Police refute ‘false reports’ that remains found in search for Brian Laundrie did not match his DNA
North Port police say no DNA analysis has been conducted on Brian Laundrie’s remains yet
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The North Port police department has denied ‘false reports’ that DNA results did not match Brian Laundrie’s remains that were found in a Florida park last week.
In a post on Twitter, the department posted the medical examiner’s statement which said that the FBI had confirmed that the remains found last week belonged to Mr Laundrie and that no DNA analysis has been conducted on the remains yet.
“The identity of the remains found at the Carlton Reserve on 20 October was confirmed by comparison to known dental records of Brian Laundrie,” the statement said.
The statement added that samples will be submitted for DNA testing once the examination of the remains by the medical examiner’s office is complete.”
The FBI confirmed last week that skeletal remains found inside the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park and the nearby Carlton reserve belonged to Mr Laundrie.
Mr Laundrie, a person of interest in the homicide case of his former fiancé Gaby Petito, had gone missing last month, four days after he left his family home on 13 September.
Steve Bertolino, lawyer for the Laundrie family, said that the initial autopsy results did not reveal the cause of death and that the remains have been sent to an anthropologist for further evaluation, reported Fox7 Austin.
Although rapid DNA tests are used by medical examiners to identify genetic material, in a few hours, investigators believe that due to the condition in which Mr Laundrie’s remains were found, DNA may be too damaged to provide conclusive source of identification.
In such cases, more traditional methods such as matching dental records are used as the likelihood of having dental X-rays on record rather than DNA profiles.
Mr Bertolino added that the Laundrie family have decided to not conduct a funeral for their son and will cremate his remains.
Investigators said that Mr Laundrie’s notebook could provide clues about the days running up to his death.
His notebook and backpack were found in an area near where his remains were found later.
The items were found when two law enforcement officials went along with Mr Laundrie’s parents Chris and Roberta into the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park. However, Mr Bertolino dismissed allegations of the Laundries planting the remains there.
Josh Taylor, who works for the North Port police, said that the diary is “salvageable” but whether it can provide further answers or not is up to the FBI to look into, reported Fox News Digital.
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