The search for Nancy Guthrie. Drama in a Georgia courthouse. And an ice skating scandal.

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0:45If you wait until something breaks, you're already behind. Count on Grainger for quality products, easy reordering, and 24-7 support. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. Grainger. For the ones who get it done. Good morning. You're listening to the Dateline Story Meeting. We will jump in so we can get started on a busy day. Our producers are catching up on breaking crime news. What's the timeline on things? We were supposed to start trial on Monday. This is affluence, money, greed. Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning. It's February 12th, and here's what's on our docket.

1:24it. Emotions run high in a Georgia courthouse as the boyfriend of a murdered law student takes the stand. I would be so angry, not understanding how God could allow the devil into his angel's house. In Dateline Roundup, Luigi Mangione's outburst in the courtroom, and the latest chapter in the saga of Alec Murdoch, the disgraced attorney convicted of murdering his wife and son. Murdoch's defense team went before the five justices of the South Carolina Supreme Court to argue why he should get a new trial. Plus, remember Olympian ice skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding? We'll be talking to a veteran ice skating reporter about the crime that captured the world's attention.

2:10This man was running with this stick just coming down at my leg. But before all that, we wanted to update you on the latest developments in the search for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of our colleague and friend, Savannah. Nancy Guthrie has been missing from her home in Tucson for more than 10 days. According to the Pima County Sheriff, she was abducted in the early morning hours of February 1st. Up until Tuesday, the sheriff said investigators had no suspects or leads in the case. That all changed Tuesday afternoon. As you may have seen, the FBI released video captured by Nancy's security camera in the early morning hours of her disappearance.

2:51It showed a masked and armed man walking up to her front door. Here to tell us more about what was in the video and what it all means for bringing Nancy home is NBC News national law enforcement and intelligence correspondent Tom Winter. And I should say we're taping this conversation on Wednesday afternoon. Tom, thanks for being here. Hi, Andrea. Good afternoon. I know you've been all over this story and, you know, just personally and professionally, it's a difficult one for you, for all of us. Remind us of the timeline of Nancy's disappearance. And we've learned a lot more about that from law enforcement.

3:27The timeline here has become a little bit more clear. So it's Saturday night, approximately 9.30, 9.45 in Tucson. And it's the Guthrie family that drops off Nancy at her home in the greater Tucson area. At approximately 1.47 a.m. on Sunday morning, there's this moment where somebody is seen on the Nest camera on the front door of her home. And that was this extraordinary video that we saw released by the FBI. And then a critical piece of evidence, apparently Nancy Guthrie's pacemaker had the ability to communicate and give information and reporting kind of real time to her phone. And at some point around 2.28 a.m., they're no longer in connection.

4:10And that is what investigators believe is a moment where she is now officially out of the home and away from the home, probably a moment or two before that. And so the family is advised that Nancy Guthrie did not join up with her regular group to watch a stream of a mass of a church on Sunday morning. The family gets there and in less than 10 minutes, they realize something is terribly wrong. They pick up the phone, they call police and the sheriff says, look, we immediately saw some things that just didn't seem right, where indications that this could be the site of a crime and, as a matter of fact, actually dispatch homicide detectives, Andrea, right from the very beginning.

4:48Yeah, her vital medication was apparently left behind, wallet, phone, there's her blood on the doorstep. Tom, there have been reports of several ransom notes being received by TV stations and TMZ demanding payment for the safe return of Nancy. You have actually seen a copy of one of the notes. Can you sort through what we know and don't know about them and what you're allowed to share. Yeah, sure. And so everybody understands the details that we withhold from these notes, really just because there are certain aspects of the investigation we don't want to kind of tip off whoever they're looking for.

5:21But the gist of it is this. They point out the fact that she was wearing a white Apple watch. They point out the fact that there were floodlights at the home. There's a request for cryptocurrency and they provide some specific deadlines. Look, The first picture you're going to find of Nancy Guthrie and Savannah Guthrie together is she is wearing a white Apple watch. That's public information. That there's a floodlight at the home. I mean, how many homes in this country don't have floodlights outside or some sort of lighting outside of a home? The thing that people have been focused on are these potential deadlines.

