Brian Laundrie Was Shot in the Head, Submerged Underwater and Eaten by Animals, Full Medical Report Reveals

On Monday, Sarasota Medic al Examiner Dr. Wilson Broussard released his full report in all its grim detail, describing the exact condition of the 23-year-old’s remains when he was finally discovered in the Carlton Reserve on October 20 after a massive manhunt.

He describes how the skeletal remains were eventually found in plain view, scattered on top of the dirt ground. There was no soft tissue remaining, and the scene “lacked the odor of decomposition.”

The area, he noted from the waterline, had up until recently been under approximately three feet of water.

There were two main scenes of evidence, around 250 feet apart: at one, investigators found personal effects including a pair of green shorts, two slip-on shoes, a white metal ring, and a backpack containing a tent and flares. The tent had not been erected.

They also found a .357 magnum snub-nose revolver. The gun had two live rounds in the chamber, and one spent. Using a metal detector, they also found a single bullet under a few inches of dirt.

At the second site, they found a handwritten half note, and a hat with the logo “MOAB Coffee Roasters”, as well as a number of skeletal animal remains, including two boars and a cow. Nearby they found a drybag containing a journal with a wooden box, which in turn contained a small notebook and several photographs, including some of Laundrie himself.

The skeleton itself was almost entirely complete. The skull was in multiple fragments “consistent with a gunshot injury of the head.”

Many of the larger bones meanwhile showed evidence of “moderate to extensive animal predation” which is “characterized by gouging, gnawing and chewing marks.” The likely culprits were identified as the Reserve’s resident carnivores and omnivores, including feral dogs, coyotes, rodents and raccoons.

Although Laundrie’s sister told investigators that her brother was right-hand dominant, as noted in the report, the autopsy showed he shot himself once in the left temple.

Toxicology also detected no drugs in his system.

Laundrie’s identity would eventually be confirmed via dental records, the report also showed.

In his section of the report, Investigator Ronald L. Busbee, Jr. wrote that six days after the discovery of the body, he interviewed Laundrie’s parents Christopher and Roberta, who told him their son had been very healthy and had no known medical history, that he did not take any medication, and had no known primary physician.

“When I asked about the decedent’s social history, Mr. and Ms. Laundrie stated that they did not want to provide that information,” Busbee noted.