Man pleads guilty in Nancy Guthrie ransom demand

Derrick Callella, 42, of Hawthorne, California, pleaded guilty Thursday in Tucson federal court to two counts of harassment through telecommunications device. He is expected to get two concurrent five-year probation terms — one for each count — when he is sentenced on Sept. 10.

During the hearing, Callella told the court he had used methamphetamine four days before the change of plea hearing but added he was no longer under the influence of drugs. After the hearing, Judge Jacqueline Rateau ordered Callella to report to a treatment facility. 

Federal prosecutors initially charged Callella with one count of transmitting ransom-related communications in interstate commerce and one count of making anonymous harassing telecommunications calls, a criminal complaint said.

The day after Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today" cohost Savannah Guthrie, was reported missing on Feb. 1, Tucson's KOLD-TV received a ransom demand that listed a Bitcoin wallet address.

On Feb. 4, the Gutrhie family posted a video on social media asking the kidnapper to contact them. 

That same day, both Guthrie’s daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her husband, Tomasso Cioni, separately received a text message that read, “Did you get the bitcoin were waiting on our end for the transaction,” the complaint says. 

Authorities tracked the phone number that sent the texts to an IP address linked to Callella’s California home, the complaint says.  

After being read his Miranda warning, Callella told FBI agents he sent the two text messages to see if the family would respond. He also called a member of the Guthrie family shortly after sending the texts, the complaint says.

Callella used a voice over internet protocol application to use a different number than his own to contact the Guthrie family after finding their contact information online, the complaint says. 

Callella’s plea comes after a string of new, conflicting reports regarding ransom notes sent in connection with Guthrie’s disappearance. 

Investigators received several ransom notes during the investigation, the FBI in Phoenix said Wednesday on its X account. 

“Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy,” FBI Phoenix said. “Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such. This case continues to be investigated as kidnapping for ransom case.”