A renowned criminal psychologist who helped convince O.J. Simpson to surrender to authorities said he believes Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance was likely a burglary gone wrong.
“Unfortunately, I think this case is a simple matter of a burglary gone wrong and then attempts to cover things up,” forensic psychologist Dr. Kris Mohandie told Fox Digital.
Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on Feb. 1. Facebook/Savanah Guthrie
The expert said that the creepy doorbell camera footage that shows a masked man at the 84-year-old’s front door on the night of the abduction suggests that the mother of “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie was the victim of burglary in her home rather than a sophisticated kidnapping plot.
Mohandie said that it’s “appropriate” for law enforcement to investigate any leads into finding out the fate of the matriarch’s disappearance.
However, he said it’s still doubtful that the two ransom letters sent to the family – which were recently released by the Pima County Sheriff’s Office in full – are in any way related to those who took her from her home back in February.
FBI Director Kash Patel released a surveillance image of a suspect wanted in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie from her Tucson, Ariz., home on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. FBI
The famed forensic psychologist — who has described how he appealed to former NFL star-turned-murderer Simpson’s ego to surrender to cops on June 17, 1994 — pointed out issues in the first ransom note, saying that despite it referencing the crime scene, including Guthrie’s Apple Watch and a broken floodlight, it should be treated skeptically.
“I don’t make much out of those two details,” Mohandie said.
“They seem to be details that inadvertently could have gotten to somebody, and so that’s not enough for me to say, this is something only the killer would know.”
New York Post’s cover on Nancy Guthrie from Feb. 6, 2026.
Mohandie also pointed out the inconsistent way the writer uses the pronouns “we” and “I,” the declaration of it as a ransom note and the decision to send it to a news outlet.
“There are a lot of things wrong with that ransom note, and it raised a lot of questions for me of veracity,” he said.
Investigators look around the residence of Nancy Guthrie on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, in Tucson, Ariz. James Keivom for NY Post
The psychologist also questioned the legitimacy of the second purported ransom letter.
That note claimed Guthrie had died just days after the alleged kidnapping – and left Mohandie wondering why a kidnapper would out themselves for such a grave action, then offer an apology.
But he said that is his own personal hypothesis, and that investigators may discover something different themselves.
“A good investigation keeps an open mind,” he said. “It really does.”