On Thursday, the individual accused of impersonating an abductor in the Nancy Guthrie case confessed in a Tucson, Arizona federal court to tormenting her family by demanding a fictitious ransom payment.
Nancy Guthrie, the 84-year-old mother of “Today” co-host Savannah Guthrie, disappeared early on February 1 from her home in the Catalina Foothills area. The following day, local media outlets received ransom notes—however, their legitimacy remains under investigation.
Derrick Anthony Callella, a 42-year-old Hawthorne, California resident, sent these messages, which the FBI swiftly identified as fabrications. Callella was apprehended just days following the assumed abduction and faced charges related to online harassment.
As noted by Tucson-based KVOA-TV, Callella is anticipated to be sentenced to five years of federal probation during an upcoming court session.
Derrick Callella admitted guilt in a plot to extract bitcoin from the Guthrie family, orchestrated in the aftermath of Nancy Guthrie’s mysterious disappearance. (Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images/Obtained by Fox News)
He was accused of contacting Guthrie’s other daughter, Annie Guthrie, and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, from a spoofed phone number on Feb. 4 and asking, “Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.” He also allegedly placed a nine-second call to the family afterward.
“Through the course of the investigation, it was found that Callella was acting as an imposter, trying to take advantage of the ongoing situation,” federal prosecutors said in a statement after the suspect’s first court appearance in mid-February.
Nancy Guthrie, 84, has been missing from her Arizona home since Jan. 31, 2026. (Don Arnold/WireImage/Getty Images)
According to court documents, investigators have not linked him to a Feb. 2 ransom demand sent to local media and TMZ. They did, however, allegedly link the spoofed number to a Google email account in Callella’s name.
After being read his Miranda rights, Callella allegedly confessed to sending two messages, saying he had found the family’s contact information online and had been following news coverage of the case, according to the criminal complaint.
These two images were released by the FBI, recovered from Nancy Guthrie’s Nest doorbell camera. No suspects or persons of interest have been publicly identified. (FBI)
Then-FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Heith Janke told reporters about the arrest in a February news briefing but said the FBI was investigating a different ransom demand as potentially having come from the actual abductor.
Callella had been freed on $20,000 after his arrest and was not allowed to apply for a passport.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks at a news conference with Heith Janke, center, FBI special agent in charge, Phoenix, and assistant special agent in charge, Tucson, Jon Edwards, during a briefing at the Pima County Sheriff’s Department, Jan. 27, 2026, Tucson, Ariz. (Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star via AP)
Savannah Guthrie and her siblings previously responded to two other ransom demands, that she said back in March she believes could be legitimate.
The identity of whoever sent them remains a mystery, however, and no arrests have been made.
Annie Guthrie, her husband Tommaso Cioni, and Savannah Guthrie at their missing mother Nancy Guthrie’s home on Monday, March 2, in Tucson, Ariz. (Fox News)
“The FBI and its task force partners have received several ransom notes over the course of this investigation,” the FBI’s Phoenix office said in a statement on Wednesday. “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.”
The FBI is assisting in the investigation, the statement added, noting that the Pima County Sheriff’s Department remains the lead agency on the case.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos, however, has repeatedly stated that the FBI is leading ransom-related investigations.
“Any questions regarding alleged ransom notes should be directed to the FBI,” he said in a statement of his own. “We appreciate the public’s continued cooperation and the information provided throughout this investigation. Anyone with information that may assist investigators is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit an anonymous tip to 88-CRIME.”
On Thursday, the sheriff’s department deferred comment on Callella’s plea to the FBI. The feds did not immediately respond.