PROVO, Utah (Court TV) — Kathryn Restelli took the witness stand on Tuesday and admitted she conspired with her mother and brother to murder her husband, Matthew Restelli, describing in emotional testimony how she lured him to Utah under false pretenses before he was shot to death.
Kathryn Restelli testifies at her brother’s murder trial on Jan. 20, 2026. (Court TV)
Kathryn, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and conspiracy, testified against her younger brother, Kevin Ellis, who is on trial for Matthew’s killing on July 12, 2024, at their mother’s American Fork home.
Kathryn described a deteriorating marriage that led her to confide increasingly in her mother, Tracey Grist, and sister, Teralyn Fischer, about her problems with Matthew. By June 2024, she had decided to leave him and move to Utah with their two young children.
Kathryn testified that she rented a Ford Expedition on June 20 and drove from their rural Aguanga, California, property to her mother’s home, initially telling Matthew she was just visiting family. She placed an Apple AirTag tracking device in Matthew’s truck before leaving, hidden in a compartment between the driver’s and passenger’s seats.
She said she shared access to the tracker with her mother, sister and Kevin, allowing them to monitor Matthew’s location. Text messages showed family members commenting on his movements in the weeks that followed.
After consulting with a California divorce attorney on July 11, Kathryn said she felt defeated, learning that Matthew could potentially file paperwork to force the children back to California since she had not established Utah residency. She shared a recording of that consultation with her mother.
She said she and her mother then orchestrated an elaborate ruse. When Matthew deposited money for Kathryn to rent a car to drive home, her mother suggested via text that she claim a sprained ankle to delay the trip. Kathryn went to an Enterprise rental location in American Fork, knowing she would be turned away because she had only an out-of-state license and a debit card.
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After multiple phone calls throughout the day, Matthew decided to drive to Utah himself to bring his family home. Kathryn recorded those conversations on her iPad, she said.
In the hours before Matthew’s arrival, preparations were made at the Grist home. Kathryn testified that toys were removed, inexpensive blankets were placed on the couch, and the magnetic screen door was taken off to make entry easier. She said her understanding was that Matthew would be shot, and that either her mother or Kevin would do it.
Kathryn said that three to four days before the killing, her mother showed her a knife wrapped in a glove that was kept in a laundry room basket. Her mother told her she planned to place the knife in Matthew’s hand to make it look like the shooting was self-defense, she testified.
On the night of July 12, Kathryn put her children to bed upstairs and gave them melatonin. She said she went upstairs around 9:30 p.m. to lie down.
When Matthew arrived around 10 p.m., Kathryn remained upstairs. She testified that she heard his loud diesel truck, heard the doorbell ring, heard the door open, and then heard gunshots. She said she heard Matthew say, “ow, ow.”
Kevin Ellis appears in court for a preliminary hearing Dec. 18, 2024. (Court TV)
Kathryn said she then heard her mother and Kevin talking about placing a knife in Matthew’s hand. She recalled Kevin saying to be careful because Matthew might still be kicking. She said she shouted down to call 911, and that her mother came upstairs to tell her Matthew was dead. Kathryn said she told her mother to call 911 and remained upstairs until the police arrived and called her down.
In the aftermath, Kathryn communicated with family members using an iPad and a Google phone number after losing her phone. Text messages showed her mother instructing her not to talk to Matthew’s mother, Diane, about what happened, saying it could be used against Kevin. Her mother told her to say it was all a blur and she did not want to talk about it.
Kathryn acknowledged she was not initially honest with the police about what happened, including lying about what time Matthew arrived. She said she needed to make the story plausible.
She testified that she never told Matthew she was coming home with him on July 12, and that she explicitly told all her family members, including Kevin, that she was not going home with him.
On the day of the killing, Kathryn said her mother and Kevin left for sushi around 2 p.m. and returned around 3 p.m. She had no contact with them between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. Her mother had told her younger sister, Rory, not to be at the house because she did not want her around Matthew, and her younger brother, Jacob, happened to be out skateboarding with friends.
Kathryn said she pleaded guilty for her children and to give Matthew the justice he deserves, acknowledging that she and her mother were not being honest when they were originally arrested. She said she believes she will be released from prison sooner than she would have been otherwise, though parole hearings will have a significant say in that.
This story was generated with the assistance of AI using information gathered by Emily Kean and verified by a human journalist. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy before publication.
