A multi-millionaire California farming magnate has been arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, whom he allegedly shot through the window of their remote Arizona vacation home during a vicious divorce battle.
A Cross-State Allegation of Premeditated Murder
Michael Abatti, 63, was taken into custody at his home in El Centro, California, on 23 December. He stands accused of killing his estranged wife of 31 years, Kerri Ann Abatti, 59. The alleged shooting occurred on 20 November at the couple's $1.6 million mansion in Pinetop, Arizona, where Kerri had been living separately.
Investigators from the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office stated that evidence indicates Abatti travelled from California to Arizona, fired the fatal shot through a shattered window at the luxury ranch property, and then immediately returned to his home state. His arrest followed the execution of multiple search warrants on his properties, vehicles, and trailers, which yielded a "significant amount of evidence" linking him to the crime.
A Fortune at the Heart of a Bitter Split
The couple's divorce, filed in 2023, was reportedly acrimonious, with finances a central point of contention. Abatti is one of the most prolific agricultural businessmen in the El Centro region, cultivating 20,000 acres of crops that generate over $10 million annually. Court records reveal Kerri claimed she had little knowledge of the full extent of their wealth during the marriage, which included assets like a $12.5 million ranch in Wyoming.
After leaving her husband, Kerri alleged she was left with a "measly" allowance. An initial spousal support agreement required her to manage their 14-acre Arizona estate single-handedly for $5,000 per month, a sum she said left her "barely scraping by." In January, a judge ruled in her favour, increasing the monthly payment to $6,400.
Victim's Quest for Roots and a Chilling Foreshadowing
Kerri Ann Abatti, a former Miss Navajo County and University of Arizona scholarship recipient, had returned to her family's ancestral community in Pinetop during the separation. Her cousin, Cathy Penrod, told the LA Times that Kerri was seeking a "bond, a connection to her family" and had been tending to the private Penrod family cemetery where six generations are buried.
Eerily, in the days before her death, Kerri had placed poinsettias on the graves of her relatives. "She came back because this was the centre of her universe. It’s where her soul belonged," Penrod said, adding she believed Kerri felt shame about the divorce but was secure in her family's love.
Michael Abatti has been charged with first-degree murder and has not yet entered a plea. The case highlights a tragic domestic escalation amidst the severe pressures of a high-stakes financial divorce.
