Two former FBI agents sat down to discuss the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case and the law enforcement officials shared their expert insights on the matter. Among the topics that came up were the masked suspect, the ransom letters, and the public scrutiny directed at daughter Annie Guthrie and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni.
Retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer spoke to retired FBI special agent Robin Dreek and the recording was posted on her X profile.
Dreek was asked about the Guthrie family. Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie, was taken from her home in Catalina Foothills, near Tucson, Arizona. While her family reported her missing on February 1, authorities believe she was taken the night before.
Since the crime came to light, a lot of focus has been on the Guthrie family – siblings Savannah, Annie, and Camron, as well as son-in-law Tommaso Cioni. While Savannah has celebrity status already due to her NBC program, Camron came to the spotlight as Savannah mentioned how he had known ‘right away’ that it was a kidnapping. Meanwhile, Annie and Tommaso had scrutiny turned towards them after former NewsNation journalist Ashleigh Banfield claimed that Cioni might be a suspect in the case.
Also Read | Connection between Nancy Guthrie probe and Gilgo Beach murders revealed, ‘The FBI used…’
This came after reports that Guthrie had had dinner with Annie the night before she was taken and that Cioni had dropped her home after, making the two – who live close to Guthrie – among the last ones to see her before the disappearance.
Notably, Pima County Sheriff’s Department, who are in charge of the investigation, had already shut down Banfield’s claims and Sheriff Chris Nanos later clarifief that none of the Guthrie family members were suspects in the matter. Coffindaffer, while speaking to Dreek, brought up what the family must be going through, with so many eyes on their every move.
Tommaso Cioni, Annie involved in Nancy Guthrie kidnapping?
Dreek was asked by Coffindaffer about online theories on the family members being possibly involved in the kidnapping. She asked what ‘pushes back’ against what these online sleuths considered to be proof.
“Tell me what in your research, and with your background, why you don’t believe Annie and Tommaso were involved,” Coffindaffer asked the former FBI Special Agent. She was quick to add that this was if the agent did believe that they were not involved in the case.
Dreek replied that it would be a ‘major spike’ out of their behavior pattern. The law enforcement expert explained that officials normally always look at family first, because more times than not a ‘horrendous thing’ done to a family member is carried out by another member of the same family. Dreek went on to explain that some of the aspects looked at are whether they have healthy relationships or unhealthy ones and if there are any unresolved issues among family members.
“Happy people don’t commit espionage…happy people don’t do crazy crap,” Dreek exclaimed in the video. The former FBI agent added ‘if something bad is going to happen, it is going to come from an unhealthy relationship all the time.’
Dreek then drew attention to the kinds of people and their relationships in Guthrie’s close circle. He spoke about a ‘deep dive’ on Annie and Cioni, a background check and a look at prior records (if any), their relationships, and patterns of behavior.
Speaking of Cioni, Dreek said that his background had him as a school teacher, who did not have any issues with anyone and played in a band. Dreek also noted that he’s been married for a while and seems to have a good relationship. Pointing to Cioni’s relationship with Guthrie, Dreek mentioned that he had his mother in law ‘over routinely for Saturday night dinner and plays games’.
“If there was an issue, that would not be going on,” the former FBI Special Agent stated. “I guarantee it, it just doesn’t happen,” he continued. Speaking about the money issue, as in, the money they might get from kidnapping Guthrie, Dreek reasoned that given the woman’s advanced age it would be logical to wait and then get the money as inheritance. He also added that if a family member were to enter Guthrie’s house, it would have been much easier than what was seen on camera.
Dreek noted that while Cioni and Annie might not be 100 percent in the clear it was 99.9 percent evident that they were not involved in any way. He also explained why cops might have held on to Annie’s car for a long time.
The former FBI man said that Annie was the one who likely set things up around Guthrie’s house given the proximity, and also might have ferried workers in her car, which might have led to forensic evidence being present of a possible outsider who might have something to do with Guthrie’s kidnapping.
Dreek stated that the only reason Cioni and Annie might have had the attention of law enforcement is because they were caretakers of Guthrie and not because they were suspects. The former law enforcement official also posited that if authorities would have wanted additional information about Guthrie they would likely have turned to the people closest in her life – Annie and Cioni.
Thus the dinner and the ride home, which has been the basis of internet sleuths suspecting the two, were quashed by Dreek, who opined that the very setting of a dinner showed that all was well between Guthrie and Cioni and Annie, exonerating the two of all suspicion.
