A renowned criminal psychologist who once played a role in getting O.J. Simpson to surrender says the disappearance of Savannah Guthrie’s mother may have a far simpler — and darker — explanation than many people suspect.
Dr. Kris Mohandie, a forensic psychologist who assisted during the infamous 1994 O.J. Simpson standoff, is questioning whether the ransom notes tied to the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie are even genuine.
Instead, Mohandie believes the case may have started as something much more common.
“Unfortunately, I think this case is a simple matter of a burglary gone wrong and then attempts to cover things up,” Mohandie told Fox News Digital.
Nancy, the mother of Today co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, vanished from her Arizona home on Feb. 1 in what authorities believe was an abduction.
More than six months later, investigators still have not publicly identified a suspect.
One of the most chilling pieces of evidence is doorbell camera footage showing a masked man outside Nancy’s home on the night she disappeared.
Mohandie believes that footage could point toward an intruder who initially entered the property for another reason, rather than someone carrying out a carefully planned kidnapping for ransom.
And when it comes to the mysterious letters demanding money, he is even more skeptical.
“I don’t think the ransom note is legit,” Mohandie said.
He also questioned a second letter that surfaced days later, saying he does not believe that one is authentic either.
“There are a lot of things wrong with that ransom note, and it raised a lot of questions for me of veracity,” he said.
One detail that caught Mohandie’s attention was the language used in the messages.
According to the psychologist, the writer reportedly switches between using “I” and “we,” an inconsistency that he believes raises questions about who actually wrote the notes — and why.
The letters also referenced specific details connected to Nancy’s disappearance, including her Apple Watch and a damaged floodlight at the property.
But Mohandie warned that those clues do not necessarily prove the letters came from whoever was responsible for her disappearance.
“I don’t make much out of those two details,” he 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.”
In other words, Mohandie believes information about the case could have leaked or circulated before someone decided to write the ransom messages.
Despite his doubts, he said investigators were right to eventually release the letters to the public.
Doing so could trigger someone’s memory, expose a distinctive writing pattern or generate a tip investigators have not previously received.
“A good investigation keeps an open mind,” Mohandie said. “It really does.”
The case remains active as forensic teams continue examining evidence that could finally lead investigators to the person responsible.
Authorities are reportedly analyzing biological material recovered from a vehicle connected to the family while also conducting a detailed, minute-by-minute review of surveillance footage showing the vehicle’s movements around the time Nancy disappeared.
No suspect has been publicly named or charged in connection with that vehicle evidence.
Investigators are also using advanced DNA testing on evidence recovered near the scene, including a hair sample and a glove.
Nancy’s family has continued pleading for answers and has offered a reward of more than $1 million for information leading to her recovery.
For now, the haunting image of a masked man outside Nancy’s home remains one of the case’s biggest mysteries.
And if Mohandie’s theory proves correct, investigators may not be looking at an elaborate ransom kidnapping at all.
They could instead be trying to unravel a burglary that suddenly turned into something far more sinister — followed by an attempt to throw authorities off the trail.
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