Man sentenced over fake Nancy Guthrie ransom

Derrick Callella says his addiction to methamphetamine “removed his inhibitions and his capacity for clear decision making,” when he sent text messages to the Nancy Gurthrie's family requesting bitcoin payment.TUCSON, Ariz. (CN) — A California man will spend five years on probation for sending fake ransom notes to the family of Nancy Gurthrie, who remains missing after seven months.Derrick Anthony Callella, 42, texted Guthrie’s family members two days after she was reported missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, “to see if the family would respond.” Callella pleaded guilty in July and admitted in a Tucson courtroom that he followed the case in the news and was aware of other ransom notes requesting bitcoin payment.In a memo filed a week before his Monday afternoon sentencing, Callella blamed his behavior in part on his addiction to methamphetamine. He told a probation officer he plans to be “addicted to his recovery,” moving forward.Callella tested positive for the substance the morning of his guilty plea on July 2, and was ordered by a magistrate judge to a residential treatment facility.He says he has not used since.“Mr. Callella’s need for sustained substance abuse treatment and supervision is real and immediate, that his recovery is two months old, and that five years of structured supervision, with treatment, testing, and mental health services, gives him the support he needs while giving the court and the probation officer ample time to confirm that he remains law abiding,” he said in the memorandum.Just days after her mother disappeared, “Today” show host Savannah Guthrie and her husband received text messages from a random number asking, “Did you get the bitcoin?” The question was a reference to previous ransom notes already forwarded to the FBI.About three minutes after sending the texts, he called another family member for just nine seconds before hanging up.Callella used a VoIP to obtain a new phone number to send the texts, but registered that phone number to an email account using his full name. The FBI used that and Callella’s IP address to track him to his home in California.Callella emphasized in his memo he had no real affiliation with the kidnapping.In a Tucson courtroom on Monday, U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker gave him the lightest recommended sentence. He will service two five-year sentences — one for each count of harassment using telecommunications cevice, a Class E felony — concurrently.Nancy Guthrie, who was 84 at the time of her disappearance, remains missing.She was first reported missing on Feb. 1 after family members were informed she didn’t show up for church service. Investigations by both the FBI and the Pima County Sheriff’s Office uncovered her Tucson home’s Ring camera had been disconnected at 1:47 a.m. that day. The FBI later released footage from the doorbell camera, which shows a man in a ski mask tampering with the device until the video cuts out.At 2:28 a.m., Guthrie’s pacemaker disconnected from her phone app. Her family says she is limited in mobility and relies on lifesaving medications.Investigators say a trail of blood on the porch matched Guthrie’s DNA, and many of her personal belongings, including her cellphone, were left behind.Days later, a local CBS affiliate received a ransom note via online tip portal that included a bitcoin wallet for payment. The station turned the note over to the FBI, which has been tightlipped about specific details in it and other notes received by other media outlets.A more recent ransom note claiming she had died was determined by the FBI to be fake. The FBI says it’s still investigating some ransom notes as legitimate.Law enforcement has named no suspects, but the FBI created a tip line and is offering a $50,000 reward to anyone with information that could lead to Guthrie’s safe return home.In October, authorities charged Callella with grand theft in Los Angeles County. The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office says Callella stole $9,984 in unemployment benefits between May 2020 and January 2022 while employed by the county. He was arraigned in November.He is one of 13 former county employees accused of collecting a total of $430,000 by submitting fraudulent insurance claims to the California Employment Development Department.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads