Police Officially Disclose if Savannah Guthrie’s Brother-in-Law Is a Suspect in Her Mom’s Abduction as Sources Claim the Family Is ‘Devastated’
Ever since Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared, there have been questions about who could be responsible. Police have now released photos and video surveillance of a suspect, and DNA evidence is being examined, but rumors kept coming back to the family—particularly to Guthrie’s brother-in-law, Tomasso Cioni. Some people even went so far as to call him a suspect early on in the investigation, as he was the last to see Nancy Guthrie before her disappearance.
But police have confirmed neither Cioni nor anyone in the family is suspected to be involved. “To be clear … the Guthrie family — to include all siblings and spouses — has been cleared as possible suspects,” Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said in a statement on Feb. 16. “The family has been nothing but cooperative and gracious and are victims in this case.”
Related: Who are Savannah Guthrie’s siblings?
Not just that, the statement went on to say. “To suggest otherwise is not only wrong, it is cruel,” and added, “The Guthrie family are victims plain and simple. Please, I’m begging you, the media to honor your profession and report with some sense of compassion and professionalism.”
The speculation had a lot to do with the fact that Nancy Guthrie, who disappeared sometime between the night of January 31 and the morning of February 1, was last seen by her daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her husband, Tommaso Cioni. Police even searched their house following the disappearance. But the leads had been pointing another way from the beginning.
But the media machine and social media immediately drew their own conclusions. And according to Rob Shuter, those conclusions have added to the family’s pain. “Tommaso deserves a public apology,” one family insider told the journalist. “His name was dragged through the mud for absolutely no reason.”
“People took proximity and turned it into conspiracy,” a media source said. “That’s not journalism. That’s dangerous.” And then, it was all amplified by social media in a way that made it difficult to control.
Law enforcement has now been unequivocal. But what does that mean for the people who made the accusations in the first place and continued to peddle them even as police focused elsewhere? “Clearing someone quietly doesn’t undo loud damage,” an insider told Shuter. “If you questioned him publicly, you should clear him publicly. Legal action looms.”
But the focus now is on finding Nancy Guthrie. The rest is going to have to wait.
“They’re devastated,” the insider added, “And they’re innocent.”
The FBI is offering a reward for information leading to Guthrie’s recovery or information that facilitates the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance. “Today, the FBI is increasing its reward up to $100,000 for information leading to the location of Nancy Guthrie and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance,” read a statement shared by FBI Phoenix via social media on Thursday. “New identifying details about the suspect in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie have been confirmed after a forensic analysis of the doorbell camera footage by the FBI’s Operational Technology Division.”
