Now that the remains of Brian Laundrie have been positively identified by authorities, there are still lingering questions as to why, how and even when he disappeared in the days after his fiancée, gabby Petito , was reported missing.
His parents, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, may be vital to unraveling the mysteries. But their recollections of key moments during these critical days -- according to their family attorney -- have been inconsistent or conflicted with law enforcement authorities' version of events.
The Laundrie family "has conducted themselves in a very odd way that's generated a lot of suspicion right from the beginning," former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CNN.
The undisputed facts are that Brian Laundrie, 23, and Petito, 22, had been road-tripping in a white van from New York through the US West over the summer, regularly posting photos and stories to their social media pages with the hashtag #vanlife.
Those posts abruptly stopped in late August, and police say Laundrie returned September 1 in the couple's van without his fiancée to the North Port, Florida, home where he lived with Petito and his parents.
Petito's family reported her missing September 11, and her body was found September 19 in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest. A coroner ruled she died by strangulation. Inside that nine-day period in September, Laundrie left his family home, and differing accounts have emerged from the Laundrie family attorney and the police about what occurred in a narrow period within that time frame -- from September 13 to 17.