5:56But then we saw the Guthrie family, as you know, start to put out videos and say, look, just reach out to us. We're ready. We're here to talk, but provide us with some form of proof of life. It's our understanding that that hasn't happened. And so really, authorities are trying to see whether these notes are credible or not. We don't have any additional insight into that so far. Right. So you mentioned the surveillance video that was released on Tuesday by the FBI. I feel like it's it feels like everyone in the country must have seen it at this point. Initially, we were told that Nancy did not have a subscription to, you know, having the video saved.

6:32And we were told there may be no footage ever. But that all changed. It all changed. It was clear that there was a lot of work between Google, which is the parent company of Ness, which was this camera, and the FBI. Yeah, a lot of people hard at work, surely, just working around the clock with what we're talking about. At what point did the FBI decide to go public with it? Was it immediately? Well, the FBI assuredly did not immediately make these images public once they became aware of them. I mean, first off, it's our understanding that the family was briefed on these images, wanted to make sure, see if anybody in the family recognized anybody in the course of this.

7:05and then the decision is made to go public because you want to involve the whole country. Tom, can you just, for our listeners who are not looking at the video right now, and we will link to the images and the videos in our episode description, but can you just describe exactly what we see on the tape? Right. Well, you see a couple of different things on the tape. I mean, first off, you see the individual approach. They've got their head down there and almost intentionally looking at the ground light. They don't want the camera to see their eyes. And this individual approaches, they're kind of fiddling around.

7:35You get some real close-up images of their gloves. You see this gun that's carried in a holster externally. It appears that it would be set up if somebody was a right-handed shot. And then you see a backpack on them with the kind of reflective tape out front in this light-colored mask. But their eyes are very clear. Some people say that around the mouth there might be some facial hair, either a goatee or a mustache or both. And the backpack is very large. And one of the things that sticks out, and I'm sure you noticed this, just how full that backpack is. Oh, my gosh. Full. To the seams almost.

8:12Yeah. I mean, and very chilling, very jarring to look at those images. About eight hours after those images were released, we learned that a man had been taken into custody for questioning. What do you know about him? And it sounds like it's not really going anywhere, right, with him? Right. Well, this person was released. They took his phone. They've kept his phone. They conducted a court-authorized search. I think that's notable. You know, as you know, you don't search a home without that court paperwork. But when you actually conduct those searches and talk to them, you might realize that some of those things are easily explained and they might not actually point towards the crime.

8:53Okay, and the FBI director released a statement saying they're looking at people and that they have made a lot of progress. What is next? What are the most critical steps, do you think, going forward? So you're already seeing some activity since this video came out. You're looking at a lot of searches that are occurring on the ground, FBI agents combing through Nancy Guthrie's neighborhood, just, you know, the old fashioned shoe leather or boot leather, whatever you want to say in this particular instance. They're going from store to store, gas station to gas station, pulling video. All of that's part of the investigation.

9:25So they're really kind of humming on that. And that's something that I think will get to the point of identifying, is this one person? Is it two, three, four people? Who's involved in this? Why did they do this? It's so obviously nerve wracking for everybody in that community. And just what the Guthrie family has been put through here and our colleague Savannah, it's just, it's so awful. And I think everybody wants an answer for Nancy. Everybody wants an answer for Savannah and the family just to figure out how did we get here? Why would somebody do something like this? Yeah. And it's just you feel almost like you know Nancy.

10:03You know you're rooting for her, even for people who haven't met her. It's like the whole country has come together for Savannah's mom, which is so wonderful. And if anyone does know anything, you can call 1-800-CALL-FBI. That's 800-225-5324. Or you can visit tips.fbi.gov if you want to leave a tip online. Thank you so much, Tom, for covering this story for the network. You've done such a great job. And during a difficult time, you're really breaking things down for people. So we appreciate it. Well, you got it. I'm so glad we had a chance to talk. And it's all about getting information out. And certainly, we got to hold out hope for Nancy.

10:41We all want that so badly. And our prayers and hearts are with Savannah and her family during this difficult time. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back.

11:23We'll see you next time.

