The kidnapper who snatched Savannah Guthrie's mother from her Arizona home is likely a 'psychopathic' local acquaintance who had previously spent time inside the property, a top forensic psychologist has revealed.
Forensic researcher and clinical psychologist Dr Gary Brucato has provided a stark new profile of the suspect, claiming the intruder displayed a 'comfort level' that suggests they were not a stranger to the victim or the house layout.
Speaking on NewsNation, Dr Brucato argued that the calm, unhurried movements captured on home surveillance footage point to a 'psychopathic character structure' rather than a random predator.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, vanished from her Tucson residence in January, sparking a nationwide hunt led by her high-profile daughter and a $1.2m (£960,000) reward. The case, which has gripped the United States for four months, has shifted from a missing persons inquiry to a presumed homicide investigation. While the Pima County Sheriff's Department has yet to name a suspect, the FBI has now taken control of critical forensic samples, including hair recovered from the scene.
Experts believe the breakthrough in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapper profile will come from isolating strands in a complex 'mixed DNA' sample that has previously stalled local investigators.
Appearing on NewsNation with senior national correspondent Brian Entin on Wednesday, 15 April, Dr Brucato said: 'The person who did this probably has some passing relationship, at least, with this victim.' He said, pointing to what he called a 'comfort level' inside the home, suggesting prior familiarity. He referenced home surveillance video that appears to show the intruder moving with ease around the property and seemingly unhurried.
Brucato anchored his view in broader data, noting that roughly 92 per cent of women who are killed in the United States know their killer. Applied to Nancy Guthrie, that statistic steers investigators away from the trope of a random predator and towards someone in, or at least on the fringes of, her life in Tucson.
He also voiced a grim assessment of Guthrie's likely fate. On air, Brucato said it was probable the 84-year-old is dead and thather remains 'will not be found intact.' There has been no public confirmation to support that assertion; law enforcement has avoided committing to such a conclusion in official statements. For now, that remains an expert's reading of the patterns he sees, not an established fact.
What stood out most to Brucato in the available footage was the demeanour of the person seen inside Guthrie's house. He described the individual as 'way too cool under pressure, not even flinching under pressure,' a posture he linked to a 'psychopathic character structure.' In his view, even seasoned offenders typically display signs of stress. Here, he suggested, the composure hints at someone whose emotional responses are blunted to a greater degree.
Brucato's profile of the Nancy Guthrie suspect goes further than simply calling them calm. He told NewsNation he believes the abductor is likely a local resident of the Tucson area, with a background that would already have put them on law enforcement's radar.
Source: International Business Times UK
