Derrick Callela,42, is facing two years of prison after sending a fake ransom demand in connection to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
A man is facing two years of prison after sending a fake ransom demand in connection to Nancy Guthrie’s disappearance.
The 84-year-old mother of Today co-host Savannah Guthrie has been missing from her Arizona home since 1 February and now, Derrick Callela has admitted he called and sent text messages to her family on 4 February asking for a transfer of bitcoin in exchange for Nancy’s return.
The 42-year-old Californian has pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment using a telecommunication device and will be sentenced on September 2010.
He faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
An announcement from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona read: “Callella 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’s disappearance.”
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos recently revealed a number of people had been arrested after sending false ransom demands.
He told Tucson news station 1030 KVOI AM’s The Buckmaster Show: “I think the FBI has done a number of arrests for false or fake ransom notes. It is a shame that these types of events occur.
“People have great interest and that’s good because it helps us but then it gets really abused. People who call in fake ransom notes, people who claim for the sake of media and the family, they get out and disturb – in this case – an entire neighbourhood.”
But earlier this week, the FBI confirmed they believe some of the ransom notes they have seen “may potentially be legitimate” and could contain genuine information about Nancy’s disappearance.
Last month, a ransom note sent to a US TV station suggested Nancy had died shortly after being abducted but it was later reported that the contents of a few notes which had been made public were deemed to be fake, a claim the FBI have now responded to.
The agency confirmed that while some messages have been deemed “extortion attempts without legitimacy”, others remain under investigation.
They wrote in a statement shared on social media: “The FBI and its task force partners have received several ransom notes over the course of this investigation.
“Some have been deemed to be extortion attempts without legitimacy. Other ransom demands may potentially be legitimate and are still being investigated as such. This case continues to be investigated as a kidnapping for ransom case.”
In addition, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, who are investigating Nancy’s disappearance, have stressed that “every tip and lead is taken seriously.”
Back in March, Savannah hit out at the fake notes they had received.
Speaking on Today before she returned to presenting duties, she said: “There are a lot of different notes, I think, that came. I think most of them — it’s my understanding — are not real. I didn’t see them.
“But the person that would send a fake ransom note really has to look deeply at themselves to a family in pain. But I believe the two notes that we received that we responded to, I tend to believe those are real.”
Man pleads guilty to sending fake Nancy Guthrie ransom demands
