Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Man Detained in Nancy Guthrie Investigation Says Online Sleuths are Ruining His Life | Crime Alert 6AM 03.04.26

Episode Date: March 4, 2026

The Tucson, Arizona man briefly detained in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie is now speaking publicly—insisting he had nothing to do with the disappearance and urging the public to stop what he calls online mob speculation. The father of an accused school shooter is found guilty of murder for enabling the crime. A self-driving vehicle blocks first responders called to this weekend’s mass shooting in downtown Austin, as they rushed to the scene where three people died and more than a dozen were injured. Two young children in York County, Pennsylvania are kept in restraints for most of the day, locked inside a crib turned cage and a car seat, in what prosecutors now call child torture.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime alert, hourly update. Breaking Crime News now. I'm Drew Nelson. The Tucson, Arizona man briefly detained in the kidnapping of Nancy Guthrie is now speaking publicly, insisting he had nothing to do with the disappearance, urging the public to stop what he calls online mob speculation. Luke Daly, H-37, was detained Friday the 13th after a SWAT raid on his home roughly two miles from where Nancy was taken. He and his 77-year-old mother were handcuffed while officers executed search warrants, Both were released without charges.

Daly says internet rumors fueled the law enforcement action. In an interview with True Crime, Arizona, here's what he'd say to internet sleuths. Just not to go off speculation of everything you hear on the internet and kind of like the hive mind mentality that someone says something and then they just go off of it based on no evidence and no truth. Users had circulated his name and photo on social media claiming he resembled the masked man captured on doorbell video the night Nancy. Guthry vanished. Daly flatly rejects that theory. It's not me. I don't see the resemblance of it looking like me, but absolutely not. I have nothing to do with this case. Asked whether he had any knowledge about who may be responsible? I don't. If I did, I would happily tell FBI, police, anything. I mean, I like everyone else, just want Nancy to come home and be safe. Daly has not been named a suspect.

His attorney previously confirmed he has no known link to Nancy Guthrie and was not arrested in connection with the case. As scrutiny swirls around that early detention, investigators are also clarifying one of their most publicized leads, the backpack worn by the masked suspect. Pima County Sheriff Chris Nano says detectives initially believe the black Ozark Trail Hiker Pack, seen in surveillance video, was purchased at Walmart. That detail was widely reported as a promising lead. Now the sheriff tells NBC investigators are reassessing. We've now learned that maybe it wasn't purchased out of Walmart. That backpack as new is exclusive to Walmart. But who's to say I didn't buy it and put it on eBay?

That's what we're looking at. The sheriff has faced mounting criticism over the pace and handling of the investigation. Still, he maintains progress is being made. I think the investigators are definitely closer. We got a lot of intel, a lot of leads. But now it's time to just go to work. He is declining to release additional evidence, defending that decision against those who think they haven't shared enough. There's so much that everybody wants to know, right?

But I would be very neglectful, irresponsible as a police law enforcement leader, to share that with everybody. Monday marked more than a month since Nancy disappeared. Today's show anchor Savannah Guthrie returned to the Tucson home this week for the first time since the abduction. Savannah and her sister Annie, along with Annie's husband, walked arm and arm down the driveway, placing yellow flowers at a growing memorial outside the house. The tribute includes crosses, ribbons, and handwritten prayers, one sign reading, Let Nancy come home. In a handwritten note left at the scene, Savannah wrote in part that though the family

is surrounded by darkness and uncertainty, their love, quote, burns bright. Nancy, 84, was taken from her Catalina Foothills home in the early morning hours of February 1st. Investigators say surveillance footage shows a masked, armed man approaching her front door. Her doorbell camera was disconnected, then. Drops of her blood were found on the porch. Her family called 911 after she failed to log on for a virtual church service that morning. The FBI and the Pima County Sheriff's Department are working the case jointly. Tens of thousands of tips have been submitted. Authorities have not yet publicly named a suspect. The reward of more than $1.2 million still stands. For more in the case of Nancy Guthrie joined crime stories with Nancy Grace 6 p.m. Eastern on Sirius XM. Triumph

Channel 11 had streaming exclusively on Fox 1 for the first 24 hours. More crime and justice news after this. From the Superior Court of Barrow County, Georgia, the verdict in the State of Georgia versus Colin Gray, father of an alleged school shooter accused of enabling the crime. In the Superior Court of Barrett County State of Georgia versus Colin Gray, case number 24-C-R dash 593 dash p jury verdict count one murder in a second degree we the jury find a defendant guilty the jury would go on to convict him on count after count a second count of second degree murder two counts of involuntary manslaughter 18 counts of cruelty to children and multiple counts of reckless conduct count 29 reckless conduct we the jury find a defendant guilty this third day of march 26

sign for person. Jurors deliberated less than two hours before deciding that Colin Gray bore criminal responsibility. 14-year-old Colt Gray is accused of killing two students and two teachers at Appalachie High School in Winder, Georgia. Prosecutors argued that Gray ignored warning signs for years. They say he gave his son an AR-15 as a Christmas gift. They say he allowed the teenager to keep it in his bedroom. They said he knew about violent outbursts, school shooter obsessions, online threats,

and mounting mental health struggles and still did nothing to remove the weapon. It was September 4th of 2024 when investigators say Colt Gray carried that rifle onto a school bus with the barrel wrapped in poster board inside a backpack. He later opened fire inside the school killing Mason-Shermerhorn, Christian Angulo, Richard Aspenwall, and Christina Irmy. The defense argued the father could not have foreseen what his son would do. They said hindsight is not proof of criminal intent. They said the shooter alone is responsible. but prosecutors told jurors this case was about the father's choices. They said there was one simple step that could have prevented the tragedy.

