The notebook was discovered in October, in the same area as Laundrie’s remains, in Florida’s Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park, authorities said. A revolver was found nearby, the FBI stated.
Petito’s and Laundrie’s families have reached an agreement on how the couple’s belongings, including a notebook, will be distributed, Laundrie family attorney Steve Bertolino said Friday, about four months after Petito’s remains were found in Wyoming.
Bertolino would not say which family will receive the notebook. The Petito family met with the FBI in Tampa, Florida, this week and reached an agreement on distributing her and Laundrie’s belongings, he said before the FBI statement was released.
The Petitos thanked the FBI for its support, according to a statement from the family’s lawyer.
“We truly appreciate the FBI’s diligent and painstaking efforts in this extremely complicated case. The quality and quantity of the facts and information collected by the FBI leave no doubt (that) Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby,” it said.
The FBI said Friday its investigation into the death “will be closed in the near future.”
“All logical investigative steps have been concluded in this case,” FBI Denver Special Agent in Charge Michael Schneider said. “The investigation did not identify any other individuals other than Brian Laundrie directly involved in the tragic death of Gabby Petito.”
The officers agreed not to charge Petito, who had acknowledged striking Laundrie first, as long as she and Laundrie spent the night apart. The independent investigator found the officers neglected their duty by not pressing charges.
The specific evening leading up to Petito’s death remain a mystery. The FBI described Laundrie as a “person of interest” in her murder, but he was not charged in her killing, although he did face charges for allegedly using Petito’s debit card without authorization.
Bertolino told CNN, “Gabby and Brian are no longer with their families and this tragedy has caused enormous emotional pain and suffering to all who loved either or both of them. We can only hope that with today’s closure of the case each family can begin to heal and move forward and find peace in and with the memories of their children. May Gabby and Brian both rest in peace.”
CNN’s Andy Rose, Alta Spells, Taylor Romine and Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed to this report.
