This week on Legally Us, Rachael Bennett, certified family law specialist and senior attorney for Sullivan Law & Associates, breaks down the legal repercussions that will face Derrick Callella, the Los Angeles man who was charged with sending the fake ransom note to authorities regarding the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.
Los Angeles Magazine reported on February 5 that the former L.A. County employee had new federal charges leveled against him after he initially sent a text message to Savannah Guthrie’s sister, Annie Guthrie, and Annie’s husband, Tommaso Cioni.
The text read, “Did you get the bitcoin were [sic] waiting on our end for the transaction.” Callella then allegedly made a phone call to an unidentified family member of Nancy, 84, which lasted nine seconds.
“It’s illegal to transmit a ransom demand or extortion threat across state lines, which basically means by phone, email, text, social media, any of the above,” Bennett tells Us Weekly. “If someone sends a message saying, ‘Pay me or your loved one is going to be harmed,’ even when they know that that’s not true, that can still qualify as extortion or interstate threatening communications, and that can carry significant prison time. The bottom line on this is exploiting a family’s fear during a crisis like this isn’t just cruel, it’s a serious criminal offense, even if it was just a ruse.”
Los Angeles Magazine reported that Callella admitted to sending the ransom demands. The outlet noted that he told the FBI “that he pulled family information from a cyber website, and that he had been following along and watching TV.” He told authorities his text messages were an attempt to “see if the family would respond.”
“The [Guthrie] family would absolutely have a civil case here, separate from whatever the government decides to prosecute,” Bennett tells Us. “There’s also a strong argument for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Exploiting a family in a situation like this is the exact kind of extreme and outrageous conduct that courts look for in cases like that. I would say the key difference here is that criminal court’s always about punishment, civil court is about compensation. Even if this defendant faces prison time, the family could still pursue their own lawsuit in the civil court.”
Nancy was last seen in Arizona on January 31 and reported missing the following day.
On Tuesday, February 10, FBI released the first surveillance photos and video footage of a subject outside of Nancy’s Tuscon, Arizona, home. The person wore a mask and gloves and attempted to cover the Nest camera with a branch. In one image, the individual appeared to be armed with a gun.
A man named Carlos Palazuelos was later detained and questioned by police that same day for his possible connection to the investigation. He was subsequently released and denied having any involvement in Nancy’s disappearance.
Amid their mom’s disappearance, Savannah and her siblings have shared several pleas for help. In an emotional video posted via Instagram on Saturday, February 7, Savannah spoke directly to the possible kidnapper.
She said, “We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us and we will pay.”
For a full Legally Us recap, watch the video above.
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