Take the rifle away. Colin Gray showed little visible reaction as deputies placed him in handcuffs. He will be sentenced at a later date, and his son, charged with 55 felonies, awaits trial. Two young children in York County, Pennsylvania, are kept in restraints all day, locked inside a crib turned cage and a car seat, in what prosecutors now call child torture.

District Attorney Tim Barker laid out disturbing details during a press conference. He said the five-year-old girl and six-year-old boy were malnourished, not toilet trained, and had not left their home on Castle Road in Edders in roughly two years. Both had not received routine medical or dental care since 2019. Both had significant dental issues, and when we say significant, this is an area where words do not fully describe. The boy was forced to live inside what Barker described as a homemade cage constructed with stacked cribs, ratchet straps, zip ties, and other locking mechanisms. Investigators say the structure had external locks and smelled strongly of urine with suspected fecal matter on the rails. The girl was allegedly buckled into an infant car seat for 20 to 23 hours a day.

Medical staff later linked her limited mobility and neck problems to prolonged restraint. Police say both children showed signs of medical, dental, nutritional, and emotional. neglect. Doctors determined the pattern met the definition of child torture, describing a long-term combination of physical abuse and psychological maltreatment. The children's mother, Ashley Cardona, age 31, and their grandmother, Lori Cardona, 53, each faced 17 felony counts, including aggravated assault, unlawful restraint, and endangering the welfare of children. The children's uncle Michael Cardona, age 29, faces six felony counts, including conspiracy and unlawful restraint. Investigators say he admitted helping build the cage. The children will remove from the

home in March of 2024 and placed in foster care. Barker says investigators took nearly two years to file charges to ensure they could fully document the extent of the harm. We would have potentially missed key charges, some of which may have included, did we fully establish and could we fully prove, actual serious bodily injury inflicted. All three defendants remain jailed on $250,000 bail as the case moves forward. A self-driving vehicle blocks first responders called to this weekend's mass shooting in downtown Austin as they rushed to a scene leaving three people dead and more than a dozen injured. As the chaos unfolded, a bystander video captures a Waymo Robo taxi stopped across both lanes of traffic near West 6th and Nuasis streets. An ambulance can be seen

trying to pass. A police cruiser then pulls up behind the autonomous vehicle. An officer approaches and taps on the window, then ultimately moves the car out of the way. Oh, I mean, he's not going to go any further. Matthew Turnage, who recorded the video and shared it with KXAN says he ordered the vehicle through Uber. Waymo confirmed the vehicle was en route to pick up a rider near the shooting scene. The company says it is reviewing the incident. Austin, Travis County EMS Chief Robert Lucretz addressed the incident. EMS as well as our fellow public safety partners work very closely with the autonomous vehicle vendors that operate here in the city of Austin. We had more than 20 assets resources that responded to this event.

We were on scene within 57 seconds. And so in the grand scheme of the impact on the overall incident, we don't believe it at any impact on patient outcomes. I will say that we're already in touch with Waymo and the autonomous vehicles to give them more concerns and work with them in order to try to address this moving forward. The gunfire erupted just before 2 a.m. Sunday outside Buford's Bar on West 6th Street. Investigators continue to examine the motive behind the shooting, which authorities have said may have indicators of terrorism. The victims have been identified and the case remains under active investigation. Austin has become a major testing ground for autonomous vehicles. In recent months, Waymo vehicles have faced scrutiny across the country over reports of stopping in intersections,

improperly passing school buses, some of which prompting a voluntary software. recall. San Francisco leaders are pointing to a recent blackout crisis as a warning about the limits of autonomous vehicles. During a packed city hall hearing, members of the board of supervisors pressed Waymo executives about the company's performance during a massive December 20th power outage that knocked out traffic lights across much of San Francisco. The blackout sparked by a fire at a power substation left traffic signals dark and triggered widespread gridlock. According to city officials, nearly 1,600 Waymo vehicles stopped for at least two minutes during the outage. More than 60 had to be manually moved.

Some frozen intersections, others blocked buses and emergency crews. Supervisor by Lal Mahmood compares the vehicles to storybook magic. Like Cinderella's magical carriages. But just like in the fairy tale, we can now see that those carriages can turn into pumpkins at the drop of a hat. Emergency officials described difficulty reaching the company as the crisis on unfolded. The Director of Emergency Management says her department was placed on hold for 53 minutes while trying to contact Waymo's support center. The company told supervisors it has since rolled out fleet-wide software updates to better recognize regional outages and respond to dark intersections

without waiting for remote human assistance. Officials said about 70 dispatchers at a call center in the Philippines assist vehicles requiring intervention, but that system was overwhelmed during the outage. For the latest crime and justice news, follow Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app. With this crime alert, I'm Drew Nelson.