California man pleads guilty for texting Nancy Guthrie ransom notes to family
· Toronto Sun
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A California man pleaded guilty in an Arizona courtroom Thursday for texting ransom notes to the family of Nancy Guthrie after she disappeared from her Tucson home.
Derrick Callella, 42, of Hawthorne, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment through a telecommunications device and will be sentenced in September, when it is expected he will get two concurrent five-year probation terms, the Arizona Daily Star reports .
Callella was initially charged with transmitting ransom-related communications in interstate commerce and making anonymous harassing telecommunications calls.
Mother disappeared in February
The 84-year-old mother of NBC’s Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie, who lived alone, was abducted in the early morning hours on Feb. 1, police said.
A day later, CBS affiliate KOLD in Tucson received a message that demanded a ransom for the missing Guthrie and a Bitcoin wallet address.
The Guthrie family shared an emotional plea to social media on Feb. 4, asking the kidnapper to get in touch with them. That same day, Guthrie’s daughter Annie and her husband Tomasso Cioni received separate text messages that both read, “Did you get the bitcoin were (sic) waiting on our end for the transaction,” the charging document stated.
The texts were traced by investigators to an IP address originating from Callella’s home in California, according to the legal complaint.
Callella also called the Guthrie family after finding their phone number online, but disguised it by using a voice over internet protocol program.
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FBI agents arrested Callella at his home and read him his Miranda rights. He then said he sent the messages to the family to see if they would respond and phoned them shortly after texting them.
On Wednesday, the FBI office in Phoenix issued a statement on social media about the Guthrie case, saying they and other law enforcement agencies have received several ransom notes during the investigation.
“Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy,” FBI Phoenix wrote on the X platform . “Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such. This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case.”
Statement on Guthrie Investigation pic.twitter.com/zTUKcjPfsv
— FBI Phoenix (@FBIPhoenix) July 1, 2026
Another emotional plea
Last month, Savannah Guthrie urged her mother’s abductor to come forward in an emotional plea on the Today show after a report suggested a ransom note claimed that she was dead .
“Somebody knows something. We are in agony and we cannot be at peace,” she said tearfully.
“No matter how much I try to come out here every day and smile and find that joy — and I will, I promise I will — this is the moment to tell you we need your help, we’re begging for your help and I’m not going to miss that opportunity.”
More than a week after Guthrie’s disappearance, investigators released home security camera footage and photos that showed a masked and armed individual at her door. Blood stains were also found at and near the home’s front entrance.
There has been no further information about the suspect or arrests made in the case.