Investigators have shot down a report that Nancy Guthrie’s son-in-law is a suspect in the abduction of the 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Today Show star Savannah Guthrie because he allegedly was the last person to see her alive.
Former NewsNation host Ashleigh Banfield said Tuesday that her “impeccable” source told her police may be treating brother-in-law Tommaso Cioni as the “prime suspect” in Guthrie’s disappearance from her million-dollar home outside Tucson, Arizona.
Banfield, on her podcast Drop Dead Serious, also reported that her source said authorities had “towed and impounded” the car that belonged to Savannah’s sister, Annie, the wife of Cioni.
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“We have not identified a suspect or person of interest in this case,” the Pima County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement released Wednesday. “Detectives continue to speak with anyone who may have had contact with Mrs. Guthrie. We are also awaiting additional forensic results.”
Additionally, the Sheriff’s Department told TMZ, “We are not confirming the car being seized, we are unsure where that reporter is getting that information.”
The statement noted that “the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist the investigation.”
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos confirmed in earlier reports that Annie was the last person to see her mother, according to the online magazine Parade.
“The two had dinner together on Saturday night and Annie had dropped Nancy back home afterwards. It is unknown if the dinner included Annie’s husband, Tomasso Cioni,” Parade reported.
The Guthrie story has been dominating headlines and social media since not long after her family reported that Guthrie did not show up for her Sunday church service.
Several outlets have reported that drops of blood were found outside the steps of the house. Reportedly Guthrie has limited mobility but is mentally sound and even appeared at times in her daughter’s segment on the Today Show.
Purported ransom notes have showed up in the newsrooms of TMZ and Tucson’s local CBS affiliate but as of Wednesday remained unverified, USA Today reported. The FBI is reportedly assisting in the case.
Speculation on Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance by cable TV criminologists and social media sleuths has ranged from her being an easy kidnapping mark because of the Guthrie’s public profile to the abduction being an inside job perpetrated by someone who was familiar with or worked with the family.
As for her part in the speculation, veteran reporter Banfield did adhere to traditional journalistic standards by attributing the disputed allegations about Cioni and the car entirely to her anonymous source, including saying some of the source’s comments were “just musings not evidence.”
She also pointed out that it is typical police procedure to investigate family members in such cases.
Veteran crime writer Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
