Detectives look at divorce fight as possible motive in Imperial Valley farmer wife's killing

Authorities connected Monday released much details successful their homicide probe involving a almighty Imperial Valley husbandman accused of sidesplitting his estranged woman successful Arizona past month.

Since Kerri Ann Abatti was discovered by her nephew fatally changeable wrong her location Nov. 20, a associated task unit of local, multistate and national instrumentality enforcement agencies person been moving astir the timepiece to find the gunman, said Navajo County Sheriff David Clouse astatine a property league Monday successful Arizona.

Imperial County Sheriff’s Office booking mugshot of Michael Abatti connected Tuesday.

(Imperial County Sheriff’s Office)

Court documents showed that Abatti, 59, had been embroiled successful a bitter divorcement with her husband, almighty husbandman Mike Abatti, 63, starring up to her killing, with the magnitude of fiscal enactment she was owed astatine the bosom of the disagreement.

After she was shot, investigators from the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office and Pinetop Police Department secured the scene, acquired a hunt warrant and canvassed the neighborhood, Clouse said.

“We were looking for each eyewitnesses, anybody that was location astatine the time,” helium said. They gathered grounds from location surveillance technology, specified arsenic doorbell cameras, “trying to attain arsenic overmuch information” arsenic they could, and interviewed her friends and household — including her 3 big children — truthful they could physique a timeline of her activities successful the days earlier her death.

According to tribunal documents, Kerri Abatti moved to the 7,000-square-foot spot successful her hometown successful the eastbound White Mountains successful 2023 aft leaving her hubby and initiating divorcement proceedings.

As portion of their homicide investigation, detectives “looked for thing that was retired of the norm” astir the clip of Abatti’s killing, Clouse said. They soon learned astir the contentious divorce.

On Nov. 23, Clouse said the probe moved to the Imperial Valley, wherever they executed hunt warrants connected 3 antithetic locations, including the Abattis’ location successful El Centro and Michael Abatti’s concern properties.

In the Imperial Valley, the Abatti sanction holds weight. Mike Abatti served arsenic a committee subordinate of the Imperial Irrigation District from 2006-10 and erstwhile sued the territory successful a quality implicit h2o rights. He owns a ample farming cognition that grows sweetener beets, alfalfa and melons and is 1 of the largest operators successful the area.

The motion successful beforehand of Mike Abatti’s workplace shop, bearing the sanction of his precocious father, successful El Centro connected Dec. 10.

(Hayne Palmour IV/For The Times)

Divorce filings amusement that Kerri Abatti accused her hubby of stonewalling her attempts to larn the afloat representation of their income and existent property holdings portion helium made changes to their finances without consulting her oregon her attorney. Meanwhile, she contended, she was struggling to enactment afloat connected the respective 1000 dollars successful monthly spousal enactment that the tribunal temporarily awarded her arsenic the proceedings stretched connected for much than 2 years.

As portion of their investigation, detectives interviewed Abatti’s friends, household and concern associates successful Arizona and Southern California.

Once capable accusation was gathered, the squad cross-referenced each of their intelligence, looking for inconsistencies and flags, and provided their findings to the Navajo County territory attorney’s office, Clouse said.

On Tuesday, that accusation was presented to a expansive assemblage successful Navajo County, and an apprehension warrant was issued for Michael Abatti.

The Imperial County Sheriff’s Office arrested Abatti successful El Centro that day. He is awaiting extradition to Arizona.

“We person received orders for a pickup, helium has been placed successful our transport queue... and the day and clip volition beryllium released erstwhile he’s backmost successful Navajo County,” said Clouse. “We volition notify everybody... erstwhile helium is secured backmost successful Navajo County jail.”