59-year-old Pinetop woman murdered, sheriff’s office investigating

PINETOP-LAKESIDE, Ariz. — A homicide investigation is continuing in Navajo County after a 59-year-old woman was shot to death last month.

The Navajo County Sheriff’s Office said deputies are investigating the murder of a Pinetop woman in the area of Bruin Way and Branding Iron Loop. The call to NCSO initially came in at about 9:30 p.m. on Nov. 20. 

NCSO said there’s no current threat to the community.

The deceased woman has been identified as Kerri Ann Abatti.

The sheriff’s office said multiple search warrants had been served as part of the agency’s investigation. The warrants have been served at properties associated with the Abatti family and the family’s business operations in California.

NCSO has additionally served warrants on two camp trailers and two cars belonging to the Abatti family.

“These warrants were obtained and executed based on the results of the ongoing homicide investigation and evidence developed by detectives,” NCSO wrote in a statement.

No suspect information is available to release at this time and anyone with information about the incident is asked to call NCSO at 928-524-4050. The investigation is ongoing.

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“The Valley” is what locals call the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is considered the largest metropolitan area in the Southwest. 

The Valley is made up of various major cities other than Phoenix, including:

• Mesa
• Chandler
• Scottsdale
• Tempe
• Glendale
• Surprise
• Peoria
• Gilbert
• El Mirage
• Avondale
• Litchfield Park
• Goodyear
• Buckeye

Whether a city is in the “East Valley” or “West Valley” depends on where it is in relation to Phoenix.

The cities of the Valley have a combined population of 4,845,832 people, according to the 2020 United States Census. This makes it the 11th largest metropolitan area in the country right behind the Boston and Atlanta areas.

How big is Maricopa County?

Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.

The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).

One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.

The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.

The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.