A 42-year-old man from Hawthorne, California, Derrick Callella, has admitted guilt to harassing the family of Nancy Guthrie through fake ransom demands. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of harassment by telecommunications device.
This case is the only criminal conviction connected to the disappearance of Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of ‘Today’ co-host Savannah Guthrie, who went missing from her home near Tucson, Arizona, five months ago.
In his guilty plea, Callella confessed to contacting Guthrie’s family members on February 4, requesting a bitcoin transfer. The U.S. Attorney’s Office mentioned that Callella acknowledged being aware of an earlier ransom demand.
“He acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office stated.
Callella admitted his actions aimed to harass the family by extracting information about the missing person’s investigation. Following his arrest on February 5, a criminal complaint revealed that, after receiving Miranda warnings, Callella confessed to sending messages to Guthrie’s daughter and son-in-law after tracking the case on television.
The complaint detailed that these messages surfaced shortly after Guthrie’s family issued a video plea urging the abductors to make contact. This followed local news reports on February 2 about a ransom note demanding bitcoin payment. Additionally, Callella made a nine-second phone call to a family member.
The charges against Callella carry penalties of up to two years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Despite this, his plea agreement stipulates five years of probation. ABC7 reports that his sentencing is scheduled for September 10.
This story is ongoing, and further updates will be provided as information becomes available.
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