More than five months after Nancy Guthrie disappeared from her Tucson, Arizona home, a federal judge has ordered the man who sent fake ransom messages to her family into inpatient substance abuse treatment while he awaits sentencing.
Derrick Anthony Callella, 42, of Hawthorne, California, pleaded guilty to two counts of harassment using a telecommunications device after the FBI determined he sent spoofed bitcoin ransom texts to Guthrie's daughter, Annie, and son-in-law, Tommaso Cioni, in the days after Nancy vanished. U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker amended Callella's release conditions this week, requiring him to reside at an inpatient treatment facility or halfway house and comply with all program requirements ahead of his September 10 sentencing.
According to his plea agreement, Callella admitted sending the message, "Did you get the bitcoin? We're waiting on our end for the transaction," and told investigators he pulled the family's contact information from a website while following television coverage of the case. Investigators determined Callella had no connection to Nancy's actual disappearance or to an earlier, separate ransom demand sent to local media, which the FBI continues to investigate as potentially legitimate.
Nancy, 84, was last seen at her Tucson home on January 31 and was reported missing February 1. The case, upgraded to a homicide investigation in June, remains open with no suspect named.
Through it all, the Guthrie family's faith has remained a visible constant. Savannah has repeatedly thanked supporters for their prayers on air, describing the ordeal as "five months of agony and unending trauma" while continuing to ask the public to come forward. Anyone with information is urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or Tucson's 88-Crime tip line at 520-882-7463.
Related Article: Nancy Guthrie Update: Derrick Callella Pleads Guilty to Sending Fake Ransom Notes
