UT - Three family members charged with conspiring to kill Matthew Restelli, July 2024

[Spectrix]

A Utah woman admitted to conspiring to kill her husband with the help of her mother and brother, making the fatal shooting look like an act of self-defense.

Kathryn Restelli, 37, pleaded guilty to a reduced count of murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the death of Matthew Restelli, 34, her estranged husband who was shot dead at her family’s residence in American Fork last July, local KSL reported.

The mother of two told the court that she lured her husband to her mother’s home on July 12, 2024, with the promise of reconciling their relationship, telling him he was free to walk into the home unannounced.

When he entered the house, he was shot multiple times by Kathryn's brother, Kevin Ellis.
Kathryn Restelli and her family claimed the shooting was in self defense.



Police said Matthew was gripping the knife in the wrong direction and that the weapon was in his right hand — despite the fact that he’s left-handed and that a bullet wound was centered on the wrist holding the blade.

Katheryn's mother, Tracey Grist, called 911 after the shooting, but the call from inside the house came minutes after a neighbor had already notified police, setting off more alarm bells.

Diane Restelli, Matthew’s mother, said her son was concerned after his wife suddenly took off with the kids to stay with her family in Utah.




Matthew had agreed to drive from his California residence all the way to American Fork, Utah to pick up his family because Kathryn made excuses that she was not able to rent a vehicle to come back, and also couldn't drive as she had a sprained ankle.
Despite promising that the family would drive back together, police said Kathryn had not packed anything for the supposed trip. She had also put a tracking device in Matthew’s truck to monitor his arrival and stayed in touch to make sure when he would get to the house so her family would be ready to act.

Poor Matthew was made to drive over 660 miles to attend his own murder.

 

[LouTennant]

What a crazy story without any real context as to why they all conspired to murder.

I would like to know why they all absolutely had to get rid of him.

JMO

 

[Cinister09]

This is shocking.
Those poor kids.

Socials for Kathryn, her brother, and her mother.

Kate Restelli

Tracy Grist

Kevin Stanley Ellis

edited to add Kevin

 

[Cinister09]

Interesting comment left by an ex-friend on the top public post on Kathryn's wall 18 weeks ago.

Link to the post

 

[Cinister09]

Kathryn Restelli Pleads Guilty in Murder Plot Involving Mother and Brother

Kathryn Restelli pled guilty to killing her husband, Matthew Restelli, with the help of her mother and brother.

www.courttv.com

 

[Inthedetails]

Kathryn Restelli Pleads Guilty in Murder Plot Involving Mother and Brother

Kathryn Restelli pled guilty to killing her husband, Matthew Restelli, with the help of her mother and brother.

www.courttv.com

And a print article:

"Kathryn Restelli, 37, pleaded guilty to a reduced count of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree felonies; and felony discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony, as part of a plea deal Wednesday in Provo’s 4th District Court.

In exchange, prosecutors dismissed two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony."

Woman admits conspiring with family to lure husband to Utah and kill him - East Idaho News

PROVO, Utah (KSL.com) — An American Fork woman has pleaded guilty to conspiring with her mother and brother to murder her husband last summer. Kathryn Restelli, 37, pleaded guilty to a reduced count of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree felonies; and felony discharge of a...

www.eastidahonews.com

 

[Inthedetails]

And a print article:

"Kathryn Restelli, 37, pleaded guilty to a reduced count of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree felonies; and felony discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony, as part of a plea deal Wednesday in Provo’s 4th District Court.

In exchange, prosecutors dismissed two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony, and obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony."

Woman admits conspiring with family to lure husband to Utah and kill him - East Idaho News

PROVO, Utah (KSL.com) — An American Fork woman has pleaded guilty to conspiring with her mother and brother to murder her husband last summer. Kathryn Restelli, 37, pleaded guilty to a reduced count of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree felonies; and felony discharge of a...

www.eastidahonews.com

From the same link, regarding the defendant's mother and brother:

"This plea and her potential testimony could impact cases filed against her mother and brother. Ellis and Grist are each charged with murder, a first-degree felony; conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies; and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony. Ellis is also charged with possession of a gun as a restricted person, a third-degree felony, and drug possession, a class A misdemeanor.

Ellis is scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, and Grist is scheduled to be in court on Aug. 20. Both are scheduled for a jury trial in January."

 

[Spectrix]

What a crazy story without any real context as to why they all conspired to murder.

I would like to know why they all absolutely had to get rid of him.

JMO

According to the plea agreement and court documents she had packed up the kids and moved to her mum's in Utah without even consulting him. He was surprised to find her gone from the family home. She later messaged him and told him she needed a "breather".

After some time away from his kids, it is said that Matthew sought advice from a family law solicitor -
(I would think that taking the kids across state lines without consulting the husband was probably frowned upon in legal sense).
So instead of having a rational discussion with Matthew about custody and visitation she decided it was easier to lure him to Utah under the guise of reconciliation and kill him instead. That appears to be the motive as far as I can tell.

