A cryptocurrency expert believes the alleged kidnapper of Nancy Guthrie made a serious mistake when demanding millions of Bitcoin in the ransom note.
It is believed that Nancy Guthrie - the mum of Today show host Savannah Guthrie - was abducted in the middle of the night from her home in Tucson, Arizona, on 1 February, according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department.
The ransom note left at the scene said the 84-year-old's release depended on a Bitcoin exchange worth $6 million. However, the CEO of crypto recovery service Lionsgate Network has since warned that the method of payment means the criminal could be traced easily.
Bezalel Eithan Raviv told Page Six: “He showed his Achilles to everyone who understands blockchain forensics.
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“Whenever cyber criminals offer their wallet address is where they basically reveal themselves in many ways.”
He noted that 'this is a very simple tactic among many that we utilise when we want to be able to intercept criminal network crypto assets'.
Raviv explained that they can extract data with 'just one simple transaction', which is 'exactly what blockchain forensics is all about - tracing the blocks that are generated with each and every transaction'.
The founder recommends that investigators clued up on crypto transactions should be working on the case.
“I think the vulnerable point here for law enforcement is because of their lack of ability to understand crypto and blockchain, and this is why it’s taking longer than it should,” he said.
“We need to train our law enforcement agents with blockchain forensics and crypto, or find the right people to do the job.
“I do hope that she will be able to come back to her family and loved ones, and this nightmare should be over with.”
It comes after County Sheriff Chris Nanos rubbished claims that Savannah's brother-in-law 'may be the prime suspect'.
The claims come from former NewsNation anchor Ashleigh Banfield, who 'stands by her reporting', her producer told the Hollywood Reporter.
“We don’t have anybody here listed as a suspect,” Nanos said at a press conference on Thursday.
“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.
“And it’s really kind of reckless to report that someone is a suspect when they could very well be a victim.”
Banfield said on her podcast: “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 Tucson, Arizona, married to Annie P. Guthrie, Savannah’s sister.
“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."
Anish Vij