Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- A preliminary hearing is set for Kathryn Restelli and Tracey Grist, charged with the murder in the death of Restelli's estranged husband.
- Kevin Ellis, a third person charged, asked for a speedy trial separate from his mother and sister's trial.
PROVO — The wife, mother-in-law and brother-in-law of a man shot and killed in an American Fork home appeared in court Wednesday as attorneys discussed where their murder cases will go next.
Kevin Ellis has already been ordered to stand trial for murder in the death of his brother-in-law, Matthew Restelli, and his attorneys asked the judge to schedule his case for trial, saying he is invoking his right to a speedy trial.
Kathryn Restelli, the victim's wife, and Tracey Grist, his mother-in-law, are also each charged with murder in Matthew Restelli's death and are accused of luring him to Utah from California as part of a plot to kill him. A preliminary hearing for them was set Wednesday for May 20 and May 22, when 4th District Judge Roger Griffin will decide whether there is enough evidence for them to also stand trial.
Ellis' attorney, Scott Williams, asked for a trial as soon as the judge could fit it in his schedule, but deputy Utah County attorney Adam Pomeroy said without the judge granting a motion to separate the cases, all three individuals should face a jury trial together.
Williams said he will file a motion to separate the cases. He said Ellis has a separate defense strategy from the other defendants, which would merit a separate trial.
Ellis will be back in court on March 19, and Griffin said he would look at his schedule for possible trial dates before that hearing.
On July 12, 2024, Matthew Restelli, 42, was shot shortly after arriving at Grist's American Fork home. He had just driven to Utah from California because he thought his estranged wife wanted to go back home, and he wanted to see their children, according to testimony at Ellis' preliminary hearing.
An autopsy revealed that Matthew Restelli was shot seven times. Griffin determined his attorneys' argument of self-defense was "not persuasive" — noting a knife in Restelli's nondominant hand facing an unnatural way when officers arrived. The judge said it can be reasonably inferred that nobody would have even held onto a knife after being shot seven times.
Kathryn Restelli, Grist and Ellis are charged with murder, a first-degree felony; conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies; and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony. Ellis is also charged with possession of a gun as a restricted person, a third-degree felony, and drug possession, a class A misdemeanor.
