A California man pleaded guilty after sending a bogus ransom note to the anxious family of missing Nancy Guthrie.<\/p>\n
Derrick Callella, 42, pleaded guilty to two felonies \u2014 transmitting a demand for ransom in interstate commerce and utilizing a telecommunications device with intent to abuse, threaten or harass a person \u2014 on Thursday, KOLD<\/a> reported.<\/p>\n His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 10.<\/p>\n Derrick Callella pleaded guilty after sending a bogus ransom note to the anxious family of missing Nancy Guthrie. KOLD 13 News<\/p>\n Callella, from Hawthorne, messaged Guthrie\u2019s daughter Annie<\/a> and son-in-law Tommaso Cioni<\/a> about the ailing 84-year-old shortly after she vanished in February, according to a criminal complaint filed in Arizona federal court.<\/p>\n \u201cDid you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction,\u201d his message, sent to both Annie and Cioni, allegedly read<\/a>.<\/p>\n Approximately three minutes after sending the texts, data obtained by authorities showed Callella also made a nine-second call to an unidentified family member of Nancy Guthrie, according to the court docs.<\/p>\n \u201cIn his plea, Callella admitted that he called and sent text messages to a missing person\u2019s family on Feb. 4, 2026, which asked about a bitcoin transfer,\u201d the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office, District of Arizona, said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cCallella acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made. Callella also admitted that his actions were meant to harass the family by seeking information about the investigation into the missing person\u2019s disappearance.\u201d<\/p>\n Nancy, the mother of \u201cToday\u201d host Savannah Guthrie, remains missing with no known suspects or leads from investigators five months after her disappearance. Instagram\/savannahguthrie<\/p>\n Callella\u2019s note was not linked to a Feb. 2 ransom demand sent to local media and TMZ, Fox News reported<\/a>, citing court documents.<\/p>\n Nancy, the mother of \u201cToday\u201d host Savannah Guthrie, remains missing with no known suspects or leads from investigators five months after her disappearance.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the latest on Savannah Guthrie\u2019s missing mom Nancy Guthrie<\/p>\n