Nancy Guthrie
Facebook/Savannah Guthrie

Nancy Guthrie's mysterious disappearance early this month has taken an interesting turn as a former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent has recently suggested an angle in the case, linking it to a possible personal grievance.

Former FBI agent Jonny Grusing, author of "The Devil I Knew: Unmasking a Serial Killer," took public information on Nancy Guthrie's case in forming this theory. Grusing worked for the Denver FBI Division for 25 years.

Ex-FBI Agent Points to Personal Grievance

According to the former federal agent, the camera footage from Guthrie's doorbell showed the masked suspect shielding himself, interacting with the recording device in what appears to be a deliberate act. Grusing also dismissed the kidnap-for-ransom theory, noting the perpetrator's behaviour, which was not indicative of typical patterns by criminals.

​Grusing said, 'The first thing he does is with his glove, and with his glove, it doesn't look like he's trying to take [the camera] off. It looks like he's trying to cover it with his right hand,' describing the masked suspect's behaviour in the CCTV footage released by the FBI.

​'And then he looks down, he looks around, and he gets the branches, and he puts the branches up in front of it,' he continued, before asking, 'Is there a chance, since we don't have audio, that he is either knocking on the door loudly or that he has pressed the ring doorbell, [that] he's trying to get Nancy to answer the door, and he's shielding himself from being seen as a masked person, so she will, in her confusion, open the door?' per a Fox News coverage.​

Blood and Blood Suggest Targeted Encounter

Investigators are currently reviewing physical evidence from Guthrie's home, which includes a glove and blood traces. According to Grusing, as Nancy Guthrie's residence is located in a sprawling neighbourhood, the likelihood of the suspect being a robber who was randomly taken by chance to Guthrie's home was improbable.

Grusing theorises that the man in the footage had a personal vendetta against Nancy Guthrie and may have baited her out of her home, as evidenced by blood found on the home's front porch.

Furthermore, as Grusing notes that the man's glove would have prevented him from firing his weapon with ease, it was likely used merely as a prop.

He explained, 'So, if the gun's a prop, if he's shielding himself from being seen, if he's actually ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door, getting her to come, he wants to confront her about something in my opinion.'

Grusing's theory centres on the idea that Nancy Guthrie may have had an interaction with the suspect; however, when things did not go according to plan, he may have been forced to remove Guthrie from her home.

He thinks Nancy may have recognised the man, which caused alarm, and that it was least likely to have been a kidnap-for-ransom incident, as no perpetrator has reached out directly to Guthrie's family to demand ransom.

How This Theory Can Help the Investigation

Jonny Grusing explains that if looked into, it could help the public identify or recall any individual relaying information about being wronged by a person fitting Nancy Guthrie's description. He said, 'It's hard to be an expert in human behaviour because it's so unique to that person.'​

Grusing also added, 'You know, I'm just trying to use the experiences of different cases and trying to apply any sort of logic to this in the hopes that someone from the public who has thought it might be someone they know whether it's his family or whether now it's a coworker or friend or associate or whatever, to put that one puzzle piece together that says, 'Yes, and now I think it could be him.''

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