Farming mogul Michael Abatti arrested for murder of beauty queen wife found dead in their $1.6M home

nypost.com

A farming tycoon has been arrested for the murder of his estranged beauty-queen wife a month after she was gunned down in her $1.6 million home.

Michael Abatti, 63, was arrested in Imperial Valley, California, around 2 p.m. Tuesday for the Nov. 20 murder of his wife of 31 years, Kerri Ann Abatti, 59, the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office said.

Mike Abatti speaks at the dedication ceremony for the Imperial Irrigation District's battery storage project. — Farming mogul Mike Abatti has been arrested for the murder of his estranged wife, Keri Ann. Jay Calderon/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The couple was going through a bitter divorce battle over the farming mogul’s fortune when the wife was found dead in her home in Pinetop, Arizona.

The husband was booked into the Imperial County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder and is awaiting extradition to Arizona, police said.

Kerri Ann Abatti's $1.6 million home in Pinetop, Arizona. — Kerri Ann Abatti’s body was found at the couple’s house in $1.6 million Pinetop, Arizona. Google Maps

Detectives had earlier searched Abatti’s family homes and vehicles in El Centro, CA, where the couple lived before the former beauty queen left in 2023.

She had accused her husband 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.

Kerri Ann Abatti, the estranged wife of a farming tycoon accused of her murder. — Mike and Keri Ann were locked in a bitter divorce battle at the time of her murder.

She claimed to be struggling by on just a few thousand dollars in monthly spousal support that was temporarily awarded her by the court earlier this year, according to the filings.