TUCSON, Ariz. (CN) — A California man will spend five years on probation for sending fake ransom notes to the family of Nancy Gurthrie, who remains missing after seven months.
Derrick Anthony Callella, 42, texted Guthrie’s family members two days after she was reported missing from her home in Tucson, Arizona, “to see if the family would respond.” Callella pleaded guilty in July and admitted in a Tucson courtroom that he followed the case in the news and was aware of other ransom notes requesting bitcoin payment.
In a memo filed a week before his Monday afternoon sentencing, Callella blamed his behavior in part on his addiction to methamphetamine. He told a probation officer he plans to be “addicted to his recovery,” moving forward…