A California farming tycoon is behind bars this Christmas after being accused of murdering his estranged wife — a former beauty queen found dead inside her $1.6 million home in Arizona.
Authorities say 63-year-old Michael Abatti was arrested Tuesday afternoon in Imperial Valley, California, for the November 20 killing of his wife, 59-year-old Kerri Ann Abatti, once crowned Miss Navajo County.
The pair had been locked in a bitter divorce battle over Abatti’s massive agricultural fortune when Kerri Ann was found shot to death inside her Pinetop, Arizona home — a secluded property surrounded by pine trees and luxury cabins.
Investigators had already raided Abatti’s family properties and vehicles in El Centro, California, where the couple once lived before Kerri Ann left in 2023, accusing her husband of cutting her off financially and hiding assets. Court filings show she was living on just a few thousand dollars in temporary support while fighting to uncover their real estate and income records.
A small-town girl turned pageant queen, Kerri Ann grew up in Pinetop, where she was prom queen, student body president, drum major, and eventually a $1,000-scholarship winner to the University of Arizona. Though she never finished college, she became a licensed real estate agent and EMT before dedicating herself to raising the couple’s children.
Michael Abatti, who owns one of the largest farming operations in Imperial Valley, has been charged with first-degree murder and is awaiting extradition to Arizona.
The shocking case has rattled both California’s agricultural elite and Kerri Ann’s tight-knit hometown — a tragic end to what began as a small-town love story turned high-stakes feud.
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Guess we’ll have to wait and see if any truth to this… she didn’t sound like a ‘sweetheart’…