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$1M Reward in Nancy Guthrie Disappearance and a Daughter on Trial in Family Quadruple Murder | Crime House 24/7
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- [00:02]
Vanessa Richardson
Hi, it's Vanessa. If you're drawn to true crime stories about disappearances, there's a new Crime House
- [00:07]
Crime House Host
original you should check out.
- [00:09]
Vanessa Richardson
It's called the Final Hours, hosted by Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole. Sarah's an advocate for missing and murdered victims whose own sister disappeared in 2001. And Courtney is a true crime storyteller who's seen firsthand how crime can change a family forever. Together, they bring lived experience to every case, examining the moments just before a person disappears. The routines, the timelines, the small details that often get overlooked because every disappearance has a moment where everything still feels normal until it doesn't. Listen to and follow the final hours on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or
- [00:49]
Crime House Host
wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:50]
Vanessa Richardson
New episodes drop every Monday.
- [00:53]
Crime House Host
Foreign. This is Crime House. Good morning everyone. We have multiple breaking true crime cases this morning that you need to know about and we're starting with the biggest one. In a new Instagram video, Savannah Guthrie announced the family is offering an award of up to $1 million for the recovery of her 84 year old MOT. Nancy, this is Crime House 24 7, your non stop source for the biggest crime cases developing right now. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Vanessa Richardson and we have quite a lineup for you today.
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Vanessa Richardson
Here's what you need to know.
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Crime House Host
we're starting with an update on the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Today show host Savannah Guthrie Taylor. Today marks 25 days since Nancy was last seen at her home in the Tucson area of the Catalina foothills and her family is now expanding their efforts to bring her back. On February 24, Savannah Guthrie announced that the family is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to her mother's recovery and are also donating $500,000 to the national center for Missing and Exploited Children. The announcement comes as investigators continue to search for answers in what authorities have as a suspected abduction. Earlier in the investigation, law enforcement released surveillance footage captured by a Nest Home security camera that appeared to show a masked individual on Guthrie's doorstep the night she disappeared. Sources familiar with the investigation, told ABC News that the masked man suspected of abducting Nancy Guthrie appears to have been at her front door earlier than February 1, the night police believe she was kidnapped. According to those sources, investigators believe the individual may have approached the door door once been deterred by the camera and later returned, at which point he's seen tampering with the device. Officials have not yet publicly identified the suspect seen in that video. In a statement, Savannah Guthrie said the family is still holding out hope for what she described as a miracle and wants her mother found alive. At the same time, she acknowledged the painful possibility that it may already be too late. As of this recording, no arrests have been made and no suspects have been named. While that investigation continues to grip the nation, another high profile case is moving forward in South Carolina, where opening statements started in the murder trial of a woman accused of killing four of her own family members. On February 23, nearly a decade after four members of the same Anderson county family were found dead inside their home. Jurors heard opening statements in the trial of Amy Velardi, the daughter and granddaughter who once went on television asking for help to find their killer. The victims, Amy's mother, 60 year old Kathy Scott and stepfather, 59 year old Terry Michael Scott, as well as Amy's elderly grandmother, 82 year old Violet Taylor and 80 year old step grandmother Barbara Scott, were discovered on November 2, 2015 with gunshot wounds, stab wounds and deep lacerations. At the time, Amy Varardi and her husband, Rosmore Ross Velardi, told investigators they'd not seen the victims since Halloween. According to court records, the couple had been married just one week before the murders. In the early days of the investigation, deputies considered whether the deaths might have been a murder suicide, But Sheriff Chad McBride later said that theory quickly fell apart. There were no signs of forced entry, nothing appeared to have been stolen and the nature of the injuries, including three victims whose throats were slit and who were shot after, and Kathy Scott, who was stabbed in the chest and shot while still alive, suggested a coordinated and deliberate attack. In the hours and days after the killings, Amy Velardi appeared on local television, visibly emotional, pleading for whoever was responsible to come forward. She questioned how the killer could, quote, live with yourself, end quote. For years, she was publicly seen as a grieving daughter searching for answers to but prosecutors now allege a very different sequence of events. According to court documents and reporting, investigators believe the murders occurred in October of 2015. The following day, Amy and Rosmore allegedly drove to Blythewood, South Carolina, where prosecutors say they disposed of their cell phones and