HOLBROOK, Ariz. (AP) — Investigators have declined to release a suspected motive in the shooting death of the wife of a prominent California farmer in eastern Arizona, but said the couple’s long-running divorce case came up in nearly all interviews with family and friends.
Michael Abatti, 63, was arrested last week in El Centro, California, in the shooting death of 59-year-old Kerri Ann Abatti at her family’s vacation home in Pinetop, Arizona, where she moved after breaking up with her husband.
Investigators, who discussed the case at a news conference Monday, said Michael Abatti traveled from El Centro to Pinetop on Nov. 20, committed the murders and returned to California early the next morning. They failed to say what happened in the Pinetop house in the last days of Kerri Abatti’s life.
“Different theories are going to come out,” Navajo County Sheriff’s David Clouse said of the motive. “The only thing that is evident that I think everyone already knows is that there is a divorce in place and they couldn’t come to a resolution. But I can’t talk about exactly what the motive is.”
Owen Roth, one of Michael Abatti’s attorneys, said his client surrendered to law enforcement, agreed to be extradited to Arizona and remains innocent under the law. “Our client is in his mid-60s and has significant health issues, and we continue to be concerned about his well-being,” Roth said. “We ask the public to respect their privacy and constitutional rights and we reiterate that this case will be decided on the basis of the evidence by a jury.” An autopsy report released on Monday said that the cause of Kerri Abatti’s death was a gunshot wound to the head.
The report said she was found unconscious on the floor near her kitchen by her grandson, who told investigators he heard a loud noise before he found her. When investigators searched the home they found a “circular flaw” on a window and determined “a gunshot likely originated from the yard outside the home,” the autopsy report said.
The Associated Press left a message with the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office for further explanation. The medical examiner’s office in Coconino County, which performed the autopsy, directed questions about the report to a Navajo County official, and the AP also left a message for the official. A descendant of early Latter-day Saint settlers who helped found Pinetop in the 1980s, Kerri had filed for divorce, with proceedings pending in California at the time of her death.
Authorities searched his Southern California home on December 2 as part of the investigation into his wife’s death.
Michael Abatti comes from a long line of farmers in the crop-rich Imperial Valley, which is the largest user of Colorado River water and known for growing leafy greens, melons and forage crops. His grandfather, an Italian immigrant, was among the first settlers of the region and his father helped start the Association of Vegetable Coders of the Imperial Valley.
Michael Abatti served on the board of the powerful Imperial Irrigation District from 2006 to 2010.
The Abattis, who married in 1992 and had three children, were struggling financially. Kerri told the court that the couple lived an affluent lifestyle during more than three decades of marriage. They owned property in three states, vacationed internationally and sent their children to private school.
Kerri initially received $5,000 temporary spousal support per month. She later sought a raise, citing struggles to maintain her standard of living as well as keep the Arizona property. She also sought an additional $100,000 in attorney fees, court filings showed.
Michael Abatti eventually agreed to raise the support to $6,400 a month, even though he countered in a court filing that years of poor farming had reduced his income. He blamed a shift in the market favoring Ukrainian crops, increased shipping costs and harsh weather.