A WOMAN has admitted how she lured the father of her children to his death in a trap set up to look like self-defense.
At 37, Kathryn Restelli gave a frightening directive to her separated husband, instructing him to enter her family’s residence without warning, leading to his fatal shooting last summer.
The mom of two pleaded guilty to a reduced count of murder and conspiracy to murder 34-year-old Matthew Restelli on July 12, 2024.
She told the court that she planned to kill her husband on July 12, 2024, with the help of her mom and brother, according to NBC affiliate KSL.
She convinced him to leave their home in California and come to her mother’s house in American Fork, Utah, just outside Salt Lake City, by suggesting that they could reconcile.
She told him that the door was unlocked and that he could just enter the house when he arrived.
Matthew walked into the house and was shot to death minutes after he arrived by his brother-in-law, Kevin Ellis.
Kathryn, along with Ellis and her mother, Tracey Grist, orchestrated the scenario to allege that Matthew was intruding into their home, which enabled Ellis to claim self-defense in the shooting, according to court records.
Utah has a Stand Your Ground law, which allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves or others if they think it’s necessary to prevent death or serious harm.
Grist called 911, but police were already on their way to the scene after a neighbor’s call — just one of many red flags that made cops suspicious of the murder scene.
RED FLAGS
Officers who raced to the house found Matthew holding a knife in an unusual way.
Cops first noticed that Matthew was gripping the knife in his right hand, despite being left-handed.
He was also holding the weapon in the wrong direction.
Plus, Matthew was shot in the wrist of the arm holding the blade, which makes it unlikely that he would have kept a hold on the knife.
Kathryn was upstairs during the shooting, but admitted in her plea statement that she led Matthew to the house by leading him to believe she was open to reconciling when she wasn’t.
Matthew’s mother, Diane Restelli, told the court her son said that Kathryn took their two kids and the family truck to go to her family’s house in Utah.
Kathryn told him she couldn’t rent a car to come back, so he agreed to drive to pick up his wife and kids, Diane said.
However, Kathryn didn’t plan on going home with her husband.
She admitted that she put a tracking device on Matthew’s truck to monitor his drive to American Fork.
SICK PLOT
With her mom, Kathryn planned “to reassure him that all was well and to keep him calm” as he drove to his death, her plea statement said.
She said Grist removed the screen door of the house and moved toys out of the way so that Matthew could get into the home more easily.
Grist also covered the living room couch so no blood would get on it, Kathryn said.
On top of the murder charges, Kathryn was hit with a felony gun charge.
She faces a maximum of life in prison at her sentencing on September 9.
Ellis and Grist are both charged with murder, conspiracy to commit murder, obstruction of justice, and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child.
Kathryn’s plea deal might impact the murder cases against her mom and brother. Both of their trials are set to start in January.