purchased new ones. Prosecutors have also alleged that the couple was experiencing severe financial hardship at the time of the killings. Yet when detectives later searched their home, they reportedly approximately $87,000 in cash. Amy told officers the money belonged to her, but investigators noted that the way the cash was bundled and organized matched the system used by Terry Scott. In the days after the murders, investigators say Rosmore attempted to pay outstanding bills using cash. Authorities have also alleged that the couple cleaned the crime scene and later moved into the victim's home with their children. And despite those suspicions, no charges were filed. For nearly eight years, the case remained one of Anderson County's most haunting cold cases, resurfacing in headlines and community conversations each anniversary. Then, on December 15, 2023, authorities arrested both Amy and Rosmore Velardi, charging each with four counts of murder. Their cases were later severed and Amy Velardi's trial is now moving forward. First, during opening statement on February 23, prosecutors laid out their theory that the killings were intentional and financially motivated. Defense attorneys are expected to argue that the state's case relies heavily on circumstantial evidence and that prosecutors cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Amy Velardi participated in the murders. If convicted on all four counts, Velardi faces life in prison under South Carolina law. For Anderson county, the trial represents the first full public accounting of what prosecutors believe happened inside that home in late October 2015 and whether the woman who once pleaded for justice was in fact part of the crime. As this South Carolina trial moves forward, another high profile murder case is unfolding Elsewhere where a YouTuber is accused of stabbing his pregnant girlfriend to death while allegedly using a a pre recorded live stream as an alibi. Prosecutors in Northern Ireland say a YouTuber accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend tried to cover his tracks in an unusual way by staging a six hour Grand Theft Auto live stream to make it appear that he was gaming while she was being killed. On Tuesday morning, 36 year old Steven McCullough sat between two prison officers at Belfast Crown Court as the second day of his murder murder trial got underway. McCullough is charged in the 2022 death of 32 year old Natalie McNally, who was 15 weeks pregnant at the time. Prosecutors say McCullough was the father of her unborn child. He denies the charge. Prosecutors allege that on December 18, 2022, sometime between 8:50pm and 9:30pm McCullough killed McNally inside her home in Lurgan, Northern Ireland. They claim McCullough who had about 37000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, then attempted to mislead investigators by broadcasting what appeared to be a six hour live stream of himself playing the video game Grand Theft Auto, a video they say was pre recorded. According to the prosecution, the live stream was designed to give the impression that McCullough was at home gaming while McNally was being killed. Natalie McNally was found dead in her home on December 19, 2022 emergency services, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. During the second day of the trial, prosecutors pointed to a 999 emergency call McCullough made after McNally's death, telling jurors it too was part of what they described as an effort to, quote, get away with it. The jury heard the recording of the call McCullough made from McNally's home at around 10pm on December 19, 2022. Prosecutors allege the call came a day after McNally was killed. During the call, he can be heard sobb telling the operator, quote, please come as soon as you can. She's pregnant, she's cold, there's blood everywhere. When police arrived, McCullough told them that she had not been answering his texts and went to check on her. He said he found her on the stairs and called 999. McCullough was arrested at the scene that evening, released and rearrested a couple of months later. Prosecutors told the court that McNally had suffered multiple injuries, including stab wounds, lacerations, bruises and abrasions. She also had bleeding around her brain consistent with blunt force trauma. The state pathologist who conducted McNally's autopsy, Dr. James Linus, said in court the injuries to her hands could have been consistent with her, quote, throwing a punch, end quote. Linus told the jury, made up of six men and six women, that the case is complex and that it may not be possible to determine with certainty the precise cause of Natalie McNally's death. He said the medical evidence showed that either the compression to her neck or the stab wounds independently could have been fatal. McNally's unborn child also died. The jury has been told that McCullough was in a relationship with McNally at the time and that he was the father of her unborn child. The prosecution further alleges that McCullough later told police that McNally's former partner could have been responsible for the killing. According to prosecutors, he suggested to investigators that ex partner may have murdered her, an assertion they say was false. Defense attorneys have denied the allegations, maintaining that McCullough is not guilty. McNally's death sent shockwaves through the local community in Lurgan. Family members have previously described her as kind and devoted, and tributes were left outside her home in the days following the killing. For now, the trail continues in Northern Ireland nearly two years after Natalie McNally's death. Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a man who murdered one Duke University student and wounded another learns his fate.
