A California man accused of sending fake ransom messages to the family of Savannah Guthrie regarding her missing mother has been arrested and formally charged, according to a criminal complaint filed on Thursday. The note turned out to be fake as Nancy Guthrie remains missing, with law enforcement still clueless.
Derrick Callella, a man in his mid-40s, reached out to Guthrie's daughter, Annie, and her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, on Wednesday, contacting them about the seriously ill 84-year-old, according to the complaint filed in Arizona federal court. "Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction?" his message, sent to both Annie and Cioni, allegedly read.
Imposter, Not Kidnapper
About three minutes after sending the text messages, data reviewed by investigators showed Callella also placed a brief, nine-second phone call to one of Nancy Guthrie's family members, court records show. The documents do not identify which relative he allegedly contacted.
A person with the same name and birth year as Callella was previously charged with stealing nearly $10,000 in unemployment benefits while working as an intermediate clerk with the county's Department of Health Services between May 2020 and January 2022.
The person was among 13 LA County employees accused of felony grand theft for collectively taking $437,383 in state unemployment benefits between 2020 and 2023, according to a Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office news release from October.
It was not immediately clear where that earlier case stands.
According to the complaint, Callella's disturbing messages to Guthrie's family members were sent shortly after the "Today" co-host and her siblings shared an emotional video, pleading with whoever may have taken their mother to provide proof that she was still alive.
Family members reported the alarming texts to the police, who were able to trace the phone number back to Callella's home in California, according to court documents.
Ploy to Rob the Family
Once confronted by officers, Callella admitted he had been closely following the case on television. He told police that he sent the two text messages after finding the Guthrie family's contact details on a website.
"He said ... he was trying to see if the family would respond," the complaint said.
According to court records, Callella is facing two charges for sending communications that demanded or requested ransom in exchange for the release of a kidnapped person.
Investigators say his messages have not been linked to a separate alleged ransom note sent to an Arizona news outlet on February 2, which demanded millions of dollars in bitcoin for Nancy's safe return.
