A Utah woman accused of killing her husband with the help of her mother allegedly said she was glad he was gone and went on a date a few days later.
Kathryn Restelli, 36, and her mother Tracy Grist, 59, were arrested Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting death of Matthew Restelli, 42, in American Fork, 32 miles southeast of Salt Lake City. .
Kathryn’s brother, Kevin Ellis, had already been arrested for murder after claiming he shot Matthew to death in self-defense in July.
“The arrests came after an intensive, lengthy and meticulous investigation that led detectives to believe that Kathryn Restelli and Tracy Grist worked in conjunction with Kevin Ellis to lure Matthew Restelli from California so Ellis could kill Matthew,” he said. the police in a statement.
Authorities say Ellis shot Matthew when he entered Grist’s home in a gated community after being lured by the mother and daughter, according to reports. ABC 4.
Kathryn Restelli, 36, and her mother have been arrested for conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting death of her husband in Utah.
Kathryn’s brother, Kevin Ellis, had already been arrested for murder after claiming he had shot Matthew to death in self-defense. The Rostellis in the photo on their wedding day.
Three days after Matthew’s murder, one of Kathryn’s friends filed a police report saying that Kathryn had once said she “could murder” her husband.
Kathryn also sent a message in a social media chat room hours before Matthew’s death saying she had to do “big girl things this morning,” according to police.
The day after Matthew’s murder, Kathryn reportedly told her friend that her husband had died and that she was “happy about it.”
The next day, Kathryn allegedly spoke to the same friend on a video call while getting ready to go on a date and “showed a picture of blood” where Matthew’s body had been found.
Grist reportedly told Kathryn’s friend that she would have taken a photo of Matthew’s body if she had known her friend was into true crime.
Matthew lived in California with Kathryn, who was a Utah native and had traveled to the state to stay with her mother, saying she was having marital problems.
Authorities say Kevin Ellis shot his brother-in-law Matthew as he entered his mother Tracy Grist’s home in a gated community. Grist, pictured above, has been arrested for the murder.
Matthew, pictured, lived in California with Kathryn, who was a Utah native and had traveled to the state to stay with her mother, saying she was having marital problems.
Kathryn contacted a divorce attorney while she was in Utah, according to court documents.
Police say Grist said in text messages that she and Kathryn had been “thinking of ways for (Kathryn Restelli) to not take a rental car from American Fork back to California.”
Grist also allegedly searched for phrases like “how to get my US passport quickly,” “American cemetery fork,” and “What to do?” Parental Abduction and Non-Custody Order.’
Officials found a knife in Matthew’s right hand at the scene, but said “the blade was facing inward, toward Matthew, rather than pointing outward, toward a threat.”
Police added that “it appeared that the knife was deliberately placed in Matthew’s right hand after he was shot dead.”
The day after Matthew’s murder, Kathryn allegedly told her friend that her husband had died and that she was “happy about it.”
Authorities found a knife in Matthew’s right hand at the scene, but said “the blade was facing inward, toward Matthew, rather than pointing outward, toward a threat.”
Detectives eventually discovered that Grist had purchased the knife months before Matthew was killed.
Grist called 911 after the shooting, but detectives said the delay between her and other witnesses’ 911 calls was “unreasonable.”
Police said: “Detectives believe that during this delay a knife was placed in Matthew’s hand.”
Detectives also believe the suspects had been tracking Matthew through an AirTag.
The Restellis’ two children were found unharmed in the Grist home after the shooting. They are now in the custody of child and family administrators in Utah.