Nancy Guthrie was reported missing on February 1 and remains to be found. Amid this, experts explained how the case be treated as a homicide without a body.
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Nancy Guthrie remains to be found after she was reported missing on February 1. It has been over 100 days since, and the Pima County Sheriff's Office and the FBI have not reported any major progress in tracking down Guthrie. Nancy Guthrie was reported missing by her family on February 1 and authorities are yet to locate her. (AP)Recently, a claim of her body being found in Mexico had caused a stir, but this turned out to be false. With the search going on, some have begun to doubt whether Guthrie will be found, though the family – including TODAY show host Savannah Guthrie – continue to hold out hope. Now, experts have explained the way forward in the event the body is not recovered at all. Speaking to Newsweek, the experts explained that the case could still be a prosecutable homicide, in which case the family might get justice from the perpetrators. However, there are some conditions in order for the case to be tried as such. Also Read | Nancy Guthrie update: Annie, Tommaso Cioni living in kidnapped woman's home - bizarre theory after ‘lights on’ claimA no-body case can still be viable if investigators manage to put together a chain of circumstantial and forensic evidence which is strong enough to prove that the 84-year-old is dead and that a criminal act caused her disappearance, the publication reported. Thus far, authorities have released doorbell camera footage of a man in a mask, carrying a backpack, on Guthrie's porch the night before she was reported missing. The working assumption is that he's the suspect who had a role in her disappearance. What experts said about Nancy Guthrie caseCriminal defense attorney Michael T. van der Veen noted that early 'disruptions' like blood on the porch, and the sudden disconnecting of her pacemaker, coupled with the footage of the person who the internet dubbed ‘porch guy’, all sought to help the case. “Prosecutors can prove it circumstantially because judges give a jury instruction… that circumstantial evidence is just as strong or stronger than direct evidence. Through the circumstantial evidence, the prosecutor can prove the corpus delicti, or ‘body of the crime',” he told Newsweek. The lawyer added “She was 84 years old with a pacemaker and required daily medication… the odds that she voluntarily went missing are very low,” speaking of Guthrie. Meanwhile, Daniel K. Maxwell, former police officer and criminal investigation professor noted that investigators have to first prove that a homicide has taken place, even when they don't have a body, and have to link a specific person to the case. “The essential elements to prove… are that a crime has been committed and the person arrested was responsible for the crime. This would also include eliminating all non‑criminal causes,” the expert said to the publication. “There is a premium on any physical evidence. Direct evidence includes photos, videos, and eyewitness testimony. Indirect evidence includes fingerprints, blood, hair, fibers. Circumstantial evidence also plays a big part… including suspect behavior both prior to and after the disappearance,” he added.