Killer Brian Laundrie admitted murdering his partner Gabby Petito in a notepad found next to his body, the FBI has confirmed.
The 23-year-old took his own life as a massive manhunt was launched following Gabby's death.
Today it emerged that none of his family will be charged with aiding him after he returned home to Florida before going on the run.
Laundrie's body was discovered at the Myakkahatchee Creek Environmental Park in Florida on October 20.
He disappeared after returning from a cross-country road trip without his partner Gabby and was the lone suspect in her death.
Her body had been found in a remote area in Wyoming on September 19, and a post-mortem confirmed she had been strangled.
In a statement wrapping up its investigation the FBI said: “A review of the notebook revealed written statements by Mr Laundrie claiming responsibility for Ms Petito’s death.”
Petito family attorney Richard Stafford praised investigators for their “diligent and painstaking efforts in this extremely complicated case”.
He said in a statement: “The quality and quantity of the facts and information collected by the FBI leave no doubt that Brian Laundrie murdered Gabby.”
A backpack and notepad belonging to Laundrie was found near his body and although the corpse had been scavenged by alligators and wild pigs, an examination of dental records proved conclusively that it was him.
The Laundrie family’s attorney Steve Bertolino said in a statement to E! News after the discovery: "Chris and Roberta Laundrie have been informed that the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was suicide.
"Chris and Roberta are still mourning the loss of their son and are hopeful that these findings bring closure to both families."
Gabby and Laundrie embarked on their trip in early July from New York's Long Island, where her parents live.
As they travelled through Kansas, Colorado, Utah and points west, Miss Petito documented their "van life" on social media.
She posted her final photo to Instagram on August 25, the same day she last spoke to her mum by phone.
They were seen quarrelling in August, with police in Utah releasing a video showing Miss Petito tearfully describing a dispute she had had with Laundrie.
He was later named a person of interest in her disappearance, and on September 23 a federal grand jury in Wyoming indicted him on a charge of fraudulently using her bank debit card.
