Coroner says Gabby Petito’s cause of death was strangulation

UPDATE: Gabby Petito's cause of death was ruled to be strangulation and the manner of death was homicide, Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said on Tuesday.

Blue announced the findings at a press conference about a month after Petito, 22, was reported missing in the wake of a road trip with her 23-year-old fiancé Brian Laundrie. Her remains were found in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest on September 19.

Blue previously ruled the manner of her death a homicide in his preliminary findings, but the cause of death remained pending further autopsy results, according to the FBI.

ORIGINAL REPORT: TETON COUNTY, Wyoming -- A Wyoming coroner is expected to announce the results of an autopsy Tuesday on Gabby Petito, the 22-year-old travel blogger whose remains were recovered in September in a national park.

Petito's boyfriend and cross-country traveling companion, Brian Laundrie, has been named by investigators as a person of interest in her death and is the subject of a massive nationwide search being directed by the FBI.

Teton County Coroner Dr. Brent Blue said in a media alert Monday night that he plans to discuss "the ruling on the autopsy of Gabrielle Petito."

After Petito's body was discovered on Sept. 19 in the Bridger-Teton National Forest near Jackson, Blue said the manner of Petito's death was a homicide.

Blue's announcement will come amidst a nationwide search the FBI is leading for Laundrie, who drew suspicion after returning to his parents' North Port, Florida, home on Sept. 1 without Petito but driving her van, authorities said.

Laundrie's parents told police they last saw their son on Sept. 13, two days after Petito's parents, who live in Long Island, New York, reported her missing. Laundrie's parents told investigators their son may have been headed to the Carlton Reserve, a 25,000-acre wildlife preserve near their home.