Ashleigh Banfield Family, Net Worth and Shocking Claim on Nancy Guthrie Case

American-Canadian journalist Ashleigh Banfield has once again made headlines, this time for her comments on the ongoing search for missing Nancy Guthrie. Speaking on her YouTube show Drop Dead Serious, Banfield claimed that a law enforcement source suggested Savannah Guthrie’s brother-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, could be a key suspect in the case. She emphasized that this information comes from her source, and no official confirmation has been released regarding Cioni’s involvement.

New rules on animal testing must take India forward, not backwards: Maneka Gandhi Officials maintain the changes seek to simplify approvals for research institutions, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. Updated on: Oct 26, 2026, 14:54:47 IST By Jasjeev Gandhiok Prefer HTPrefer HT Prefer HT on Google Share The Centre’s draft rules governing animal experimentation have triggered concerns among animal rights groups, which say the changes could weaken independent oversight and make it easier for laboratories to conduct experiments on animals. However, officials maintain the changes seek to simplify approvals for research institutions, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries. Former Union minister Maneka Gandhi. Former Union minister Maneka Gandhi. HT speaks to animal rights activist and former Union minister Maneka Gandhi, a long-time campaigner against animal experimentation. Edited excerpts: A major change to animal experimentation, proposed in the draft, is that mild and moderate experiments could be approved by an institution’s own ethics committee rather than going to the central regulator. In practical terms, what does this change mean for an animal inside a laboratory? Does it make it easier for more animals to be experimented on? It means the animal loses the one independent pair of eyes that was looking at its fate. Today, experiments on animals larger than a rat go to the central regulator, and there is at least someone outside the building asking whether this experiment is necessary at all. Under the draft, the people who want to do the experiment, their colleagues and their department heads will be the ones approving it. And it is the institution itself, through its own veterinarian, that decides whether the experiment is mild or moderate in the first place. No institution has ever turned down its own funding. So yes, it will make it easier, and it will make it faster, and that means more animals. Mild and moderate are also the bulk of experiments, so we are effectively handing over most of animal experimentation in India to self regulation. The draft classifies experiments as mild, moderate, severe and non-recovery. Is there a concern that the institution conducting the research will effectively decide how severe the experiment is. Does this leave a grey area? It isn’t grey, it is completely black. Under this draft, the institution that wants to do the experiment is also the one that decides which category it falls into. That decision matters enormously, because if the experiment is classified as mild or moderate, the institution’s own committee approves it and it never goes to the central regulator. Only severe and non-recovery experiments on larger animals go outside. So the same people who want the experiment approved are deciding whether anyone independent will ever examine it. That is a clear conflict of interest, and it will push experiments towards the lower categories. Starving a rat for a day is called mild. Keeping a social animal alone in a cage is mild. Starving it for two days, or putting it through distress it cannot escape, is moderate. So is testing herbal products, testing established drugs, and anything described as having “known and reversible effects,” which could mean almost anything. This is not a scientific list. It is the most common commercial work. The draft also creates exceptions and allows laboratories to use animals from open markets, unregistered sources, and in certain circumstances, stray, feral, wild and protected animals. What is the biggest risk that this may create for animals in practice? Could community dogs, lost pets or animals taken from the wild find their way into laboratories? The biggest risk is that nobody will know where an animal came from. The whole point of registered breeders was traceability. Once you allow open markets and unregistered sources for cattle, goats, birds and fish, you create a demand, and in this country demand is met very quickly by people who will pick up anything. Strays and wild animals can be used if a “competent authority” permits it, and the draft never says who that is. Community dogs, someone’s lost pet, birds from illegal markets, all of it can find its way into a laboratory. These exceptions should be removed completely. If a lab cannot get an animal from a registered source, it should not be doing that experiment. The draft formally incorporates the principles of replacement, reduction and refinement, but critics say these safeguards become weaker if institutions themselves are approving experiments. Do you believe India should now be moving towards replacing animal experiments altogether, particularly when the health ministry has already allowed certain drug testing through non-animal methods? What should the rules do differently? Yes, and we are not starting from zero. The health ministry has already amended the drug rules to accept non-animal methods. The world is moving this way because these methods are often more predictive for humans than a mouse ever was. Writing replacement, reduction and refinement into the rules means nothing if the person checking compliance is the institution itself. The rules should make it mandatory to show that no validated alternative exists before an animal is used, set up a national body to validate and promote alternatives, put money into them, and set timelines to phase out animal use in areas where alternatives are already available. A rule that only mentions replacement as a principle is decoration. You have worked on animal experimentation regulation for decades. What specific changes would you want the government to make to this draft? I don’t think this draft can be fixed. There is hardly a provision in it that doesn’t need changing, and when everything needs to change, it is better to start again. So the draft should be put aside and written afresh, this time with independent scientists, animal welfare organisations and legal experts at the table. The new rules must take India forward, not backwards. Animals already have certain protections under the law which cannot be taken away. New should be building on them.

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Banfield detailed the connection on her show, explaining that Tommaso Cioni is married to Annie Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie’s sister. “And my law enforcement source tells me that Tommaso Cioni is the prime suspect in this case. Again, law enforcement source tells me that Nancy Guthrie’s son-in-law, married to Annie Guthrie, Savannah’s sister, is maybe a prime suspect in this case,” Banfield said. While her comments are stirring public attention, HT.com has not independently verified the claims, and authorities have remained tight-lipped about the investigation.

Beyond the shocking claims surrounding the Nancy Guthrie case, Ashleigh Banfield is also known for her distinguished career in journalism. Born on December 29, 1967, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Banfield was raised in a family that valued education. She attended the prestigious Balmoral Hall School and later earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and French from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. She further pursued studies in French at the University of British Columbia.

Banfield’s career spans over three decades, beginning in Canada as a reporter and anchor before moving to the United States to join NBC News. She has held prominent roles at MSNBC, CNN, HLN, Court TV, and NewsNation, earning a reputation for insightful reporting and on-screen presence. As of 2025, her net worth is estimated between $3 to $5 million, accumulated primarily from her career in television journalism, including an annual salary reported at around $200,000 during her tenure at MSNBC.

In her personal life, Banfield has been married twice. Her first marriage to real estate financier Howard Gould ended in divorce. She later married Chris Haynor in 2017 at the Hermitage Club ski lodge in Vermont. Banfield has two children from her previous marriage and maintains a largely private family life, keeping her personal matters away from the public eye.

With her dual reputation as a seasoned journalist and outspoken commentator, Banfield continues to attract attention, both for her professional achievements and her willingness to report on high-profile, sensitive cases like the Nancy Guthrie investigation.