[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
As the search continues for Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of TODAY show co-host Savannah Guthrie, federal authorities say a California man decided to insert himself into the family’s nightmare in a truly disturbing way.
According to a criminal complaint filed Thursday in Arizona federal court, a man named Derrick Callella, believed to be in his mid-forties, has been arrested and charged for allegedly sending fake ransom messages to members of the Guthrie family. Prosecutors say Callella allegedly messaged Nancy’s daughter, Annie, as well as her son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, while the family was desperately searching for answers about Nancy’s disappearance.
Related: Nancy Guthrie’s Uber Driver From Night Of Disappearance Interviewed — Details
Per multiple outlets that have viewed the criminal complaint, the text message was allegedly short, chilling, and designed to terrify:
“Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.”
Just three minutes after those texts went out, authorities say data shows Callella allegedly also placed a nine-second phone call to another, unidentified member of the Guthrie family. It’s hard to even imagine the emotional impact of receiving something like that while already living in fear for a loved one’s safety.
What makes this even darker is the timing. The complaint states the messages came shortly after Savannah and her siblings released an emotional public video pleading with whoever might have their mother to provide proof of life. Investigators say the family immediately reported the texts to police, who were able to trace the phone number to Callella’s residence in California.
And here’s where Callella’s past raises even more alarm bells: per the New York Post and others, someone with the same name and birth year was previously charged with stealing nearly $10,000 in unemployment benefits while working as a county health services clerk in LA. That individual was reportedly one of 13 Los Angeles County employees accused of collectively stealing more than $437,000 in unemployment benefits between 2020 and 2023.
Seriously.
The current status of that case remains unclear, but the pattern is unsettling.
And now, Callella is facing two counts of transmitting communications containing a demand for ransom in exchange for the release of a kidnapped person.
Related: Police Reveal Results Of Blood Sample Found On Nancy Guthrie’s Doorstep
FWIW, per the Post and others, authorities have not linked Derrick’s alleged messages to a separate ransom note sent to a news outlet demanding millions in bitcoin for Nancy’s return.
Meanwhile, for the Guthrie family, this arrest doesn’t bring answers about where Nancy is or what happened to her. It only underscores how, in moments of unimaginable pain, there are people willing to exploit that grief for attention or worse.
Sickening AF…
A tip line has been set up: see HERE. The FBI has offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of Nancy Guthrie, and/or the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in her disappearance.
[Image via USA TODAY/YouTube/Savannah Guthrie/Instagram]
The post Nancy Guthrie Missing: Man Charged With Sending Phony Ransom Texts To Family Has INSANE Criminal History appeared first on Perez Hilton.