A California man pleaded guilty to sending a fake ransom note to the family of Nancy Guthrie, an Arizona resident and the elderly mother of “TODAY” show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.
Derrick Callella, 42, entered a guilty plea on Thursday as part of an agreement as he faced federal charges for sending a ransom demand across state lines and using a telecommunications device to threaten or harass, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
He received five years of probation, KVOA reports.
Callella admitted in court that he had used drugs four days earlier, but denied being under the influence of drugs during proceedings when asked by the judge. Callella’s sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10.
According to the FBI, Callella texted two of Guthrie’s family members — Nancy Guthrie’s oldest daughter, Annie, and her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni — on Feb. 4, KOLD-TV reports. The 42-year-old man also allegedly made a nine-second call to a Guthrie family member.
“Did you get the bitcoin were (sic) waiting on our end for the transaction,” one of Callella’s messages read, according to court documents. The suspect reportedly sent the message using a VOIP phone line.
In response to the California man facing charges for sending a fake ransom note, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos warned that individuals who send fraudulent notes in this case will be held accountable.
“The FBI takes these notes extremely seriously. They track them down, and if they find it to be fraudulent, they don’t just put it aside; they will arrest you, they have made arrests, I think they’ve made two or three arrests already,” Nanos said.
Regarding the ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case, an FBI official told Reuters that federal investigators had determined three of the notes highlighted by the media were fake.
“None of the ransom notes are believed to be genuine,” the FBI official told Reuters.
Two of the notes deemed inauthentic by investigators were sent to media outlets in February, while the third one emerged more recently and came from someone who claimed to have information about the kidnappers.
Nancy Guthrie went missing after failing to attend a virtual church service on the morning of Feb. 1. She was last seen on Jan. 31 having dinner with her family.
Investigators have yet to release information about any suspects or persons of interest in the case, and no arrests have been made in connection with the 84-year-old woman’s disappearance.
Earlier this year, authorities released doorbell camera footage from Nancy Guthrie’s home in Tucson, Arizona. The footage shows a masked man at the elderly woman’s door who appears to be tampering with the camera.
Savannah Guthrie issued another plea last month, begging anyone with information about her mother’s disappearance to please come forward. The “TODAY” show co-anchor said that her family has lived in “agony” in the months since Nancy Guthrie went missing.
“This is unusual and unprecedented to say the least, to be sitting here. I don’t have any comment on this story, and I’m not involved in our coverage, but I can’t pretend I’m not here,” the co-anchor stated during a message on the morning show.
“And so, since I am, I want to just take the opportunity to ask people, to really to beg people to come forward,” she continued. “Somebody knows something, and this is a new story today that is on your radar. But this is the life that my sister lives, that I live, that my brother lives, that our extended families live, that our children live, every day. And we are in agony. We cannot be at peace.”
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
