- Kathryn Restelli testified about conspiring to kill her husband in the murder trial for her brother Kevin Ellis.
- Prosecutors argue the killing was planned, citing a delayed 911 call and suspiciously placed knife.
- Ellis claims self-defense; his attorney claimed he was duped.
PROVO — Kathryn Restelli appeared emotional as she identified her brother, Kevin Ellis, in the courtroom Tuesday. Restelli was the first witness called by the state in Ellis' murder trial.
She explained to jurors that she is in handcuffs because she is in prison after pleading guilty to her husband's murder and conspiracy to commit his murder, both second-degree felonies, along with felony discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony — similar crimes to what her brother is charged with.
"I pled guilty for my children, to give them justice and also to give Matthew the justice he deserved," she said, talking about her late husband, Matthew Restelli.
Ellis was first arrested after the shooting death of Matthew Restelli on July 12, 2024, although he has maintained he acted in self-defense. Kathryn Restelli and her mom, Tracey Grist, were arrested and charged months later. Grist is scheduled for trial in April.
Kathryn Restelli testified that she wasn't honest when she and her mom were originally arrested, but she said she was not on the stand to tell lies but "because the truth needs to come out."
She admitted to the jury that she invited her husband inside her mother's home and made statements to help him feel comfortable coming in because it was part of "the plan to murder him."
"We were getting ready for his arrival by putting toys away, putting blankets over the couch to avoid blood spatter," she said about that night.
Then, she said, about 9:30 p.m. she went upstairs to where her kids were sleeping and scrolled on her phone. She said she heard her husband's truck drive up about a half hour later and might have heard the doorbell.
"It was all quiet, and then I heard the gunshots," she testified. "I heard Matt yell, 'Ow! Ow!'"
Then she said she heard her mom and brother talk about placing a knife in his hands. She wiped tears from her eyes after testifying she heard her brother say, "Be careful, he might still be kicking."
Kathryn Restelli said her mom came upstairs, and she asked, "Is he gone?" After her mom responded, "Yes," Kathryn Restelli said she responded, "You guys need to call 911." She stayed upstairs until after police arrived.
Escalation
Deputy Utah County attorney Adam Pomeroy told the jury in his opening statements that the evidence would prove that there was a conspiracy.
He said Ellis and his family members delayed their call to 911, planted a knife in Matthew Restelli's hand and portrayed him as an armed intruder to officers. But they made a small error, placing the knife in his right hand when he is left-handed and his right wrist was hit by a bullet.
The prosecutor showed the jury a knife he said was a replica of the one found on the body, as he discussed how the knife was being held, as seen in an image taken from police body camera video
Pomeroy cited multiple text messages from within the family and said jokes about killing Matthew Restelli from Kathryn Restelli, her mom and sisters "escalated into action." He said the initial plan was divorce, but after learning of the complexities a divorce would bring, they found a plan that didn't involve California courts, sharing custody or loose ends.
He said the plan had four phases: getting Matthew Restelli to Utah, getting him into Tracey Grist's home, surprising and shooting him and then covering it all up.
The prosecutor said the night Matthew Restelli arrived at Grist's home, he left his hazard lights on, parking carefully over cardboard so his car wouldn't drip oil on the road near Grist's home. Just a minute later, he was shot seven times, three times in the back. He fell face down on the floor between 10 and 15 feet from where he took off his sandals coming into the home.
It took about eight minutes before Grist called 911, Pomeroy said. Neighbors called one minute after the shots were fired after texting Grist to ask if everything was OK.
When police first arrived, he said Ellis' first words were, "That guy had a knife," despite evidence the attorney said shows he was an unarmed, expected guest.
The attorney said all text history and Snapchat messages between Ellis and Grist were deleted.
Pomeroy said Kathryn Restelli's plea agreement did not require her to testify. He also said her testimony was not a "centerpiece" of their evidence, but rather that it would corroborate the other evidence.
Was Ellis duped?
Defense attorney Scott Williams said the crux of the case is what his client knew, and he said his client was duped by Kathryn Restelli and her mother. He said multiple people will testify Grist is "a mastermind," and said they convinced Ellis to be their "champion without him knowing."
"Tracey took advantage of Kevin and his mental health issues," Williams said.
He said there was a conspiracy, and they do not contest that Ellis fired the shots — but he said prosecutors will not be able to prove that Ellis did not have a reasonable belief he was acting in self-defense.
Williams invited the jury to be careful and pay attention to the questions he asks, saying prosecutors have the responsibility to disprove any possibility that Ellis was not justified. He claimed prosecutors did not look at the full story.
"Roll up your sleeves and be on the front of your chair, please, as this trial transpires," he said.
'I want out'
Kathryn Restelli said her relationship with her husband began to go downhill around April or May of 2024, a few months before his killing, and eventually was unbearable. She testified about multiple text messages to family members saying they had been fighting.
"I want out," "it's bad," and "I hate that I have kids with Matt," she said.
When she asked her mom to not call her husband again after a call made the situation worse, Grist texted back, "I won't call him, I'll just drive nine hours and strangle him."
Kathryn Restelli said comments like this were a figure of speech and were not uncommon when talking to her family members about her husband. She said they referred to Matthew Restelli as "Olaf" so that her kids would not know who they were talking about.
After leaving California in June 2024, she said she did not plan to go back to California, although she told her husband she would in a text. Initially, she testified, the plan was to get divorced, but after a phone call with a lawyer that was played in the courtroom, she felt defeated and hopeless.
Ellis is charged with murder, a first-degree felony; conspiracy to commit murder and obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies; two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, and possession of a gun as a restricted person, third-degree felonies, and drug possession, a class A misdemeanor.
