A prominent Southern California farming mogul has been accused of travelling to Arizona to fatally shoot his estranged wife, who had filed for divorce two years earlier. Michael Abatti, a member of the influential Abatti farming family in California’s Imperial Valley, was arrested on Tuesday after an Arizona grand jury indicted him on murder charges in the death of his wife of 31 years, Kerri Ann Abatti.
The 59-year-old mother of three was found dead on 20 November at the couple’s second home in Pinetop, a small community in Arizona’s White Mountains. The couple had separated in August 2023, with Michael Abatti residing in El Centro, California, while Kerri Ann Abatti moved to the Arizona home, which was also near her ageing parents. She filed for divorce that October, citing irreconcilable differences, according to court records.
The divorce proceedings had grown contentious, with Kerri Ann Abatti accusing her husband of “stonewalling” her attempts to understand the couple’s income and real estate holdings “while he made changes to their finances without consulting her or her attorney,” records seen by The Los Angeles Times stated. She reportedly argued that she was “barely scraping by” on monthly spousal support from Michael Abatti that was temporarily awarded to her by the court.
Michael Abatti is accused of travelling more than 400 miles to the home on 14 acres in Pinetop and shooting his estranged wife, who died from her injuries on the way to the hospital after a relative discovered her, according to Chief Deputy Brian Swanty of the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office. Detectives executed search warrants at properties and vehicles tied to the Abatti family in El Centro on 2 December, where they found “a significant amount of evidence” that led them to name Michael Abatti as a suspect.
“Detectives worked with multiple police agencies in the state of Arizona and in the state of California to develop information and evidence leading to probable cause to believe that Michael Abatti traveled from the state of California on November 20, 2025, to Pinetop, Arizona, where he is believed to have shot and killed Kerri Ann Abatti, and then immediately returned to California,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. Michael Abatti was booked into the Imperial County Jail and is awaiting extradition to Arizona.
