An autopsy should clarify whether a body found in Wyoming is actually the missing Gabby Petito. Investigators are meanwhile looking for clues to the whereabouts of their friend.
North Port / Moose / Washington – After the general certainty that 22-year-old Gabby Petito is dead, the US authorities are increasingly targeting her missing friend. On Monday, the police and the FBI ransacked his parents’ home in Florida, where the couple had temporarily lived.
Autopsy is pending
The woman’s 23-year-old friend came back alone from the couple’s road trip through the United States in early September and has not been found since last week. His family’s lawyer wanted to comment on Tuesday, it said. The autopsy of the body, which investigators found over the weekend in a national park in the state of Wyoming, is also due for Tuesday. You are assuming that there is a high probability that it is Gabby Petito.
The case is making waves in the USA and is also attracting international attention – not least because the Florida couple shared numerous pictures and videos from their trip on social networks. The two had set off on a trip to the USA in the summer. On September 1, the boyfriend came back home to Florida alone, according to police, ten days later Petito’s parents reported their daughter as missing.
Find the friend
According to previous information, Petito’s friend had refused to speak to the police about the events. His family announced on Friday that he had already set out on a trip to a nature reserve in Florida on Tuesday last week. On Sunday, the police looked for him there with drones and dogs, among other things. This search operation was not continued on Monday.
Instead, a large police and FBI contingent moved forward at the home of Petito’s friend’s parents’ home in Florida, as seen on live television images. They stayed there for hours.
Incident before disappearing
While Gabby Petito shared pictures of happy moments against the scenic backdrop of American national parks on social media, there is now increased attention to an incident in which the police stopped the couple on suspicion of physical violence. There are recordings of this from the police officer’s body-worn camera. The crying Petito said in the video that she has an obsessive-compulsive disorder and an argument had broken out. She slapped her boyfriend in the face.
However, in the call that triggered the operation, the eyewitness said he saw the man hit Petito, it became known on Monday. Among other things, the broadcaster Fox News played the recording of the phone call. dpa