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Crime House Host
On February 23, a Wake county judge formally accepted a plea agreement that will send Stephan Dubose to prison for a minimum of 35 years for the 2023 murder of Duke University graduate student Angela Rey and the attempted mur of her roommate, Anna SEMs. The 32 year old pleaded guilty during this week's hearing, bringing to a close more than two years of legal proceedings stemming from a violent early morning attack in Durham, North Carolina. The agreement resolves the case without a trial that had been anticipated later this year and guarantees a substantial prison term under North Carolina law. According to prosecutors, the violence unfolded on October 2, 2023, when officers responded shortly after 7am to reports of gunfire at a home on Worth street. Police found 30 year old Reezy suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators also located SEMs inside a bedroom with three gunshot injuries. She survived but was left with permanent life altering injuries and now walks with a cane. Court records and statements presented in court describe a relationship dispute that preceded the shooting. Dubose and Rey had been dating and authorities contend he became became angry after Reezy refused to enter an exclusive relationship. Prosecutors said DuBose shattered the glass on the front door to gain entry, chased Reezy through the home and fired multiple shots, striking her eight times. He then shot SEMs before fleeing the scene. Authorities later took him into custody and he has remained jailed as the case moved through the court system. Emergency crews transported both women to the hospital, but Rezy later died from her injuries. She was remembered by classmates and faculty at Duke as a gifted graduate student pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Dance, known for her discipline and artistic talent. Family members addressed the court during the February 23 hearing describing the enduring trauma caused by the attack and the physical and emotional toll it has taken on SEMs. Prosecutors told the judge the plea reflects the gravity of the crime and ensures long term accountability for both the fatal shooting and the serious injuries inflict. With the plea agreement now accepted, the criminal proceedings have concluded as officials in North Carolina bring this case to a close. Legal proceedings are unfolding in London, where actor Russell Brand has pleaded not guilty to new sexual assault charges. Actor and comedian Russell Brand appeared in a London courtroom Tuesday, February 24, where he pleaded not guilty to two new sexual offense charges tied to alleged incidents in 2009, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Brand appeared at Southwark Crown Court and formally denied accusations that he raped one woman and sexually assaulted another in 2009. The alleged incidents involved two separate women, according to prosecutors during the hearing, Brand entered not guilty pleas to both counts. The case now moves forward in the UK Court system. These latest charges come in addition to five other sexual offense charges announced in April 2025 against brand that he has already denied. He previously pleaded not guilty to those allegations in May 2025, which involved four women, according to a press release from the Metropolitan Police, and stem from incidents prosecutors say occurred between 1999 and 2005. The earlier counts include allegations of rape, indecent assault and sexual assault. British authorities began investigating in September of 2023 after multiple women came forward with alle leading prosecutors to authorize charges covering several years. Brand has publicly denied all accusations and has said his past relationships were consensual. Brand remains out on conditional bail. The original five charges, first announced in April 2025, are scheduled for trial beginning June 16, 2026. Authorities say the proceedings could last up to five weeks, but a hearing next month will determine whether the new charges will be combined. Existing case against Brand.
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- [20:01]
Vanessa Richardson
If you're drawn to true crime stories about disappearances, there's a new Crime House
- [20:05]
Crime House Host
show for you to check out.
- [20:07]
Vanessa Richardson
It's the new Crime House Original Series Series the Final Hours, hosted by Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole. Sarah is an advocate for missing and murdered victims whose own sister disappeared in 2001. And Courtney is a true crime storyteller and investigator who witnessed firsthand how crime can change a family forever. Together, they bring lived experience to every case, looking not only at what happened,
- [20:31]
Crime House Host
but what led up to it.
