Disturbing Abduction of Savannah Guthrie’s Mom, Luigi Avoids Death Penalty, and Creepy Busfield Claims Resurface, with Jennifer Coffindaffer

MK True Crime

MK Media

True Crime, Mktruecrime, News, Daily News

4.6 • 601 Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2026

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

MK True Crime hosts Phil Holloway and Ashleigh Merchant join the show to discuss a Manhattan federal judge’s ruling that prosecutors would not be able to seek the death penalty at the trial of Luigi Mangione, the race between the state and feds to go to trial and why it matters who goes first, Mangione’s unexpected upcoming court appearance this week and whether or not that could signal a plea deal, a mentally ill man’s attempt to break Mangione out of jail, the resurfaced “creepy” allegations against Timothy Busfield by actress Eliza Roberts in the mid-1990’s, retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer joins Phil and Ashleigh to discuss the disturbing disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, mother of Today Show host Savannah Guthrie, the bloody crime scene left behind, whether the ransom note delivered to TMZ is real or a hoax, the FBI’s role in this investigation, what the latest Epstein files reveal about Ghislaine Maxwell and how this information will affect her plea to overturn her conviction, a look back at the Tara Grinstead murder case, and more. Phil Holloway: https://x.com/PhilHollowayEsq Ashleigh Merchant: https://www.criminaldefenseattorneysmarietta.com Jennifer Coffindaffer: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakTheCase Riverbend Ranch: Visit https://riverbendranch.com/ | Use promo code MEGYN for $20 off your first order. Relief Factor: Break up with pain—Relief Factor targets inflammation so you can move better and feel better; try the 3-Week QuickStart for just $19.95 at https://ReliefFactor.com or call 800-4-RELIEF. Birch Gold: Text MK to 989898 and get your free info kit on gold Follow MK True Crime on all social platforms: YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@MKTrueCrime X - https://x.com/mktruecrime Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mktruecrime TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@mktruecrime

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to MK True Crime. I'm Phil Holloway. I'm a criminal lawyer. I'm a former prosecutor, and I'm an ex-cop. I've been in and around the justice system for the better part of 40 years now, and I think I know what good true crime is when I see it.
0:25.2	So here's what's on our MK true crime docket for today.
0:32.0	It looks like the death penalty is off the table for accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione in the federal case now pending in New York.
0:35.9	We'll discuss the latest on that and why Luigi Mangione is
0:41.0	due back in court later this week in Manhattan. Plus, allegations continue to surface in the
0:47.7	Timothy Busfield case. We'll bring you up to speed on actress Elisa Roberts' claims from the 1980s.
0:55.4	We'll be joined later in the show by retired FBI agent Jennifer Coffin Daffer.
1:00.8	She'll be here to discuss the disturbing disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
1:05.7	Nancy Guthrie, of course, being the mother of co-anchor of the Today Show, Savannah Guthrie.
1:11.9	We'll discuss the latest on the Epstein Files release and what that means for Galane Maxwell.
1:18.9	Ashley Merchant, my co-host, joins me today from Atlanta, Georgia, where she practices
1:23.8	criminal defense.
1:25.1	Ashley, let's start with Luigi Mangione. As our listeners probably
1:30.2	recall, Mangione's charged with the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. And really,
1:38.2	what was a brazen like on the street called on camera, a brutal murder back in 2024. In late last week, Ashley, we learned
1:47.2	something very important specifically that a Manhattan federal judge has ruled that prosecutors
1:54.5	actually cannot seek the death penalty. They said that she would allow all the evidence seized from his backpack to be used,
2:03.0	but the death penalty is off the table, and as I understand it, it's because the stalking charges,
2:09.6	the judge said, do not meet the federal requirements for a violent crime necessary to invoke the death
2:17.2	penalty. Ashley, can you help us make sense of
2:20.3	what's going on in this federal case? Yeah, definitely, Phil. There's so much going on in both of his cases,
2:26.5	really, I mean, in his federal and his state court case, he's just got a lot of updates, and then we've
	...

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