Sheriff in Nancy Guthrie Case Rips Apart Ashleigh Banfield's 'Reckless' Reporting

Ashleigh Banfield is under fire after publicly naming Savannah Guthrie’s brother-in-law as a “prime suspect” in the ongoing investigation into her mother, Nancy Guthrie’s January 31 disappearance.

During the Tuesday, February 3, episode of Ashleigh’s podcast “Drop Dead Serious,” titled Stunning New Twist: Savannah's Sister's Car Seized, Cameras Smashed, the journalist claimed, “They have towed Annie Guthrie’s car. And there is some connection to Annie Guthrie’s car and Nancy Guthrie’s son-in-law — that would be Annie’s husband, Tommaso Cioni, age 50 from Tuscon, Ariz., married to Annie P. Guthrie, Savannah’s sister.”

She added, “And my law enforcement source tells me that Tommaso Cioni is the prime suspect in this case. Again, law enforcement source tells me that Nancy Guthrie’s son-in-law, married to Annie Guthrie, Savannah’s sister, is — may be, may be a prime suspect in this case. At the very least, let me tamp that down, because sometimes it’s the first person you’re looking at, not ‘prime’ as in there’s no one else, OK? So, let’s be really mindful of that. Families are always looked at first as well.”

However, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nonas, who is actively involved in the case and previously appeared on Ashleigh’s podcast, directly disputed those claims.

“We don’t have anybody here listed as a suspect,” Chris said during a Thursday, February 5, press conference.

“Nobody’s eliminated, but we just really don’t have enough to say, ‘This is our suspect, this is our guy, we know — or our gal.’ We don’t know that,” he added, calling the move “irresponsible.” “And it’s really kind of reckless to report that someone is a suspect when they could very well be a victim.”

Despite the sheriff’s comments, Ashleigh stood by her reporting during the succeeding episode of her show.

“My source said that ‘maybe’ the prime suspect is the son-in-law,” she said.

She went on to acknowledge Chris’ remarks, stating that she “understands” there is no suspect identified “publicly,” but maintained that her information came from an “inside” source she described as “extraordinarily reputable” and “highly placed.”

Ashleigh’s podcast producer later echoed that stance, telling The Hollywood Reporter via text message that she “stands by her reporting” and “her ironclad source.”

Chris then continued to urge caution when speaking about the ordeal.

“To the media, I plead with you to be careful of what it is we put out there, because we don’t have anybody here listed as a suspect, and you could actually be doing some damage to the case — but you can do some damage to that individual too,” he said. “Social media is kind of an ugly world sometimes.”

As the investigation continues, Savannah’s family has shifted focus toward reaching the person or people responsible.

Savannah’s brother also appeared in a video shared through the Today show host’s Instagram account, addressing those behind the alleged crime.

“This is Camron Guthrie and I’m speaking for the Guthrie family,” Camron said in the clip. “Whoever it out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly. We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward. But first, we have to know if you have our mom. We want to talk to you and we are waiting for contact.”