Man pleads guilty to fake ransom notes in Guthrie disappearance case

Derrick Callella admitted in federal court to helping circulate fake ransom messages in the Nancy Guthrie disappearance. The 42-year-old Hawthorne, California resident pleaded guilty on July 2 to two counts of harassment by telecommunications device for using calls and texts to pose as someone tied to the missing woman’s kidnapping.

Callella contacted Guthrie’s family on Feb. 4, 2026, asking about a bitcoin transfer and acknowledging that an earlier ransom demand had already been made. He faces a maximum sentence of two years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both, plus one year of supervised release. His plea agreement called for five years of probation on each count, to run concurrently, and sentencing was set for Sept. 10, 2026, before U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker. He was also ordered into residential drug treatment.

On July 1, the FBI was still treating her disappearance as a kidnapping-for-ransom investigation, even after investigators determined that several widely circulated kidnapping-related messages were not genuine. Some ransom demands remain under review.

Nancy Guthrie was last seen alive on Jan. 31, 2026. When she failed to appear at church the next day, a friend alerted the family. Relatives later found that she had left behind her wallet, cellphone, hearing aid and medication. Investigators also confirmed by DNA testing that blood found on the front porch was hers, and they found signs of forced entry at the home and evidence consistent with a nighttime kidnapping.

The first widely circulated ransom note was received by KOLD-TV on Feb. 2 and demanded payment in bitcoin. Another note followed soon after saying Guthrie had died, and a later message claimed to know the kidnappers’ identities.