The disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of “TODAY” show co-host and NBC News journalist Savannah Guthrie, and information about the circumstances leading up to her kidnapping have fueled false claims on social media about suspects and the family’s role in the investigation.
The claims social media users made have reached the Pima County Sheriff’s office, which has joined Guthrie’s family in issuing statements debunking rumors. One such claim gaining traction from journalists and online personalities is the role a family member is playing in Guthrie’s disappearance.
“I can tell you that there is a family member who is being heavily looked at right now as a potential suspect,” journalist Ashleigh Banfield said on a Tuesday episode of her Drop Dead Serious true crime podcast carried by NewsNation.
She later credits an anonymous law enforcement source for saying that son-in-law Tommaso Cioni is a prime suspect. True crime sleuths and news outlets spread the claim, causing one of Guthrie’s relatives to speak up.
“Tommaso is an amazing guy,” Zach Lind, Guthrie’s nephew and drummer for rock band Jimmy Eat World, wrote on X Wednesday morning. “Absolutely no way he’s involved. Shame on Banfield for spreading this garbage.”
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, at a Thursday news conference, called it “reckless to report that someone is a suspect when they could very well be a victim.”
“You can actually be doing some damage to the case, but you can do some damage to that...
The disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, mother of “TODAY” show co-host and NBC News journalist Savannah Guthrie, and information about the circumstances leading up to her kidnapping have f...