Gabby Petito's cause of death was strangulation, coroner says

 

Gabby Petito's cause of death was ruled to be strangulation and the manner of death was homicide, Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said on Tuesday.

In particular, the cause of death was "manual strangulation/throttling," according to the coroner's verdict, a legal document Blue filed on October 5 with the Teton County Clerk of District Court.

"We believe this was strangling by a human being," Blue told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Blue earlier said the time of Petito's death was estimated to be about three to four weeks before her body was found on September 19 in Bridger-Teton National Forest in Wyoming, an approximate time that matches the timeline of when she last spoke with her family.

Richard Stafford, the Petito family's attorney, said in September, Petito FaceTimed with her mother August 24 and exchanged texts over the following three days. The family received one last message on August 30 which read, "No service in Yosemite," but they doubt she wrote it, Stafford said.

When Blue was asked by CNN's Randi Kaye whether he could say definitively Gabby Petito could not have sent a text August 30, Blue said he could not.

"It's not like TV where they say, oh, they died on this date, it's a very rough estimate," he said. "And I know that law enforcement is using other methods to try to determine a more exact date, but from an autopsy point of view, it's a very rough estimate."

The autopsy included a whole body CT scan, an examination by a forensic pathologist and by a forensic anthropologist, and a toxicology analysis, Blue said at the news conference.

He declined to provide further details about Petito's autopsy or a potential suspect, saying he was limited in what information he could legally release.

Stafford on Tuesday reiterated the family is not commenting right now.

"Gabby's family is not making any statements until they bring Gabby home," Stafford said. "I will let you know when that happens."

The coroner said Petito's remains were at a mortuary in Wyomin

Source CNN