AZ - Kerri Ann Abatti, 59, Found Dead From Gunshot Wound, Filed for Divorce Oct 2023

[MerBeach]

https://ktla.com/news/california/wife-of-southern-california-farming-magnate-shot-dead-amid-ongoing-divorce/

Investigators out of Navajo County, Arizona, served multiple search warrants at a Southern Californian farming magnate’s home and Imperial Valley properties in connection with the deadly shooting of his wife late last month.


Kerri Ann Abatti, 59, was found dead from a fatal gunshot wound on Nov. 20 at around 9 p.m. in the couple’s affluent Pinetop, Arizona home, according to a news release from the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office.

 

[MerBeach]

Imperial Valley farm tycoon’s properties searched after wife found slain

Detectives served warrants on the El Centro home of Mike Abatti, as well as multiple structures and properties associated with Abatti’s family and their business operations, authorities said.

www.latimes.com

Detectives with the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday served warrants on the El Centro, Calif., home of Mike Abatti, as well as multiple structures and properties associated with Abatti’s family and their business operations, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Abatti and his family members run some of the biggest farming operations in the Imperial Valley, growing onions, cantaloupes, broccoli, lettuce, sugarbeets and hay, according to the website of Mike Abatti Farms.

 

[Knox]

Court documents show Michael and Kerri Ann were going through divorce proceedings. According to Swanty, Michael is not an official suspect, although investigators did search his property, two camp trailers and two family cars.

What started as a 911 call on the night of Nov. 20 has now become a murder investigation that has crossed state lines into California. According to court documents, police have searched the woman's estranged husband's ranching property in the Imperial Valley, and investigators say the case has raised a lot of questions.

"This is a very, very unique case," said Navajo County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Brian Swanty.

Victim in Pinetop murder had ties with California farming mogul

The investigation into the death of a Pinetop woman has expanded to California, in what officials in Navajo County say is a "very, very unique case."

www.fox10phoenix.com

 

[airportwoman]

Wow. If authorites are saying it's "unique", they mean it.

That said, about 20 years ago, a woman in my area who was in the process of leaving her abusive husband went missing, and her body was found in a wooded area some months later by hunters. Everyone who knew them was saying "This is an open and shut case; he did it" but his alibi checked out, and nobody has come up with any evidence that he was involved in any way.

 

[EJB123456]

Occam’s Razor though right?

 

[Knox]

Occam’s Razor though right?

So obvious, yet it happens over and over.

 

[EJB123456]

True Crime AZ Live interview with Sheriff’s Dept

 

[MerBeach]

California farmer arrested on suspicion of murder in wife's death in Arizona

Authorities say a prominent California farmer has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the shooting death of his estranged wife

abcnews.go.com

Husband arrested!

 

[Knox]

California farmer arrested on suspicion of murder in wife's death in Arizona

Authorities say a prominent California farmer has been arrested on suspicion of murder in the shooting death of his estranged wife

abcnews.go.com

Husband arrested!

It was so obvious from the start. Never makes sense, now he’ll lose everything he was fighting so hard to keep. Seemed like a smart guy, evidently not.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

pretty much the same info...

https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/24/us/california-farmer-wife-killing

 

[Knox]

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[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2006040045333967124

 

[airportwoman]

What good is that fortune gonna do you in prison?

 

[Knox]

An autopsy report released Monday said Kerri Abatti’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head.

The report said she was found unconscious on the floor near her kitchen by her nephew, who told investigators he heard a loud sound before finding her. When investigators searched the home they found a “circular defect” on a window and determined “a gunshot likely originated from the yard outside the home,” the autopsy report said.

No motive revealed in killing of prominent California farmer's estranged wife in Arizona

Investigators declined to reveal the suspected motive in the shooting death of a prominent California farmer’s estranged wife last month in eastern Arizona.

www.ksat.com

 

[Knox]

https://fb.watch/EknIy4Qtj3

Glad to see Briana Witney is covering this case! She's a great reporter who deep dives into cases, similar to Nate Eaton.

 

[Knox]

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[Knox]

Mike is on his way to Arizona to face murder charges. I wonder how he feels, going from being in charge of so much, to having no control. Such a horrific position for their three children, all for what?