Nancy Guthrie Case: Expert Raises Chilling ‘Passing Relationship’ Theory About Suspect

Forensic expert and clinical psychologist Dr. Gary Brucato spoke to journalist Brian Entin about who the suspect could be in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. The 84-year-old was allegedly abducted from her home in Arizona on February 1.

“First, we have to make buckets that are motivationally driven and then think about the likelihood of each of those before we can start thinking about the type of person who committed the crime,” Dr. Brucato said.

“Then, what you start with is the question of whether there was s----- motivation. That is one of the prime reasons somebody would randomly break into a home and target a person,” he said.

Dr. Brucato said that robbery is another possibility. “In this situation, nothing was taken. If you’re abducting a person with the intention of putting them up for ransom, ransoms statistically are requested within 24 to 48 hours and resolved in a week,” he said.

“And finally, you start thinking about the possibility of just abduction and the perpetrator is someone who knows you. Let’s say this is actually a homicide, up to 92 per cent of people who are killed in the United States know their killer in some way. So, this person who did this probably has some passing relationship at least with this victim and that matches some of the comfort level and potentially spending quite a lot of time in the house,” he said.

Brucato also believes it is possible that the person responsible has come into contact with law enforcement in the past. “A lot of what we’re seeing is somebody who is way too cool under pressure, not even flinching under pressure. And that kind of person when we see that, we start thinking about a person who probably has some psychopathic character structure because even somebody who is frequently committing crime who isn’t psychopathic is going to look a little nervous… The probability is very high that the person has had a long history of either inappropriate behavior that people would remember or criminal behavior,” he said, according to NewsNation.

“So that the individual that is on the camera looks to me like somebody who may very well have come into contact with law enforcement previously.”

Despite a joint investigation by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Guthrie remains missing.

Authorities have previously released footage showing a masked individual interfering with a front-door camera at Guthrie’s house. Meanwhile, forensic evidence, including mixed DNA and hair samples, has been sent for advanced testing.

Adding to the mystery, multiple ransom notes have been sent to media outlets, demanding cryptocurrency payments. Officials have not confirmed their authenticity.

The Guthrie family is offering $1 million reward for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery. Combined with a $100,000 FBI reward and a $100,000 Crime Stoppers reward, the total now stands at $1.2 million.