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12:24For our next story, we're heading to the college town of Athens, Georgia, where it's week two in the trial of a man accused of murdering University of Georgia law student Tara Baker 25 years ago. Prosecutors say DNA evidence proves Edric Faust is the killer, but he says he's innocent. And in a blistering cross-examination this week, Faust's defense attorney confronted the person he alleges is the real murderer. I'm smelling. You have not shared a tear. Come on now. Here to bring us up to speed is Dateline producer Dorothy Newell, who has been inside the courtroom. Hey, Dorothy. Hey, Andrea. Dorothy, let's start with just a quick recap of the case.

13:04Remind us who was Tara Baker and what happened to her in 2001. So Tara was a 23-year-old first-year law student at the University of Georgia. On January 19, 2001, at about 11.20 a.m., firefighters responded to a fire at Tara's home. She lived off campus. And when they entered, they found Tara's body. She'd been raped, strangled, stabbed, and left for dead. And her bedroom was on fire. So awful. Dorothy, you and Dateline Field producer Justin Ratchford have spent a lot of time in Athens covering this case. What struck you the most about the location of this crime? I mean, this is a place where parents send their children off to college, hoping that they're safe.

13:49Yeah, that's exactly right. Well, first of all, Athens is like the quintessential college town. There's tons of kids here. They're working, they're playing, they're planning for their futures. Just like Tara was doing when she was killed. She had her whole life in front of her. That's what makes this really hard to hear. So what did investigators learn in those early days as they were investigating this off-campus crime? Well, there were certainly indications that this didn't feel like a random attack. There were no signs of forced entry. Nothing was taken except her laptop, and she was still wearing her diamond earrings.

14:25Investigators looked at various people, a classmate, a lawyer from the law firm where she worked, and Tara's boyfriend, Chris Milton. But police said his alibi checked out and no one else rose to the level of arrest. But evidence was gathered and organized, and that would become important over the years. As it so often does in these cases when they go unsolved, because in this case, 25 years later, investigators finally made an arrest. This was such a long time coming, Dorothy. That's right. They used new technology to retest the rape kit that was done at the time of Tara's murder. And they got some viable DNA.

15:03This time around, when they ran the suspect DNA through CODIS, that's the National Criminal DNA Database, they got a hit, a repeat offender named Edric Faust. And that was just really out of the blue. So the prosecution, of course, Dorothy, focused its opening statement on that DNA match, which jurors, they like to hear about DNA. Right. The prosecutor said the chances that the DNA belonged to anyone but Faust were one in 800 quadrillion. Right. But so, OK, there's an unusual twist. The defense is not disputing this. How does Mr. Faust's DNA simply being in Ms. Baker's body establish that he is the person that killed Ms.

15:50Baker? Yeah, defense attorney Amon Cruz agrees that Foss DNA was inside Tara's body, but he's more interested in the fact that someone else's DNA was there, too. And it was her boyfriend, Chris. So Chris was Tara's boyfriend, as you said. They were intimate. So I would think that would be expected to find his DNA. But the defense says there's more to it, Dorothy. Yeah, the defense argued that Chris's alibi was shaky, and he changed his story to the police about when he last saw Tara, and that makes him, according to the defense, deeply suspicious. Okay, so that was the lead-up to what happened on day six of the trial when the prosecution called Chris to the stand to tell his story.

16:33Take us through his testimony, Dorothy. So the prosecutor asked Chris about his and Tara's relationship. How was the state of you and Tara's relationship in those months leading up to her murder? Everything was wonderful. We were both in the understanding that we were pursuing future paths for us to have a better future together. Our relationship was strong. He talked about getting the awful news. He was working at a plumbing job and got paged by Tara's mother. What did you learn when you called Miss Virginia Baker? She had told me that there was a fire at Tara's residence and there was a body discovered in the fire.

17:22In that moment, what was your reaction to hearing that information? Devastated. Chris also talked about how he got so upset he punched a wall. Yeah, and that's pretty important to the case. The defense argued that Chris's hands showed cuts and scrapes after the murder, and that could implicate him in the very violent crime, right? But that first day, police noted nothing on his hands. Later, I think it was like two days later, he told the court he really lost it. I started having an extreme emotional moment. And there was a wall in front of me. And I punched it, I don't know, maybe 30 times, maybe more.

