Nancy Guthrie: LA man pleads guilty to sending fake ransom notes in abduction case

Nancy Guthrie's case takes another turn after a Californian man admitted for sending fake ransom notes in Savanah's mother abduction scandal.

Derrick Callella, a 42-year-old resident of Hawthorne, California, has officially pleaded guilty in an Arizona federal court to felony charges stemming from fraudulent Bitcoin ransom demands sent to the family of missing Nancy Guthrie—the mother of Today show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.

The Los Angeles man pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment by telecommunications device, marking the only criminal conviction to date stemming from the disappearance of 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie from her home in Tucson, Arizona, five months ago.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. But the plea agreement with prosecutors calls for Callella, a resident of Hawthorne, California, to serve five years on probation.

According to a U.S. Attorney's Office spokesperson a formal sentencing was set for September 10.

The plea deal, entered in U.S. District Court in Tucson, leaves Guthrie's fate unknown and the underlying kidnapping case as yet unsolved.

Guthrie, in frail health with limited mobility, was last seen alive on January 31 at her home. A friend contacted family members the next day, when she did not show up to church as expected, and relatives entering her home found her gone.

A search of Guthrie's residence showed she had left behind essential items such as her wallet, cellphone, hearing aid and medication.

DNA tests confirmed later, the blood found on Guthrie's front porch was hers.

Callella was arrested on February 5,four days after Guthrie was reported missing. By then, according to court records and FBI public statements, local media had received ‌a ransom note on February 2 demanding payment in bitcoin and setting deadlines for payment.

In entering his guilty plea, Callella admitted that he called and sent text messages to Guthrie's family on February 4 inquiring about a bitcoin transfer, and "he acknowledged that he knew an earlier ransom demand had been made," the U.S. Attorney statement said.

"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 statement said.