Ex-wife of SoCal farming mogul killed inside her Pinetop home. Law enforcement labeling him an ‘investigate lead.’

PINETOP-LAKESIDE, Ariz. — Authorities in Navajo County are deep into a multistate investigation after 59-year-old Kerri Abatti was found shot to death inside her home in Pinetop earlier this month.

The case has garnered widespread attention not only because of the circumstances of her killing, but because Abatti was the ex-wife of Michael Abatti, a well-known agricultural landowner and crop producer in California’s Imperial Valley.

The investigation began on the night of November 20, when someone inside Abatti’s home called 911 to report a medical emergency. According to Navajo County Chief Deputy Brian Swanty, Pinetop Fire personnel arrived at the property first. What responders found immediately shifted the nature of the call. Instead of a medical event, crews discovered what appeared to be a gunshot wound, prompting deputies to secure the home and launch a full-scale homicide investigation.

The residence, located on a 14-acre property near Branding Iron Loop and Bruin Way, quickly became the center of a massive law-enforcement operation. Swanty described the scene examination as both “standard” and “large-scale,” with detectives and deputies working day and night to ensure “nothing was missed” across the forested land, outbuildings, and interior of the home.

The Sheriff’s Office also confirmed that there were reports of gunfire heard in the area around the time Abatti is believed to have been killed, though authorities have not said whether any of those reports came from close neighbors.

As local detectives continued to process the Pinetop property, the investigation expanded roughly 500 miles west. Navajo County detectives executed multiple search warrants Wednesday in El Centro, California, including at properties associated with Michael Abatti. He and Kerri divorced in 2023 and were involved in an ongoing court dispute over alimony money paid to her monthly at the time of her death.

A photo taken by Imperial Valley News photographer Camilo Garcia Jr. shows detectives loading a large safe onto a flatbed trailer during one of the warrant operations. The Sheriff’s Office has not disclosed what was seized, citing the active investigation.

Swanty emphasized that investigators are “looking at everything from horizon to horizon” and pursuing all possible leads. He also made clear that while the investigation has led them to California, they have not named Michael Abatti as a suspect.

“The information that we have right now does kind of lead that direction,” Swanty said, adding that the ongoing work could either “eliminate as well as it could affirm” any potential involvement. “That’s what we’re trying to do — find fact, find truth.”

Investigators have also not said whether Michael Abatti is cooperating with their efforts. No arrests have been made, and the Sheriff’s Office has declined to identify any persons of interest.

The homicide has unsettled neighbors in the quiet, wooded community, where many homes sit vacant in the winter months. Terry, a resident who has lived in the area for about eight months, said he was “very, very surprised” to learn a killing had taken place just through the trees from his home.

“This is a really close-knit neighborhood,” he said. “Everybody’s real congenial, and everybody knows each other.”

Terry said he wasn’t home the night of the homicide but returned the next morning to a large and sustained law-enforcement presence. For nearly a week, he said, sheriff’s vehicles, deputies on foot, and investigators canvassing the area were a constant sight.

“They went to every door,” he said. “Even though a lot of people aren’t here this time of year, they did hit every door.” He described seeing 10 to 20 sheriff’s vehicles at a time along with what appeared to be a mobile command bus or RV.

As the Sheriff’s Office continues its investigation in Arizona and California, officials say they remain confident they will identify the person responsible for Abatti’s death and bring them to justice.

“I think what keeps keeps our men and women driving forward is that pursuit of justice, where they experience or see somebody that’s been victimized by a bad actor, by a bad person, and they can  collect those breadcrumbs, they can collect those little the items of evidence, and bring that subject or that person or persons in front of the court,” Swanty said.