The murdered wife of an Imperial Valley farmer was worshiped in her hometown; violinist, friend and beauty queen

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The murdered wife of an Imperial Valley farmer was worshiped in her hometown; violinist, friend and beauty queen

PINETOP-LAKESIDE, Ariz. — Before Kerri married Mike Abatti in 1992, before she moved to California and raised three children in Imperial Valley, before she left her husband of 31 years and before she was shot and killed in her 7,000-square-foot Arizona mountain home, she was Kerri Ann Penrod: a talented and beloved member of the close-knit Arizona community of Pinetop.

“He was one of those people who radiated light,” said his cousin Cathy Penrod. “I don’t know how else to describe him, he was loving and simple.

Cathy Penrod shows a photo of her cousin Kerri and Kerri’s brother Blue and sister Karen.

(Caitlin O’Hara / For The Times)

Local, state and federal law enforcement are investigating Kerri’s death. Earlier this month, they expanded their investigation from the couple’s 14-acre home in Pinetop to their properties and businesses they share in Imperial County. A visit to Pinetop – the town where Kerri was born and more than 400 miles away from the couple’s first residence in El Centro – leaves the impression that she came here not only to escape from an unhappy marriage, but to regain the familiar happiness and comfort that this place once offered her.

Kerri “always had a big smile and a big wave” as she drove down the short, dirt road known as Bruin Way and passed her neighbor Rebecca Lopez, a retired high school principal. “She even asked her guests to slow down so they wouldn’t dust the cars and my house when they passed, she was a really good lady.

Kerri, who was found dead from a gunshot wound on the night of November 20, had returned to her hometown – the place her ancestors found and settled in the 1880s. His divorce papers say he returned to Pinetop to help his ailing parents, but it’s a rugged town 7,000 feet high in eastern Arizona east of the White Mountains and it’s where he was once considered a rising star, where culture is steeped in tradition and religion, and where family ties are tied to blood ties.

Aerial view of a large home in a wooded area

According to Cathy Penrod, Kerri said little about her marriage or divorce when she returned. But “it must be bad” for him to leave and return to this deeply traditional community that was built by the pioneers and missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and is still populated by many of their descendants.

“You should feel ashamed,” she said, describing her experience as a divorced woman in this city – where culture and convention are at their highest, and the targeted destruction of the family is abhorrent.

“But he also must have known how deep his family’s love was for him. No matter what happened, this was his home,” said Cathy Penrod.

Although news reports about Kerri’s death portrayed Pinetop as an exclusive, mountain-crawling Southern California plantation community, the town — now officially Pinetop-Lakeside, after it merged with its neighbor in 1984 — is no Sedona, Flagstaff or Prescott. You won’t find a Whole Foods, Sprouts or REI within 100 miles. And while the city’s mayor, Stephanie Irwin, has described the area as a draw for outsiders who love the Phoenix area, you’ll be hard-pressed — at least in the winter months — to find anyone sporting a label like Patagonia or The North Face. It is an unbranded, pioneering city that so far resists any whiff of genteel urbanity.

A couple eats in a restaurant near a row of windows

The town was settled by Kerri’s Mormon ancestors, Polly Ann and William Lewis Penrod, who were called by Brigham Young to take their nine children out of Utah and, along with hundreds of others, colonize the Little Colorado River Valley – an area that stretches south and east across the White Mountains toward the New Mexico border. After incorporating carpentry in the towns of Snowflake and Show Low in the early 1880s, the Penrods decided to strike out on their own and in 1886 settled in a field near the saloon – a place known as Pinetop – where they lived out of their covered wagon until they could build a log cabin themselves.

The geography and nature of Pinetop is harsh. The soil is thin, sandy and gravelly and the stands of Ponderosa pine trees are thick – creating almost permanent shade over a carpet of acidic and toxic needles that are not suitable for growing crops or feeding livestock.

To make a living here, the pioneers had to rely on faith, strength and family. More than a century after the Penrods arrived, the name appears on street signs, cemeteries, and a good number of business cards, phone listings and high school yearbook entries.

Before she moved to California, Kerri Ann Penrod stood out in this hard-working, community-oriented family.

Blue Ridge High School yearbooks from 1983 and 1984 – her junior and senior years – show a smiling and successful young woman, surrounded by friends, participating in one of her many clubs, earning honors or playing. He was a member of the school orchestra and the National Honor Society. In her senior year, she was prom queen and student body president, as well as the band’s drummer, and won first place in the talent show. She was a Girl Scout, cheerleader and goalie for the wrestling team. In the orchestra he was a violinist for the first time, and was a member of the All-State Band and the All-State Orchestra. There are about three accomplishments listed under his name in the 1984 yearbook.

That same year, she was named Miss Navajo County and received a $1,000 scholarship to attend the University of Arizona to study music and studio performance, which she put aside for a semester so she could do her county duties.

The divorce papers show that he did not graduate from college. However, in 1989, he received an Arizona real estate license. He had an EMT firefighting license as well, according to the documents.

When and how he met Mike Abatti is unclear. His family did not respond to requests for comment. His cousin Cathy – 11 years his senior – was also unaware of the details of their courtship.

According to the April 15, 2024, declaration of spousal support, which Kerri filed in the years following their marriage, she allowed her residence and firefighting licenses to expire, but she worked as an office manager for a third-party company and as a secretary for the Abatti family company, Abatti Farms, LLC.

When her second child was born, she quit her job as an office manager, but continued to keep the family’s books. In 1999, he quit both jobs to focus “his time and attention on raising our young family.” She said her husband supports this decision.

Court documents show she was given a $1,000 monthly stipend from Abatti and the couple vacationed around the world — to places like Italy, Switzerland and Hawaii — with their children, family and friends. They traveled first class, stayed in five-star accommodations, and visited five-star restaurants. The family also used the money to buy fishing equipment, camping equipment and guns, among other things.

His children attend private schools, have private tutors and were given new cars – all debt free.

In Imperial Valley recently, at least five people interviewed about the Abatti family declined to speak to The Times on the record for fear of retaliation against themselves or their business.

“Everyone is afraid to speak,” said another. The Abattis run some of the largest agricultural operations in the Imperial Valley, and some residents said that if they spoke to reporters, they would be shunned from political or social gatherings, citing the family’s history of charitable giving and campaign contributions.

Mike Abatti could not be reached for comment. His divorce announcements show that he was surprised by Kerri’s departure.

What led Kerri Abatti to leave this marriage is unknown. According to declarations presented by Mike Abatti, he left their California home in August 2023 while on a fishing trip.

Cathy Penrod said that for the past two years, her cousin has been spending time at the Penrod family cemetery in Pinetop, where six generations are buried. His mother, Sue Penrod, had inherited the role of cemetery caretaker. But Kerri took responsibility when she returned – working tirelessly to see the many graves scattered across the field, find all the family ties, clean the stones, remove the grass and make sure new flowers are placed in memory of those who have passed.

Cathy Penrod said that days before her death, her cousin placed poinsettias on the graves of the sixth generation descendants of William and Polly Penrod – her generation.

“I see now that’s what he wanted: a bond, a connection with his family. That’s what he needed to do,” said Cathy Penrod. “He came back because this was the center of the universe.

Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth contributed to this report.