Gabby Petito’s body was found ‘next to hiking shoes’ as expert says it was a ‘quickly covered-up crime scene’

A new clue found next to Gabby Petito’s strangled body has been revealed in the hours after a coroner released details on how she died.

Gabby Petito’s body was found next to a pair of hiking shoes, hinting that the crime scene was covered up quickly, an expert says.

A coroner revealed that Gabby was killed by strangulation at a press conference on Tuesday as the manhunt for her fiance Brian Laundrie continues who is a ‘person of interest’ in the case.

The announcement came nearly four weeks after her remains were found in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park on September 19.

KSL filmed aerial video of the crime scene on the day of the discovery which showed the deceased 22-year-old hiker’s body near a pair of discarded hiking shoes.

Gabby Petito’s final autopsy was released on Wednesday. Picture: Instagram

The video was not released publicly but was reviewed by Kurt Morgan, a longtime Salt Lake County prosecutor who has surveyed the scene of numerous homicides.

Morgan said the footage indicated that whoever discarded Gabby’s body there did so with haste.

“This was quick,” he told KSL. “This was not sitting here for five or six hours, trying to figure out how to conceal a crime.”

Morgan also said it was unusual that there were no obvious signs of a struggle on the ground.

“One of the things I’ve been seeing in this story is a history of these individuals getting into fights and she attacked him,” he explained.

“I don’t see that here. All I see is one individual who suffered the damage and no evidence of injury created by her.”

Gabby Petito pictured with her fiance Brian Laundrie. Picture: Instagram

Morgan said there is a good chance fingerprints or DNA were left on the body because Gabby was strangled.

He said he would look at that kind of evidence “very, very carefully” if he were prosecuting the case.

Teton County Coroner Dr Brent Blue on Tuesday confirmed that DNA evidence had been turned over to law enforcement but declined to comment further.

DEATH BY STRANGULATION

At the centre of yesterday’s press conference was the coroner’s confirmation that Gabby died by strangulation after her death was ruled a homicide in a preliminary autopsy.

Dr Blue said Gabby’s predicted death was three to four weeks before her body was found. The body was outside “in the wilderness” for this time.

The autopsy revealed Gabby was strangled to death

The doctor also confirmed that Gabby Petito was not pregnant at the time of her death and that a toxicology report will unable to be released at this time.

It wasn’t clear if the cause of death determination might lead to additional charges against Laundrie, who is considered a person of interest in Gabby’s disappearance and remains unaccounted for.

FAMILY REACTS

Following the results of the autopsy, Laundrie family lawyer Steve Bertolino released a statement saying: “Gabby Petito’s death at such a young age is a tragedy.

“While Brian Laundrie is currently charged with the unauthorised use of a debit card belonging to Gabby, Brian is only considered a person of interest in relation to Gabby Petito’s demise.

The family are pleading for Brian Laundrie to come forward. Picture: Octavio Jones/Getty Images/AFP.

“At this time Brian is still missing and when he is located we will address the pending fraud charge against him.”

Gabby’s mother Nichole Schmidt released a scathingly brief statement in response.

“His words are garbage. Keep talking,” Schmidt told WFLA.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been republished with permission

Originally published as Gabby Petito’s body was found ‘next to hiking shoes’ as expert says it was a ‘quickly covered-up crime scene’