President Donald Trump said Monday he would direct the Justice Department to seek the death penalty against Nancy Guthrie’s alleged kidnappers if she is killed.
The president first told the New York Post that the suspects would face “very, very, severe ― the most severe” consequences if she were found dead. When pressed if that meant he would want the Justice Department to pursue the death penalty, Trump replied, “The most, yeah ― that’s true.”
Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” host Savannah Guthrie, hasn’t been seen since Jan. 31 and no proof of life has emerged. Messages for ransom and from informants seeking a cash reward have surfaced at times.
In recent developments, law enforcement released images of an armed, masked suspect wearing gloves at the door of the elder Guthrie’s Tucson-area home where she was allegedly taken.
Now authorities are awaiting DNA lab results of a glove found off-site that might be tied to the abduction. Officials determined that the person wore a backpack sold at Walmart, which could also narrow the search.
A viral report citing an insider said investigators now believe it was a burglary gone bad ― but both the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and FBI asserted the information did not come from them.