Like a true narcissist she also flipped on her mother and brother who she'd enlisted to help her with the murder. She's now planning to give evidence against them in return for a slightly more lenient sentence. All class, this one.

 

[Inthedetails]

According to the plea agreement and court documents she had packed up the kids and moved to her mum's in Utah without even consulting him. He was surprised to find her gone from the family home. She later messaged him and told him she needed a "breather".

After some time away from his kids, it is said that Matthew sought advice from a family law solicitor -
(I would think that taking the kids across state lines without consulting the husband was probably frowned upon in legal sense).
So instead of having a rational discussion with Matthew about custody and visitation she decided it was easier to lure him to Utah under the guise of reconciliation and kill him instead. That appears to be the motive as far as I can tell.

Like a true narcissist she also flipped on her mother and brother who she'd enlisted to help her with the murder. She's now planning to give evidence against them in return for a slightly more lenient sentence. All class, this one.

I am wondering if they were inspired by Lori Vallow and her brother Alex Cox' conspiracy to kill Lori's estranged husband Charles? It's a similar set up of luring the victim to the house and then killing "in self defense."

jmopinion

 

[Spectrix]

I am wondering if they were inspired by Lori Vallow and her brother Alex Cox' conspiracy to kill Lori's estranged husband Charles? It's a similar set up of luring the victim to the house and then killing "in self defense."

jmopinion

Funny you say that. Likely inspired by the Adelson murder-for-hire case, at least there was evidence that the victim's mother-in-law Tracey Grist (also on trial for this murder) spent a good while looking into that similar case before helping to plot this murder.

She clearly didn't learn anything, it was a sloppy murder with a ton of loose ends.

- Victim was shot 8 times, mostly in the back (remember it was supposedly "self-defence" as the victim had purportedly charged at them with a knife)
- Knife was purchased by Tracey Grist (victim's mother-in-law)
- Knife planted in the victims right hand (he was left handed)
- Victim had a gunshot wound through his right wrist (you'd think he'd have dropped the knife, no?)
- Aforementioned google searches and page views about the Adelson murders on mother-in-law's phone
- Mother-in-law, brother-in-law and wife all had damning texts discussing their plans

It's like a textbook example of how not to plan a murder, assuming one wants to actually get away with it.

 

[Inthedetails]

Funny you say that. Likely inspired by the Adelson murder-for-hire case, at least there was evidence that the victim's mother-in-law Tracey Grist (also on trial for this murder) spent a good while looking into that similar case before helping to plot this murder.

She clearly didn't learn anything, it was a sloppy murder with a ton of loose ends.

- Victim was shot 8 times, mostly in the back (remember it was supposedly "self-defence" as the victim had purportedly charged at them with a knife)
- Knife was purchased by Tracey Grist (victim's mother-in-law)
- Knife planted in the victims right hand (he was left handed)
- Victim had a gunshot wound through his right wrist (you'd think he'd have dropped the knife, no?)
- Aforementioned google searches and page views about the Adelson murders on mother-in-law's phone
- Mother-in-law, brother-in-law and wife all had damning texts discussing their plans

It's like a textbook example of how not to plan a murder, assuming one wants to actually get away with it.

Aha. I didn't follow the Adelson case.

Cringy that there is more than one case this one reminds of us of!

jmopinion

 

[Snoopster]

So Kathryn ("Kate") Restelli was sentenced a week ago.

The victim's brother gave an absolutely searing victim impact statement. He and his wife are now raising Matt's children.

And despite Kate making a statement about how regretful she was and she was devastated by the devastation it caused their children and Matt's family, the judge was having none of it. Kate did a lot of sniffling during her statement and wiped away non-existent tears.

Key points from the judge's comments:
She said she wanted to back out of the murder plan hours before it happened. The judge found this completely unbelievable because:
- a few hours after she was preparing for a date
- the next day she was showing off (online, I believe) the scene of the crime like it was a trophy
- when she received condolences from a friend she said, "It's ok. I'm happy."
- she still maintained telephonic monitoring of his trip to aid in his murder. It was clear she was happy about the murder.


In the end the judge said, "You're not a victim. You're a perpetrator.

KR was sentenced to murder (class 2 felony) for 1-15 years; conspiracy to murder (class 2) 1-15 years; discharge of a firearm in domestic violence (class 1) 5 years to lie. The murder sentence and the DV sentence will be served consecutively. In Utah the parole board determines how much of the sentence is served.

Does anyone know what the current status of KR's mom (Tracey Grist) and her brother (Kevin Stanley Ellis) is? Are their trials scheduled?

 

[scapa]

Aha. I didn't follow the Adelson case.

Cringy that there is more than one case this one reminds of us of!

jmopinion

Cringy indeed.

That swishy-hair photo reminded me of the so-called "Black Swan" murder of Doug Benefield -- similarly unconvincing defence, complete with a bizarre crime reenactment whilst on the stand:

What led former ballerina Ashley Benefield to fatally shoot her husband?

Ashley Benefield, dubbed the "Black Swan," took the stand in her own defense during her trial for the murder of her estranged husband. Prosecutors say she killed Doug Benefield so she would have sole custody of their daughter.

www.cbsnews.com

 

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