Even if you haven't closely followed the Gabby Petito case over the past month, you've surely seen the headlines. Now Brian Laundrie is dead, so is this the end?
Here's a rundown of the latest details:
1. The manhunt for Brian is officially over. On Wednesday, human remains were found around some of Brian's belongings at a nature reserve in Florida not far from his parents' home. Yesterday, the authorities confirmed that it IS Brian.
So now both he and his fiancée are dead. Gabby was found strangled in Wyoming last month, and there's a VERY good chance that Brian was directly involved . . . although officially, he's only been declared a "person of interest" in her death.
2. Brian's remains have been described as "skeletal" and scattered. They were reportedly in a swampy area that was submerged in water up until recently. It's possible that "animal activity" contributed to the state of the remains.
3. The FBI said dental records confirmed his identification. Investigators were asked if a weapon was found, like a gun, but they wouldn't comment on that.
4. There's no timeline for Brian's death yet. He was supposedly last seen on September 13th. Brian's family reported him missing, and said he'd told them he was going on a hike. They were the last known people to see him alive.
5. Now that Brian is dead, it's likely that we'll never know exactly what went down between him and Gabby. Unless Brian told someone . . . like his parents.
That said, Brian might have left a statement. A notebook was found with his remains. It was badly damaged after being submerged in the water, but obviously the authorities will have it examined. They haven't said anything else about it yet.
6. As for Brian's parents, the family attorney claims they've been cooperating with authorities. In fact, Brian's dad first spotted the backpack on Wednesday. But the parents were searching WITH the authorities at the time.
7. So, is the saga over? Well, that depends. Barring any new witnesses coming forward . . . any public comments from Brian's parents . . . or anything coming out of that notebook . . . yes, this is probably the end.
But it IS likely that we'll get a few more answers . . . like Brian's cause of death, and more details on the timeline of this very tragic story.