Jacksonville State University (JSU) has one of the top forensic departments in the Southeast. Law enforcement agencies across the state send evidence, including bodies, to JSU for analysis and autopsies for crime investigations. Part of the team at JSU is Joseph Scott Morgan, associate professor of applied forensics and distinguished scholar.
Morgan appeared on “Crime Stories with Nancy Grace,” speaking on failures in the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
“Let’s preach a little bit, Nancy,” Morgan said. “Pride cometh before the fall. And that’s what this is all about.”
FBI director Kash Patel recently criticized the Pima County, Ariz. Sheriff’s Department, saying he offered resources but was turned down for the first four days of the investigation. Patel said he had a jet on standby to collect DNA evidence from Arizona and take it back to Quantico for analysis, but investigators decided to send the evidence to Florida instead.
Guthrie was last seen January 31.
Morgan said delays in collaboration with the feds and the failure to use the FBI’s resources more quickly could have cost Guthrie her life. As for the DNA evidence, Morgan emphasized that the more people who handle evidence, the more degraded DNA becomes and the less viable it is to use in the investigation.
Some video evidence was eventually pulled from a doorbell camera, but Morgan said that evidence was also delayed because the scene at Guthrie’s home was not secured soon enough. He said the delay to secure the scene also compromised blood evidence found on Guthrie’s front stoop.
Morgan said investigators did not prioritize the case from the beginning and that makes him concerned about other cases.
“I really wonder how this plays into other cases,” Morgan said. “With no so elevated persons, let’s say, for instance, in this jurisdiction. Who else is out there that’s suffering, that had missing family members or crimes that have gone unsolved?
“You look back at this right here and this is a glaring example of problems,” he added. “I’m just hoping that they’re going to be able to address these problems.”
Morgan said he is “not really, really hopeful” about Guthrie’s status. No arrests have been made.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department maintains it coordinated with the FBI almost immediately, despite Patel’s claim.
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