California Man Pleads Guilty to Faking Nancy Guthrie Ransom Note as FBI Continues Investigating Others
The FBI pushed back on a Reuters report that all ransom notes in Nancy Guthrie's disappearance case were fake, saying some may be legitimate.
Multiple ransom notes sent to media outlets including TMZ in connection with the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie — mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie — have become the center of a public dispute and a criminal case. Reuters reported on June 29 that the FBI had dismissed all three notes, including two received by TMZ, as fake. The FBI subsequently contradicted that characterization in an official statement, confirming that some notes are still being investigated as potentially legitimate extortion attempts, while others have been determined to be illegitimate. In a significant development, a California man named Derrick Callella has pleaded guilty to faking one of the ransom notes. Callella admitted to calling and sending texts to the Guthrie family demanding a bitcoin transaction. TMZ founder Harvey Levin also weighed in publicly following the Reuters report, addressing the claims about the notes his outlet received. The back-and-forth has drawn significant attention given the high public profile of Savannah Guthrie, a prominent NBC News anchor, while the broader investigation into Nancy Guthrie's disappearance continues.
Why it matters
Nancy Guthrie's disappearance is an active missing persons investigation, and the question of whether any ransom notes are legitimate has direct bearing on how investigators are allocating resources and what the public understands about the case. Conflicting accounts from Reuters and the FBI create uncertainty at a critical moment.
What's next
The FBI's task force continues investigating Nancy Guthrie's disappearance, and further updates on the authenticity of the ransom notes are expected as the case develops.
Key facts
- Reuters reported on June 29 that the FBI deemed three ransom notes in the case fake, including two sent to TMZ
- An FBI spokesperson confirmed some notes were determined to be illegitimate extortion attempts, but did not say all notes are fake
- The FBI stated it has received 'several' ransom notes over the course of the investigation
- TMZ founder Harvey Levin publicly addressed the Reuters report regarding the notes sent to his outlet
- Nancy Guthrie is the mother of Today show anchor Savannah Guthrie
- At least three outlets — US Magazine, Just Jared, and Reuters — covered the ransom note dispute
Bias & framing notes
The core factual dispute here is real and unresolved: Reuters reported definitively that all three notes were fake, while the FBI's own statement, as covered by US Magazine and Just Jared, walked that back without fully clarifying. Just Jared's headline framed the FBI response as suggesting some notes 'could be legitimate,' which is a reasonable inference but slightly more optimistic than what the FBI's quoted language strictly confirms. US Magazine's coverage was more measured, quoting the FBI statement directly.
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