Why Gabby Petito Autopsy Report Unlikely to Reveal Cause of Death

It is unlikely that new details around the cause of Gabby Petito's death will come out of Tuesday afternoon's press conference by the Teton County, Wyoming coroner, a former FBI agent has said.

Petito's partner Brian Laundrie is missing and has been named as a person of interest in her death. Petito was declared missing on September 11, 10 days after not returning from a cross-country tour of national parks with Laundrie. She was found dead in a national park in Wyoming on September 19.

Petito was last seen alive in Grand Teto, Wyoming, on a cross-country road trip with Laundrie, on August 25. She was found dead in Grand Teto National Park on September 19, and officials have ruled that her death was a homicide.

The press conference is due to be held on Tuesday at 2.30 p.m. EST.

Jennifer Coffindaffer, who was a special agent at the FBI for more than 25 years, was interviewed by News Now's Brian Entin on Monday evening.

"So Jennifer what do you think of this announcement by the coroner in Wyoming that there's going to be a press conference tomorrow at 2.30 p.m. ?" Entin asked.

"Well, I think the coroner is going to release the official results. However, I would be very, very surprised if he releases the exact cause of death, the manner of death, beyond a homicide," Coffindaffer said.

Entin responded: "So you don't think it will be detailed?"

"I don't think so. That is based on the fact an ongoing investigation and those details are so crucial for the investigation. Moreover, say that specific details are released as an example that she was strangled and later there are witnesses that say they thought they observed something, perhaps a strangulation, did it come from this coroner's report—and the specifics of that—or was it something they really saw? So it's very important that those types of details in this type of case," Coffindaffer said.

"Even in the case of a situation where a killer will actually confess, those details are very important for corroborating their confession. So those are typically not released and I would be surprised if any new details will come out in that press conference tomorrow," she adds.

Asked whether they could increase the charges against Laundrie during the press conference, the former agent said she doubted it.

"A coroner is responsible for the information contained in that autopsy and for conducting the autopsy. However the overall investigation, anything to do with charging Brian Laundrie that would be released by the FBI.

"The FBI is working hand in hand with the United States Attorneys Office and actually it would probably be both of them combined and jointly that would release any information regarding an indictment against a person who committed this homicide."

She noted that the investigation was still in its "infancy" and had been sped along quickly due the nature of the case, the widespread media coverage and that Laundrie is still at large.

Laundrie returned to his parents' house in North Fort, Florida, without Petito. Laundrie's parents initially said they last saw their son on September 14, telling authorities at the time they believed he was heading to the Carlton Reserve nearby to hike or camp. They later changed that date to September 13.