$200 million trust was in line for SoCal farmer’s murder, unsealed documents show

An Imperial Valley farmer involved in a difficult divorce involving a $200 million trust went to Arizona and shot and killed his estranged wife in the middle of the night, according to prosecutors and court documents released to The Times this week.

In legal affidavits seeking to collect DNA and firearms and search the properties of influential farmer Michael Abatti, investigators detailed how his estranged wife, Kerri Ann Abatti, was killed.

They also detail the movements of Michael Abatti’s Ford truck on the day of the shooting, his subsequent suicide attempt, and provide an in-depth look at the couple’s family amid a bitter divorce – which has been in the works for nearly three years.

The Abattis are wealthy landowners and farmers in the Imperial Valley. The documents reveal that the couple had an estate worth $200 million – all of which will belong to Michael in the event of Kerri’s death. The couple has three grown children together.

The affidavits were initially unsealed at the request of the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office; there was concern that if the details of the investigation were disclosed, evidence could be destroyed. Lawyers for The Times argued that they should not be opened, and on Thursday the documents were opened containing personal information. The county did not provide the documents to The Times as of Monday.

Michael Abatti’s attorneys, Owen Roth and Danni Iredale, who disagreed with the court’s decision to withdraw the documents, said in a statement that they believe the decision jeopardizes Abatti’s fundamental right to a fair trial.

They wrote: “Search warrants are unchecked, one-sided submissions aimed at establishing probable cause, one of the lowest standards of proof in law. They urged the public to remember that Abatti is “innocent unless and until proven guilty” and that like any person accused of a crime, he has the right to a fair and impartial jury trial.

Abatti, 63, has a large farming operation in the Imperial Valley, growing crops including sugar beets, alfalfa and watermelons.

He became an influential person in the community; served as a board member of the Imperial Irrigation District from 2006 to 2010 and later sued the district in a water rights dispute. His family has lived and farmed in the region since the 1920s, and is considered one of the area’s largest landowners.

On Nov. 20, his wife, Kerri Abatti, 59, was killed in her 10-square-foot home in Pinetop-Lakeside, Ariz., with a gunshot to the face.

According to the affidavit, his nephew, William Robbins, who lived in the house, was in his bedroom that night when he heard a loud noise. He found her lying in the dining room, unresponsive and “bleeding from the face.”

According to the documents, Robbins “appeared to fear for his safety regarding the circumstances.” You called 911.

Emergency services arrived to report a bullet hole in one of the dining room windows. They took him to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Law enforcement arrived quickly and determined that the gunshot must have come from outside, about 30 yards away where a gun-sniffing dog alerted the next day. No guns or ammunition were found. A reconstruction of the shooting showed that the round that killed Kerri came from a “high-powered rifle.”

According to the documents, Kerri’s family tried to contact Michael the night she died to inform him of his death, but were unable to find him. Michael Abatti’s family said he was “hunting in the desert” at the time, the affidavit said.

License plate readers revealed that Abatiti’s 2017 Ford truck was “showing traffic” between California and Arizona the night his estranged wife was killed. The shooting incident at Kerri Abatti’s home was reported at 9:19 p.m

According to the search warrant affidavit, Abatti’s truck was spotted by license plate readers on November 20 heading south in El Centro, leaving his hunting area at approximately 1:30 p.m. It was spotted by license plate readers in Globe, Ariz., at approximately 6:30 p.m. local time.

The truck was spotted again in Globe at 11:41 p.m., according to the affidavit. It was then seen back near the Abatiti hunting grounds in California around 4:40 am the next morning.

Pinetop-Lakeside is located approximately eight hours east of El Centro and two hours north of Globe.

On Nov. 23, Imperial County Sheriff’s Office officials were notified that Michael had attempted to kill himself at his ranch in El Centro. You called 911.

Emergency responders reported that he told them he “attempted to kill himself because of an incident involving his wife,” the affidavit said. He also told them that he was depressed because he had died and his children were “going through problems.”

At the time Kerri Abatti was killed, the two were working on a divorce settlement, according to the affidavit. He wanted a home in Arizona while taking out others, leading to him owing her nearly $10 million in divorce settlement due to differing property values, investigators wrote. The property in Arizona was to be searched two days after Kerri Abatti was killed, according to the affidavit.

When the authorities searched Michael Abatti’s premises, they found more than thirty firearms including more than twenty rifles, as well as rifles, shotguns and revolvers.

Abatti was arrested in El Centro four weeks after the incident. He pleaded not guilty to murder on Dec. 31 in Navajo County Superior Court. Bail is set at $5.5 million.

Michael Abatti’s attorneys declined to comment on his health or current whereabouts.

In a statement, they said they continue to be “deeply concerned about his health and well-being.”