense of mercy. 'I don't know the extent of Gabby's ingerys (sic) only that she was in extreme pain. I ended her life, I thought it was merciful, that it is what she wanted, but I see now all the mistakes I made. I panicked. I was in shock. But from the moment I decided to take away her pain, I knew I couldn't go on without her,' the confession read, according to CNN.

However, in the documentary, we learn that beneath the picture-perfect love life of Brian and Gabby, there is a lot of tension between them in their final days. Text messages, videos, and revelations about Laundrie's behaviour, subtle signs of abuse and manipulation that Gabby experienced leading up to her death.

While the discovery of Brian Laundrie's body brought some closure to the case, many unanswered questions persist about the motivations behind his actions and the lasting impact on Gabby Petito's family.