UPDATED 10/21, 5:42 p.m. ET: The human remains that were discovered earlier this week are those of Brian Laundrie, the FBI said in a statement on Thursday.
See original story below.
Steven Bertolino, the attorney representing the family of Brian Laundrie, agrees that the human remains found earlier this week are likely to be those of the 23-year-old person of interest in the Gabby Petito case.
“It’s quite sad, you can imagine, as a parent,” Bertolino told CNN’s Chris Cuomo during an interview on Wednesday. Asked about the remains, which have not yet been officially identified, Bertolino pointed to the likelihood that they are indeed Laundrie’s while also noting that he and the family will await formal results.
“It’s not about belief,” he said. “As you said at the onset, the probability is strong that it is Brian’s remains but we’re gonna wait until the forensic results come in and verify that.”
Bertolino, who’s known the Laundrie family for “well over 20 years,” also addressed the speculation surrounding the family’s silence amid the widely publicized case.
“I’m the one who told them not to talk,” he said. “That’s been on me from day one. That’s not on the family. And if it turns out my legal advice is wrong in that perspective, so be it. But that’s on me, not on the family.”
The remains in question were found near a backpack and notebook said to have belonged to Laundrie, the FBI’s Tampa division announced Wednesday.
In September, human remains later identified to be Petito’s were found near her last known location. Officials later said she had died by strangulation. Amid the missing white woman syndrome-spurred news mania, a man—as reported earlier this week—says he was mistaken for Laundrie and awoke to the surprise of law enforcement bursting into his room with guns drawn.
The remains found in Florida this week were found in an area that was previously underwater. A source told CBS News that “a small part” of a body was discovered, which may add a layer of difficulty to the identification process.
