Crime

FBI Requests Brian Laundrie's Personal Items to Help with 'DNA Matching,' Says Family Lawyer

"Brian's parents provided the FBI with what they could," the family attorney says

Published on September 27, 2021 01:17 PM

The FBI has requested several items that belong Brian Laundrie in hopes obtaining his DNA as they investigate the death of his fiancé Gabby Petito.

The Laundrie family attorney, Steven Bertolino, confirmed the request to several news outlets.

"The FBI requested some personal items belonging to Brian Laundrie to assist them with DNA matching and Brian's parents provided the FBI with what they could," Bertolino said, according to CNN.

Bertolino has not returned PEOPLE's message for comment.

FBI agents returned to the Laundries' home in North Port, Fla., on Sunday. According to CNN, at least two agents entered the family home carrying a bag.

It's unclear what items the FBI agents took, or how Laundrie's DNA will help them figure out what happened to Petito, whose body was identified in Wyoming last week. Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Laundrie, alleging that he improperly used a debit cards in the days after Petito's death.

While Laundrie has not been charged in Petito's disappearance and death, authorities have named him as a person of interest in the case.

Petito, 22, was on a cross-country trip with Laundrie when she vanished. While she had been blogging upbeat stories and videos of her "van life," police reports and witness statements allege that the trip was filled with arguments and negative interactions.

For exclusive interviews and details on the Gabby Petito case, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this week's issue, which went on newsstands Friday.

On August 12 — about two weeks before Petito vanished — police outside Moab, Utah, were called after a witness said that Laundrie had hit Petito during an argument.

Another eyewitness, who provided a written statement, told police he saw the couple in the middle of "some sort of dispute" and that "something definitely didn't seem right." That witness also said it appeared Laundrie was trying to lock Petito out of the van and take her phone.

Gabby Petito. Uncredited/AP/Shutterstock

Police audio recordings, obtained by Fox 13, show that dispatchers told police officers that Laundrie had hit Petito.

Despite this, police classified the incident as "disorderly conduct" rather than domestic violence, and determined Petito, who admitted to striking Laundrie, was the aggressor.

The FBI is now in charge of the investigation. An FBI spokesperson has not returned PEOPLE's calls for comment.

If you have information on this case, call 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.