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Vanessa Richardson
Each episode examines the moments just before a person disappears, the routines, the timelines, and the small details that often get overlooked. Because every disappearance has a moment where
- [20:44]
Crime House Host
everything still feels normal.
- [20:47]
Vanessa Richardson
A text that doesn't raise concern, a routine that goes unchanged, a door that
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Crime House Host
closes just like it always has. Until it doesn't.
- [20:57]
Vanessa Richardson
The Final Hours puts those moments under a microscope, because when it comes to justice, there's no such thing as overanalyzing. Listen to and follow the final hours on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen. New episodes every Monday.
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Crime House Host
Lastly, let me tell you about what else is going on over at Crime House today. Conspiracy theories, Cults and Crimes is covering one of the most infamous cult movements ever to take root in the Northwest, the Rajneesh Movement. The Pacific Northwest has always been a place where people go to start over dense forests, long stretches of rural rural land, small towns separated by miles of quiet road. The region carries a kind of mythic promise reinvention, freedom, escape. For many, that search leads to creativity, community, and alternative ways of living. But history shows another side of that isolation. Because when people gather, far from oversight, when leadership becomes unquestionable, and when the outside world is framed as hostile, distance can become power. And power in the wrong hands can become control. Before diving into the full story of the Rajneesh movement, here are five other cults from the Pacific Northwest that reveal just how easily isolation can evolve into influence and sometimes something much darker. Number one the Love Israel family in the late 1960s, a man named Paul Erdman reinvented himself as Love Israel and began gathering followers in Seattle. His message blended spiritual rebirth, communal living, and devotion to a higher purpose, a familiar appeal in an era when many young people were searching for meaning outside traditional institutions. Followers took the last name Israel, surrendered personal property, and eventually relocated to a rural commune near Arlington, Washington. From the outside, the group looked like a cooperative community, farming working together and rejecting materialism. But what made the Love Israel Family especially difficult to recognize as a high control group was that it didn't present its itself as overly violent or apocalyptic. It looked like an alternative lifestyle experiment, something the Pacific Northwest has long attracted. Former members later described a rigid hierarchy centered entirely on Love Israel himself. He reportedly controlled finances, influenced marriages, and demanded loyalty that blurred the line between spiritual guidance and personal domination. That's often how cult dynamics take root in quiet environments, not through immediate spectacle, but through slow consolidation. Isolation becomes a tool. Identity reshapes inside the group. Dissent becomes betrayal. What begins as belonging can become entrapment. By the 1980s, internal fractures and public scrutiny began to weaken the commune, but its legacy remains one of the region's most infamous examples of charisma turning into control. Goal number two the Church of Bible Understanding the Church of Bible Understanding, founded by Stuart trail in the 1970s, operated communal outposts across the United States, including in the Pacific Northwest. The group recruited heavily among young adults, encouraging them to cut ties with family and commit fully to communal religious life. Members worked long hours in church run fundraising and business operations, creating a self sustaining financial engineering. On the surface, it resembled other evangelical communal movements, but former members later alleged strict regulation of personal decisions, including relationships, movement, and daily life. Groups like this often thrive in the space between legality and coercion. They may not immediately draw law enforcement attention because their control is psychological and social rather than openly criminal. The Pacific Northwest, with its remote properties and history of communal living, has often provided fertile ground for movements that want separation from mainstream influence. When a group becomes the only source of truth, community, and survival, leaving becomes emotionally and practically difficult. The Church of Bible Understanding demonstrates how cult control doesn't always require violence. Sometimes it requires total immersion. Number three the love has won Style Wellness Sects and spiritual Exploitation the Pacific Northwest has long been associated with alternative spirituality and wellness culture that can be a source of healing and exploration. But it's also created openings for charismatic figures who blur spirituality with exploitation. While not always centered on one single Northwest based organization, the region has seen recurring patterns of wellness cults, groups built around purification, fasting, energy, healing, or mystical