Gabby Petito died of strangulation 3-4 weeks before her body was found

Cross-country traveler Gabby Petito was strangled to death, a Wyoming coroner announced Tuesday.

Petito, 22, died three to four weeks before her body was found Sept. 19 near an undeveloped camping area along the border of Grand Teton National Park in remote northern Wyoming, Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said in a news conference.

This would put the time of death around the end of August, according to this timeline.

It wasn’t clear if the determination might lead to additional charges against Petito’s boyfriend and traveling partner, Brian Laundrie, who is considered a person of interest in her disappearance and remains unaccounted for.

You can watch the press conference in the player below or by following this link:

Blue declined to say more about the autopsy or the case overall, saying he was prevented by Wyoming law that limits what coroners can release.

Petito had been on a cross-country trip with Laundrie, visiting Colorado, Utah and other states. She was reported missing Sept. 11 by her parents after she did not respond to calls and texts for several days while the couple visited national parks in the West.

Petito’s mother last FaceTimed her daughter on August 24. And, Gabby was last seen with her fiance Brian Laundrie on August 27.

Blue previously classified Petito’s death as a homicide — meaning her death was caused by another person — but had not disclosed how she was killed pending further autopsy results.

A “detailed analysis” led to his conclusion Petito was strangled, Blue said. A group of medical experts took more than three weeks to confirm what happened to Gabby Petito at her time of death.

“This autopsy included a whole body CT scan, a examination by forensic pathologist, and examination by forensic anthropologist, and a toxicology evaluation. So it pretty much covered all the bases,” said Blue.

“Nothing is obvious in a case like this,” he said.

Blue said little more about Petito’s physical condition — including whether she may have been strangled directly by somebody’s hands, a rope or some other item — but noted when asked that she wasn’t pregnant.

“We hereby find the cause and manner of death to be, the cause of death by strangulation and manner is homicide,” Dr. Blue said.

WINK News anchor Lois Thome spoke to forensic pathologist Dr. Cyril Wecht about what Blue found during Petio’s autopsy.