Michael Abatti charged with first-degree murder in shooting death of wife, Kerri Ann Abatti, as the two were in the midst of divorce proceedings.
A California farming tycoon was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of murder in the shooting death of his wife in an Arizona mountain community.
The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office named Michael Abatti, 63, as the suspect in the murder of his wife, 59-year-old Kerri Ann Abatti.
On Nov. 20, at approximately 9:20 p.m., Navajo County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived in Pinetop, Arizona, at the scene of an apparent homicide and found Kerri Ann Abatti dead from a gunshot wound, according to the sheriff’s office. Less than two weeks later, on Dec. 2, detectives executed search warrants on residences, properties, vehicles and camp trailers in El Centro, California, that were « associated with the Abatti family. »
On Tuesday, detectives provided testimony to a Navajo County grand jury and obtained an indictment and arrest warrant from the Navajo County Superior Court.
