California Farming Tycoon’s Properties Searched After Wife Was Shot and Killed amid Divorce

Police are investigating the properties of a California farming tycoon whose estranged wife was shot and killed in November amid ongoing divorce proceedings.

On Tuesday, Dec. 2, detectives with the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) in Arizona served search warrants on the home of Mike Abatti in El Centro, Calif. Several other properties associated with Mike are also to be searched, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The NCSO shared in a press release on Wednesday, Dec. 3, that it would search the residence located on Aurora Drive in El Centro, “as well as on two camp trailers and two vehicles belonging to the Abatti family.” Authorities said they have no suspect information at this time

“These warrants were obtained and executed based on the results of the ongoing homicide investigation and evidence developed by detectives,” the statement continued.

Mike’s wife, Kerri Ann Abatti, was shot and killed on Nov. 20 at approximately 9 p.m. local time in the couple’s home in Pinetop, Ariz., KTLA reports. The NCSO confirmed in a Dec. 3 statement that it is treating the case as a homicide investigation. Kerri Ann was in the process of divorcing Mike, and the couple had been living separately, per the outlet.

Kerri Ann filed for divorce in October 2023 after 31 years of marriage and cited irreconcilable differences. She filed for divorce in Imperial County Superior Court, the Arizona Republic reported. She wrote in the court filings obtained by the outlet that the couple would “travel the world, eat out wherever we pleased, pay for education and vehicles for our children (we still do) and live with very little debt.”

Mike and Kerri Ann married in April 1992. They co-owned Mike Abatti Farms in El Centro since 1999, the Arizona Republic reports.

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Kerri Ann was awarded $6,400 per month in spousal support. However, after working with experts to assess the couple’s properties in California, Arizona and Wyoming, she was expected to seek $30,000 per month, per The LA Times.

Mike’s family settled in the Imperial Valley area a century ago, the Desert Sun reported. In recent years, he has won millions in environmental lawsuits that have permitted him to pump groundwater and exert control over elected officials and those impacted by use of the Colorado River, the outlet reported in 2018.

Before their divorce, Kerri Ann and Mike donated $50,000 to San Diego State University to create a scholarship fund in her name, according to The LA Times.

PEOPLE has reached out to the NCSO and Mike Abatti Farms for comment.