Details emerge after slaying of farm mogul's estranged wife

The Abatti family is among the most prominent landowners in the Imperial Valley.

- BY ALEX WIGGLESWORTH AND IAN JAMES

Kerri Ann Abatti left her husband a note when she moved from their family home in the California farming town of El Centro to a house they owned in Arizona's White Mountains in August 2023.

About a month and a half later, court records show, she texted her husband, Mike Abatti - a wealthy farmer from one of the most prominent families in the Imperial Valley - that she was filing for divorce.

The divorce filings show the pair became embroiled in a contentious court battle. Kerri accused Mike of stonewalling her attempts to learn the full picture of their income and real estate holdings while he made changes to their finances without consulting her or her attorney. Meanwhile, she contended, she was struggling to stay afloat on the several thousand dollars in monthly spousal support that the court temporarily awarded her as the proceedings stretched on for more than two years.

But then last month, a relative found Kerri Ann Abatti inside her cavernous Pinetop, Ariz., home on 14 wooded acres, suffering from a gunshot wound, said Chief Deputy Brian Swanty of the Navajo County Sheriff's Office. Abatti died on the way to the hospital, he said.

There have been no arrests in Abatti’s killing, authorities said Friday. Detectives are working to rule out suspects and said they’re aware of the victim’s acrimonious divorce proceedings.

“We're not sure if it’s involved or not,” Swanty said.

On Dec. 2, detectives served search warrants on the Abattis’ El Centro home; vehicles and camp trailers belonging to the family; two structures on the Mike Abatti Farms property; and electronic devices belonging to “a multitude of people,” Swanty said. Numerous pieces of potential evidence were seized, he said, but added that there was nothing he would consider to be “a smoking gun.”