Forensic psychiatrist breaks down why the notebook is important in discovering Brian Laundrie's remains

A prominent criminal profiler discusses what the items near the remains of Brian Laundrie could mean as investigators continue to seek answers in the murder of Gabby Petito.

Investigators found a notebook belonging to Brian Laundrie. A forensic psychiatrist said those may be key in shining light on Laundrie’s mindset leading up to his death and the murder of Gabby Petito.

"Hopefully, we’d be able to find something out," said Dr. Dave Davis, a forensic psychiatrist and medical director at Piedmont Hospital’s psychiatric clinic. 

Dr. Davis said the notebook could offer some important clues.

"If it’s like a diary or a notebook, anything that’s revealed would be interesting to us and we might be able to speculate on anything he didn’t tell us," Dr. Davis said. "Most people in this condition do not leave a lot of information."

But he said it is possible the notebook could contain some type of explanation.

"Rarely does it give information directly that we may be looking for. But indirectly, we may be able to read between the lines and understand more about what was in his mind," he said. "If in fact, he did murder her."

Laundrie vanished last month, just days after his girlfriend Gabby Petito was reported missing. She was later found strangled to death. Investigators tried for weeks to piece together Laundrie’s possible connection to her murder.

"We don’t know what the stresses were between them either," he said.

Dr. Davis said Laundrie could offer an excuse instead of a reason. 

"Giving reasons why he’s not such a bad guy, in other words, why he did this to excuse himself," he said. "If he feels shame or guilt that may well be in the diary or information he provides."

But don’t expect a confession.

"I’m expecting it would be something more like, ‘well, here’s the situation: I was under a lot of pressure and stress and she was contributing to the difficulties and perhaps I just lost it and now I regret it,’" he speculated. 

Davis said people connected to a crime like this often look to blame other people for triggering horrible behavior. He said it’s possible Laundrie’s notebook could contain an apology but he’d likely try to justify his actions.

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