California farming tycoon charged with wife’s murder amid divorce battle

A California agricultural magnate was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of homicide within the capturing dying of his spouse in an Arizona mountain group.

The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office named Michael Abatti, 63, as a suspect within the homicide of his spouse, 59-year-old Kerri Ann Abatti.

About 9:20 p.m. on Nov. 20, officers from the Navajo County Sheriff’s Workplace in Pinetop, Arizona, arrived on the scene of an obvious murder and located Kerri Ann Abatti useless from a gunshot wound, the sheriff’s workplace mentioned. Lower than two weeks later, on December 2, detectives executed search warrants on houses, property, autos and campers in El Centro, California, that had been “related to the Abatti household.”

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Michael Abatti was arrested on suspicion of murdering his spouse Kerri Abatti. (Jay Calderon/The Desert Solar/USA Immediately Community by way of Imagn Photographs)

On Tuesday, detectives testified earlier than a Navajo County grand jury and obtained an indictment and arrest warrant from Navajo County Superior Courtroom. Michael was taken into custody that very same day and booked into the Imperial County Jail. The Navajo County Sheriff’s Workplace mentioned Michael was arrested on fees of violating Arizona Revised Statutes 13-1105 and first-degree homicide. He’s awaiting extradition to Arizona.

Michael Abatti’s residence on December 12, 2025 in El Centro, California. (Gregory Bull/AP Photograph)

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“We prolong our honest condolences to Kerri’s household and to all these affected by this tragedy,” Navajo County Sheriff David Clouse mentioned in a press release. He thanked those that labored on the case, in addition to those that served on the grand jury, crediting them for “serving to to deliver justice to the Abatti household.”

Michael and Kerri Abatti lived in El Centro earlier than Kerri left for Pinetop-Lakeside, her hometown, in 2023, in line with the Los Angeles Times.

Divorce information seen by the LA Instances confirmed that Kerri accused her husband of blocking her efforts to get a full image of their earnings and actual property holdings whereas making modifications to their funds with out consulting her or her lawyer. She additionally claimed she was combating the month-to-month spousal assist the courtroom quickly awarded her, in line with the LA Instances.

Agricultural fields in Imperial Valley.

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Michael Abatti comes from an extended line of farmers and, in line with reviews, owns one of many largest farms within the Imperial Valley. As well as, he was reportedly a member of the Imperial Irrigation District from 2006 to 2010. He grew numerous crops, together with onions, broccoli and melons. CBS News reports this. The outlet added that Michael and Kerri Abatti had been married in 1992 and had three kids.

The Imperial County Sheriff’s Workplace didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.