Nancy Guthrie ransom notes release follows Unabomber 'precedent' that cracked case, expert says

Theory Briefing

• The Pima County Sheriff's Department released Nancy Guthrie's ransom notes, a move a retired investigator links to the strategy that caught the Unabomber.
• Publishing the Unabomber's manifesto in 1995 led his own brother to recognize his writing and turn him in — the precedent investigators are now invoking.
• The theory is that a kidnapper's word choices, phrasing, or handwriting are a fingerprint the public can match to someone they know.
• Releasing evidence this way turns thousands of ordinary people into potential witnesses, bypassing the limits of a closed investigation.