A California farming tycoon allegedly shot his wife through a window at their 1.6 million dollar ranch home after she accused him of hiding his vast wealth during a nasty divorce fight.
Michael Abatti, 63, is accused of killing his spouse of 31 years, Kerri Ann Abatti, in Pinetop Arizona on November 20.
Abatti was arrested at his home in El Centro, California on December 23 after investigators with the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office said they uncovered evidence linking him to the shooting.
Investigators found a shattered window at the luxury ranch which they believe the fatal gunshot was fired through, according to the LA Times.
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The couple was going through a bitter divorce battle over the farming mogul’s fortune when the wife, a former Miss Navajo County, was found dead in her home.
Abatti allegedly traveled from his home in California to Arizona, shot his wife dead, then immediately returned to California, police said.
Abatti was booked into jail in Imperial County, CA — a rural border area where he owns a large agriculture operation — and is awaiting extradition to Arizona, police said.
His wife had accused him of stonewalling her attempts to uncover the truth about their income and real estate holdings, and said he had made changes to their finances without consulting her or an attorney, according to divorce filings seen by the Los Angeles Times.
She claimed to be struggling on just a few thousand dollars in monthly spousal support that was temporarily awarded to her by the court earlier this year, according to the filings.
Following her split from her husband, Abatti had moved back to her hometown in California, where her family had roots going back over a century, the outlet reported.
She was prom queen and student body president, as well as the band’s drum major and first-place winner of the talent show during her senior year at Blue Ridge High School, according to the paper.
That same year, 1984, she was named Miss Navajo County, receiving a $1,000 scholarship to the University of Arizona to study music education and studio performance.