enlightenment, often paired with isolation from conventional medicine or outside relationships. These movements frequently begin with promises clarity, health, liberation from modern life. But over time, critics describe how those promises can become doctrine, and doctrine can become obedience. The line between spiritual community and coercive control is often crossed when leaders demand total devotion, financial surrender, or separation from family and outside information. The Pacific Northwest's cultural openness to alternative living can sometimes make these groups harder to spot early. They don't arrive announcing themselves as cults. They arrive as answers. And in the quiet distance of rural landscapes, those answers can harden into control. Number four the Order not all cults in the Pacific Northwest were spiritual. In the early 1980s, a white supremacist extremist group known as the Order emerged in Washington State. Inspired by the novel the Turner Diaries, the group blended ideological radicalization with criminal violence. Members believed they were part of a revolutionary movement destined to overthrow the US Government. They carried out armed robberies, counterfeiting, and eventually murder to fund their cause. The Pacific Northwest's geography mattered. Here, rural stretches, forests, and distance from major cities can provide cover not just for communes, but for militant ideological compounds. Isolation offers space to train, organize, and radicalize without constant scrutiny. Groups like the Order reveal how cult psychology can exist outside religion. Ideology becomes theology. Members see themselves as enlightened insiders. Outsiders become enemies. Violence becomes justified as destiny. The group was eventually dismantled by federal authorities, but its legacy remains a chilling reminder that cult dynamics can manifest as political extremism just as easily as spirituality. Number five Aryan nations and Extremist Compound culture Though headquartered in northern Idaho, Aryan nations exerted influence across the broader Pacific Northwest for decades. Founded by Richard Butler, the group combined white supremacist theology with paramilitary training and apocalyptic rhetoric. The compound near Hayden Lake became a hub for extremist gatherings throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Followers were encouraged to view themselves as soldiers in an inevitable race war. Outsiders were framed as corrupt. Federal authorities were cast as oppressors. The compound became both sanctuary and staging ground. Extremist cults often rely on the same architecture as spiritual ones hierarchy, separation, and a narrative that the outside world is hostile. The setting wasn't incidental. Remote land offered symbolism and insulation, allowing ideology to reinforce itself without challenge. The Aryan nations compound was eventually lost through civil litigation after violent actions by members and affiliates. But the broader legacy of extremist cult ideology in the region has never fully disappeared. It remains one of the clearest examples of how isolation can amplify radical belief into organized threat. Why the Pacific Northwest? Across these movements, certain themes repeat. The Pacific Northwest attracts secrets. It offers space to reinvent. But that same space allows concealment. Not every commune is a cult. Not every alternative community is dangerous. The difference emerges when authority centralizes, dissent is punished, and separation becomes strategy. Isolation stops being geography and becomes a tool. That's why so many high control groups thrive in rural corridors. Communication, narratives. Loyalty becomes survival, and the outside world is painted as enemy territory. And when a movement grows beyond private belief into political influence, when it builds infrastructure, challenges local authorities, and turns secrecy into power, it stops being fringe. It becomes history. The Pacific Northwest has hosted spiritual communes, extremist compounds, ideological militias, and tightly controlled religious communities. Some collapsed quietly, some ended in scandal, some left behind survivors who only later found language for what they endured. And then there's the story at the center of today's episode. A movement that didn't just form a commune but attempted something far larger, pushing its conflict with the outside world further than anyone expected. For the full deep dive into the Rajneesh movement, its rise, its power struggle, and its shocking collapse, listen to today's episode of conspiracy theories, cults and crimes. Because in the Pacific Northwest, isolation has always offered possibility. Sometimes it also offers control. You've been listening to crime house 24 7, bringing you breaking crime news. I'm Vanessa Richardson. We'll be back tomorrow morning with more developing stories. Stay safe, and thanks for listening. Hi, it's Vanessa.
- [31:59]
Vanessa Richardson
If you're drawn to true crime stories about disappearances, check out the new Crime House original, the Final Hours, hosted by Sarah Turney and Courtney Nicole. Listen to and follow the Final hours on Apple podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or
- [32:14]
Crime House Host
wherever you get your podcasts.
- [32:16]
Vanessa Richardson
New episodes drop every Monday.