18:07Chris told the jury he cooperated with investigators from the beginning, doing repeated interviews, giving them DNA samples. He said he struggled with his grief in private. I would find myself on my knees, pounding the ground, the sand, whatever, just finding myself so mad at God, not understanding how God could allow the devil into his angel's house. Dorothy, then it was the defense's turn to cross-examine Chris Melton. This is such a big moment in all of this. He is really the crux of their defense, right? Yeah, right off the bat, things were tense. The defense attorney brought into question Chris's emotions, suggesting they weren't authentic.

19:01Why didn't you cry? When? Just now. Why didn't any tears fall out of your eyes? They are falling out. Well, let's talk about January 19th. Would you agree that today you were much more emotional than you were on the day that you learned of Ms. Baker's death? I was holding it together best I could. The defense's cross-examination was all about timelines. Where was Chris the morning of the murder? Where was he in the days before Tara was killed? And I know we said off the top that, you know, his alibi was checked out. Well, there's all kinds of timelines involved here. There's another timeline that's really important.

19:38So Chris testified that he and Tara had seen each other the weekend before the murder, so a few days before. But the defense brought up something that Chris told investigators in 2024. He said that he hadn't seen Tara for 10 days before her death. The last time you saw Ms. Baker, was it six days before or 10 days before? From the beginning, I said I saw her the weekend prior. From the beginning you've said that? Yes, sir. That you've seen her the weekend, and that has always been what you said. There was a time that I was confused, and it was 20-plus years later. The defense's point is that Chris's stories are inconsistent, probably untrue, and his timeline isn't trustworthy.

20:21So the prosecution, Dorothy's still calling their witnesses. Do we know what's next? Given the many delays, I'm guessing this will go on another week. Okay, thank you, Dorothy, for this update. You're welcome. Thanks, Andrea. Up next, it's time for Dateline Roundup. We've got updates on Luigi Mangione and Alec Murdoch. Plus, we look back on a 30-year-old ice skating scandal, the attack on Nancy Kerrigan.

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22:22Welcome back. Joining me for this week's Roundup is Dateline producer Mario Garcia. Mario, welcome back. Thanks for having me back, Andrea. So first up, we've got an update out of New York. It's a story you know very well, the case of Luigi Mangione. He is the man accused of gunning down UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson back in December 2024. Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him. So what's new, Mario? That's right, Andrea. I mean, Gianni was back in court this past Friday. And, you know, bear in mind, he's facing criminal charges in both federal and state court.

22:57His federal trial on stalking charges is now set for jury selection to begin on September 8th and with opening arguments in October. So, OK, he found out the date of his state trial, June 8th. Whatever happened was not sitting well with him as he was being escorted out of the courtroom. Yeah, that was interesting. I've been to several hearings, Andrea, and he's been very active in his defense and talking with his attorneys during hearings. But this was a little bit of excitement as he was being escorted out. He shouted. It's been reported. It's the same trial twice. One plus one is two. Double jeopardy by any common sense, which was the first time we've seen him to act like that in court.

23:37What did he mean by that, Mario, in this particular case by double jeopardy? Because I think when most of us think of double jeopardy, we think if you're acquitted, you can't be tried for the same crime twice. Well, you're not supposed to be tried for the same crime twice, as you said, Andrea. And our legal expert, Danny Savalos, told our friends over at NBC News Now that double jeopardy is not likely at play here because the state and the federal government are considered two separate sovereigns. And he's being technically being charged with different crimes in each jurisdiction. So it's definitely a rare situation, I would say.

24:15So as we all know, Mario, trial dates move around constantly. So we'll see if these dates hold. OK, now we're going to go to a case I know well. It's another high profile defendant. She was back in court this week across the country in Salt Lake City, Utah. Corey Richens. Corey is the mom of three who wrote a children's book about grief before she was charged with her husband Eric's murder. Prosecutors say she laced his drink with a lethal dose of fentanyl. Richens denies that, and she has pleaded not guilty. Her trial, I can't believe it because I feel like I've been on this story for such a long time, it's finally underway.