A Los Angeles-area guy pleaded responsible to criminal harassment fees in federal courtroom on Thursday for sending faux ransom notes posing as a kidnapper of “Today” display co-host Savannah Guthrie’s lacking aged mom.
Derrick Callella, 42, pleaded responsible to 2 counts of harassment by way of telecommunications tool, marking the one legal conviction up to now stemming from the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie from her house in Tucson, Arizona, 5 months in the past.
The fees raise a most penalty of 2 years in jail and a $250,000 tremendous. However the plea settlement with prosecutors requires Callella, a resident of Hawthorne, California, to serve 5 years on probation, in keeping with a US Lawyer’s Place of business spokesperson. Formal sentencing used to be set for September 10.
The plea deal, entered in US District Courtroom in Tucson, leaves Guthrie’s destiny unknown and the underlying kidnapping case as but unsolved.
Guthrie, in frail well being with restricted mobility, used to be final noticed alive on January 31 at her house. A chum contacted members of the family tomorrow, when she didn’t display as much as church as anticipated, and family getting into her house discovered her long gone.
Callella admitted to sending message asking about Bitcoin
A seek of Guthrie’s place of dwelling confirmed she had left in the back of very important pieces comparable to her pockets, cell phone, listening to assist and drugs. Blood discovered on Guthrie’s entrance porch used to be hers, DNA assessments showed later.
US journalist and tv host Savannah Guthrie, accompanied by way of her siblings Annie and Camron, speaks in a video message, addressing somebody who could be conserving her aged mom, Nancy Guthrie, who went lacking from her Arizona house a number of days in the past, launched February 4, 2026. (credit score: Savannah Guthrie by the use of Instagram/by the use of REUTERS)
He used to be arrested on February 5, 4 days after Guthrie used to be reported lacking. By means of then, in keeping with courtroom information and FBI public statements, native media had gained a ransom word on February 2 difficult cost in bitcoin and atmosphere points in time for cost.
In getting into his responsible plea, Callella admitted that he referred to as and despatched textual content messages to Guthrie’s circle of relatives on February 4 inquiring a few bitcoin switch, and “he acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made,” the United States Lawyer observation mentioned.
“Callella also admitted that his actions were meant to harass the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person’s disappearance,” the observation mentioned.
The responsible plea got here an afternoon after the FBI box place of work in Phoenix mentioned on X/Twitter that investigators have gained “several” ransom notes for the duration of the investigation, some deemed to be “extortion attempts without legitimacy,” others being handled as probably authentic.
The FBI mentioned Guthrie’s disappearance is still investigated as a kidnapping-for-ransom case.
An FBI authentic, talking on situation of anonymity to talk about an energetic probe, advised Reuters on Tuesday that the newest TMZ letter and two ransom notes reported by way of media in February have since been deemed by way of investigators not to be credible.
