# Van lifer goes missing on cross country trip with fiancee **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2021, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604 "2021-09-13T13:48:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 65
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1284 "2021-11-24T01:43:52Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > They’ve had the autopsy, and yes, his identity was confirmed by dental records back in October. partial records from what they described. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1285 "2021-11-24T02:09:06Z")
So, he killed himself, probably in grief over the loss of his love. Who then killed Gabby? 😲 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1286 "2021-11-24T02:12:37Z")
> Well, this is just a [little](https://www.definitions.net/definition/little) Peyton Place And you’re all [Harper](https://www.definitions.net/definition/Harper) Valley hypocrites. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1287 "2021-11-24T02:40:23Z")
Errr… ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1288 "2021-11-24T07:12:31Z")
Here’s an article with a detail not in the CNN report: “Laundrie’s parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, had been missing a pistol ever since he took off, their lawyer claimed.” > **[Brian Laundrie died of gunshot wound to the head, final autopsy reveals](https://nypost.com/2021/11/23/brian-laundrie-final-autopsy-results-released/)** > > Brian Laundrie was sought in Gabby Petito’s disappearance and death when authorities discovered his skeletal remains at the Carlton Reserve near his parents’ Florida home. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 9:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1289 "2021-11-24T09:15:00Z")
I’m wondering if his parents knew he was going off to kill himself? I know that sounds cold, but his parents’ behavior seemed… a bit off to me. Maybe they thought suicide was preferable to a life in prison? Or many Brian thought that? Likely, we’ll never know. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1290 "2021-11-24T11:45:04Z")
So the drifter that killed Gabbie finally caught up with Brian and killed him too. And he’ll get away with both murders. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1291 "2021-11-24T11:46:23Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > It’s difficult to have confidence that this isn’t merely a case of wanting to close the books as soon as possible. > > For example, I’d be amazed if _any_ law-enforcement resources are being spent on the journal (now or when it was found). The thinking could be ‘why should we bother, if it’s a closed case?’ CNN seems to be implying that **[the case is not yet closed](https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/23/us/brian-laundrie-autopsy/index.html):** > The [Florida medical examiner’s office] won’t make the autopsy report public “until the law enforcement investigation is complete,” the office said in a release. Although I suspect that’s mostly a technicality as I can’t imagine what more there is to investigate. Regardless of what authorities may be assumed to “want”, the practical reality is that the books _ **are** _ closed. Chapter 1 was Gabby going missing. Chapter 2 was Gabby found dead. Chapter 3 was determination of homicide, with Brian Laundrie as the probable killer. Chapter 4 was Laundrie going missing. Chapter 5 was Laundrie found dead. The determination of suicide was the final chapter. What else is there? If this were a movie, this is where the credits roll. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1292 "2021-11-24T11:59:58Z")
Like his girlfriend did, he strangled himself to death. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1293 "2021-11-24T15:01:04Z")
A friend of mine who has a true crime channel on youtube is coming to FL to visit me. She plans on snooping around Northport and Ft De Soto and, I guess Carlton Reserve (wherever that is). I get the reason for this thread; is current and sad and strange and nothing wrong with having a discussion, but I fail to see the point of Johnny Civilian wanting to play junior detective. She asked if I want to join her on her little jaunts. Erm, no. I’ll go to Ft. DeSoto and wait for her on the beach(as I’ve done many times) but cruise around the parents’? neighborhood? Hell no. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1294 "2021-11-24T15:40:54Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Although I suspect that’s mostly a technicality as I can’t imagine what more there is to investigate. Regardless of what authorities may be assumed to “want”, the practical reality is that the books _ **are** _ closed. Chapter 1 was Gabby going missing. Chapter 2 was Gabby found dead. Chapter 3 was determination of homicide, with Brian Laundrie as the probable killer. Chapter 4 was Laundrie going missing. Chapter 5 was Laundrie found dead. The determination of suicide was the final chapter. What else is there? If this were a movie, this is where the credits roll If this was fiction, we’d would have just concluded the first act, and Jethro Gibbs/Columbo/Monk would be hot on the trail of the actual perp. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1295 "2021-11-24T16:17:22Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Like his girlfriend did, he strangled himself to death. No, it was actually a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1296 "2021-11-24T16:57:27Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > it was actually a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. He did that after he strangled himself, to hide the actual cause of death. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1297 "2021-11-24T17:16:30Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Maybe they thought suicide was preferable to a life in prison? Or many Brian thought that? Could have been a combination of things, including remorse. I mean he presumably did love her at one point. Alone with your thoughts in a near wilderness, uncomfortable and miserable, knowing you’re almost certainly going down eventually anyway and feeling guilty. This was always BY FAR the likeliest end to the story as people were saying way back when in this thread. A fairly standard murder-suicide at the end of the day, only unusual in how long it took and in all the extra media exposure. ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1298 "2021-11-24T18:20:17Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > > [@Isamu](#): > > > > Like his girlfriend did, he strangled himself to death. > > No, it was actually a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. So you’re saying Gabby killed herself with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but then staged it to look like she’d been strangled? To frame Brian? Plot twist! But if that’s true, there’s still one unanswered question… which one of them shot John F. Kennedy? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1299 "2021-11-24T18:28:49Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > If this was fiction, we’d would have just concluded the first act, and Jethro Gibbs/Columbo/Monk would be hot on the trail of the actual perp. Only if it was fiction intended to introduce an unbelievable, unrealistic, well-nigh impossible plot twist. > [@Tamerlane](#): > > Could have been a combination of things, including remorse. I mean he presumably did love her at one point. Alone with your thoughts in a near wilderness, uncomfortable and miserable, knowing you’re almost certainly going down eventually anyway and feeling guilty. Remember that (according to his parents) he left his phone and wallet behind. As it later turned out, the only thing of note that he took with him was a pistol. Whether or not one is surprised at the suicide (I was, frankly) it seems pretty clear that it was premeditated when he left the house. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1300 "2021-11-24T19:12:01Z")
> [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > But if that’s true, there’s still one unanswered question… which one of them shot John F. Kennedy? It was you and me. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1301 "2021-11-24T19:20:57Z")
I don’t think it would be entirely inappropriate at this point to ask that you introduce yourself. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1302 "2021-11-24T19:25:18Z")
Please allow me. Cochrane: Straight Dope, Straight Dope: Cochrane. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/van-lifer-goes-missing-on-cross-country-trip-with-fiancee/950604/1303 "2021-11-24T19:25:55Z")
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