Ransom note claiming Nancy Guthrie is dead sent to ‘torture’ family, claims expert

TUCSON, ARIZONA: The appearance of two new ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie kidnapping case is being described by experts as an attempt to “further torment” her grieving family. 

The 84-year-old mother of 'Today' show host Savannah Guthrie went missing from her Tucson home on February 1, and these recent ransom notes have added a painful twist by claiming she is dead. 

Expert claims notes are meant to ‘torment’ the family'

Retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer said the timing of the ransom notes was a deliberate psychological attack.

She noted that the messages arrived exactly when Savannah Guthrie returned to work, which she believes was done on purpose to cause distress. 

Coffindaffer told Newsweek, “They sent these right when Savannah Guthrie went back to work. That was by no mistake, that was absolutely meant to further torment her and her family. I think it speaks to the fact that there is at least someone out there that is still willing to torture this family by sending these continued communications with no proof of life.”  

The expert also doubts the notes are real because the money requested is much lower than expected.

She added, “The reason this makes sense to me, that they don’t have that knowledge, is because they’re not seeking the $1 million. Instead, they’re trying to subvert it with this … quickly paid, no hoops to jump through, just get the money. But I think that these people are scammers.”

New ransom demands sent to media outlets

TMZ on April 6 reported receiving two ransom notes from an unknown sender who claimed to know where Nancy Guthrie’s body is and who the abductors were.

The notes claimed she is dead and demanded half a Bitcoin, which is approximately around $70,000. One message read, “I know where her body is and who the kidnapper is. Give me half a Bitcoin and I’ll tell you.”

Harvey Levin of TMZ said the sender has reached out many times. He found it strange that the person’s sense of urgency changed so quickly, which he thinks might actually be a sign they know something. 

Levin said, “I’ll tell you what, my spidey senses tell me that there’s something about this guy because one of the emails he sent said early on, ‘Time is of the essence to do this,’ and then the next day he said, ‘Time is no longer of the essence.’ If he was pulling a scam, why would you say time is no longer of the essence? You want to keep the value high. And the fact that he’s said this made me think this guy knows something.”

It may be noted that while the investigation has been underway for a long time now, the probe team has not been able to trace her location or turn up any suspects in the case as yet.