Hawthorne man charged with sending bogus ransom demand to Guthrie family
HAWTHORNE, Calif. (KESQ) - A Hawthorne man was arrested today on a federal charge of allegedly sending a bogus ransom demand to relatives of Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of "Today" show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona, home on Jan. 31, the victim of an apparent kidnapping. She was still missing as of Thursday.
Derrick Callella is accused in a federal complaint filed in Arizona with sending text messages on Wednesday to Guthrie's daughter and son-in-law that read, "Did you get the bitcoin were (sic) waiting on our end for the transaction.'' Guthrie's family on Wednesday released a video asking their mother's kidnapper to contact them, according to the complaint.
According to the criminal complaint, the text messages sent to Guthrie's family were traced to Callella's home, and he allegedly admitted sending the text messages. He also allegedly called a member of Guthrie's family shortly after sending the text messages.
Callella was charged with transmitting a demand for ransom in interstate commerce, and without disclosing his identity, utilizing a telecommunications device with the intent to abuse, threaten, or harass a person.
"The Department of Justice will protect victims and families at all costs, and grief profiteers will be held accountable,'' U.S. Attorney in Arizona Timothy Courchaine said in a statement. "This case came together in under 24 hours because of the coordinated work of the FBI, local law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California."
