Wife of man killed in American Fork expected to testify against her mother, brother

PROVO — The wife of Matthew Restelli, a man shot and killed after being lured to his mother-in-law’s American Fork home in 2024, will now be testifying against her mother and brother after pleading guilty last week to conspiring to murder her husband.

Kathryn Restelli, 37, pleaded guilty to a reduced count of murder and conspiracy to commit murder, second-degree felonies; and felony discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony, as part of a plea deal. Her mother, Tracy Grist, and her brother, Kevin Ellis, are each charged with murder and scheduled to go to trial in January.

The three are accused of a plot to kill Matthew Restelli by luring him to American Fork from California under the guise that he would be reconciling with his wife. Ellis is accused of shooting Rastelli on July 12, 2024, once he entered the house and Ellis and Grist are accused of placing a knife in the victim’s hand to make it look like Ellis shot him in self-defense.

During a Wednesday hearing for Ellis, deputy Utah County attorney Adam Pomeroy said because Restelli now has an immunity agreement and will be testifying, the state will need less time to present witnesses in the January criminal trials.

He said her testimony will eliminate the need for multiple witnesses, and he now only expects prosecutors to need eight days of witness testimony. The trial for Ellis Grist is currently scheduled for five weeks.

He also said because of new information obtained from interviews with Kathryn Restelli, prosecutors will agree to separate the trials — something the judge had denied Ellis’ request for in the past. He said with the new testimony, there are more possibilities for Ellis, 34, and Grist, 60, to present separate defenses at trial.

Was Ellis part of conspiracy or used by his mom?

Ellis’ attorney, Scott Williams, said new details in the case made public through the plea last week from Restelli did not establish any connection between Ellis and the alleged conspiracy, saying her plea might have helped his case. However, the attorney said he is still waiting to access videos from interviews with Restelli.

“She was able to provide absolutely nothing … that supports any concrete finding that Mr. Ellis was a part of the conspiracy, knowing part,” Williams said.

He said the only reference to Ellis being part of a conspiracy in Restelli’s plea statement is that he went to lunch with his mother hours before Matthew Restelli was killed, and she believes they spoke about the killing at that lunch. Williams said the wife said she learned about the plans from her mother and she was not a direct witness to the shooting.

Fourth District Judge Roger Griffin said “quite frankly” he does not agree with Williams, but said that would be one way to read the statement. He said it is not disputed that the circumstantial evidence, or what can be inferred from the evidence, shows Ellis was the one who shot and killed Matthew Restelli.

Williams agreed that the information revealed through the plea statement does not change the support for the murder charge against Ellis, but said it does make a difference for the conspiracy charge. He said nothing in it contradicts that his mother used him to achieve her plan without him knowing what the plan was.

He said the statement supports his current request that the judge should release Ellis because of the lack of his connection to the alleged conspiracy.

The judge said he doesn’t buy that the shooting “just happened out of nowhere.”

Ellis stays in custody

The judge denied the request, saying Ellis’ release would cause a public safety issue. He cited evidence from earlier hearings that a knife found in Matthew Restelli’s hand was placed there to create a self-defense argument and a statement in Kathryn Restelli’s plea that she heard her brother tell their mother to be careful shortly after the shot was fired “because Matthew might still be moving.”

He cited evidence supporting the theory that Matthew Restelli was lured to Utah thinking he was coming to pick up his wife and children when in reality there was a plan to shoot and kill him so his wife did not have to return and file for divorce in California.

Griffin said the evidence does not support that Restelli was a danger to his wife, saying she had “adamantly denied” multiple times that her husband had been violent during a phone call with an attorney.

The judge said the case being filed 18 months ago — one reason Williams asked for his client’s release — is “less than optimal.” However, he said there were at least three months of delays caused by Ellis switching attorneys and asking for more time. He also said a recent Utah Supreme Court decision ruled that conspiracy cases can take more time to go to trial.

Trial dates

In addition to murder, Ellis and Grist are also each charged with 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.

Williams asked to separate the trial for Ellis from the one for Grist on Wednesday. Griffin said he would approve the request after the attorney filed documents making the request.

Ellis and Grist are both scheduled for hearings now on Aug. 20, when attorneys plan to schedule each of the trials within the five-week window currently planned.

Correction: A previous version incorrectly said the killing of Restelli happened in 2022. It was 2024.

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