Guilty plea over fake ransom note in Nancy Guthrie disappearance

TUCSON, Ariz. (CN) — As the search for “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie’s mother Nancy enters its sixth month, a man unrelated to the kidnapping pleaded guilty Thursday to two counts of harassment for requesting ransom from Guthrie’s daughter and son-in-law.

Derrick Anthony Callella, 42, texted Guthrie’s family members two days after she was reported missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, “to see if the family would respond.” Callella admitted in a Tucson courtroom that he had followed the case in the news and was aware of the ransom notes sent to the family and local news outlets asking for bitcoin payments.

Callella’s two texts asked:

“Did you get the bitcoin? We are waiting on the transaction.”

About three minutes after sending the texts, he called another family member for just nine seconds before hanging up.

Callella used a VoIP to obtain a new phone number to send the texts, but registered that phone number to a Gmail account using his full name. The FBI used that and Callella’s IP address to track him to his home in California. He told law enforcement he found the family’s information on the internet.

Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Rateau said Callella tested positive for methamphetamine Thursday morning, and he admitted in court to using just four days ago. After the hearing, Rateau ordered Callella to report to an undisclosed residential treatment facility while he awaits sentencing, currently set for Sept. 10. If he does not report by the end of the day, an arrest warrant will be issued.

“I hope you get this under control,” Rateau told him.

Callella answered yes or no questions but made no statement of his own, and left the courtroom with U.S. marshals, avoiding reporters on his way out. His parents were present but did not answer reporters’ questions.

For two counts of harassment using a telecommunications device, Callella faces a minimum of five years probation and a maximum two years in prison along with a $250,000 fine. Under the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the more serious charge of sending interstate communications with a demand for ransom.

Nancy Guthrie, who was 84 at the time of her disappearance, remains missing.

She was first reported missing on Feb. 1 after family members were informed she didn’t show up for church service. Investigations by both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Office uncovered her Tucson home’s Ring camera had been disconnected at 1:47 a.m. that day. The FBI later released footage from the doorbell camera, which shows a man in a ski mask tampering with the device until the video cuts out.

At 2:28 a.m., Guthrie’s pacemaker disconnected from her phone app. Her family says she is limited in mobility and relies on lifesaving medications.

Investigators say a trail of blood on the porch matched Guthrie’s DNA, and many of her personal belongings, including her cellphone, were left behind.

Days later, a local CBS affiliate received a ransom note via online tip portal that included a bitcoin wallet for payment. The station turned the note over to the FBI, which has been tightlipped about specific details in it and other notes received by other media outlets

A more recent ransom note claiming she had died was determined by the FBI to be fake. The FBI says it’s still investigating some ransom notes as legitimate.

Law enforcement has named no suspects, but the FBI has created a tipline and is offering a $50,000 reward to anyone who has information that could lead to Guthrie’s safe return home.

In October, authorities charged Callella with grand theft in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office says Callella stole $9,984 in unemployment benefits between May 2020 and January 2022 while he was employed by the county. He was arraigned in November.

He is one of 13 former county employees accused of collecting a total of $430,000 by submitting fraudulent insurance claims to the California Employment Development Department.

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