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| Matt Restelli Murder Explained: What Happened to Kate Restelli, Tracey Grist and Kevin Ellis? |
Matt Restelli’s murder in Utah initially appeared to be a case of self-defence, but investigators soon found evidence that pointed towards a far more complicated family plot. The 42-year-old father was shot dead at his mother-in-law Tracey Grist’s home in American Fork on July 12, 2024, after travelling from California to collect his wife, Kate Restelli, and their children. More than two years later, Kate, her brother Kevin Ellis and their mother Tracey have all faced the courts, with each receiving a different legal outcome.
Matt, whose full name was Matthew Clark Restelli, was born in Houston, Texas, on May 4, 1982. He grew up with his parents, Diane and Thomas Paul Restelli Jr., alongside his brothers Paul and Mark. He was described as adventurous and enjoyed fishing, mountain biking and spending time outdoors. He also worked as a handyman, although finding work became difficult during 2020.
At some point, Matt’s mother bought him a seven-acre property in the desert. He later met Kathryn “Kate” Restelli, and what began as casual encounters developed into a relationship. The pair married around 2017 and had three children, Steel, Lucas and Cheyenne. By 2024, they were living in California, with Matt focused on his family.
In June that year, Kate travelled to her mother Tracey’s home in American Fork with two of the children. On July 12, Matt made the journey from California to Utah to collect his wife and children. He arrived shortly after 10pm.
He never made it home.
Tracey called 911 after Matt was shot, and when officials arrived they found him dead from multiple gunshot wounds. A knife was in his right hand, but investigators immediately noticed something that did not quite fit the scene. The blade was pointing towards Matt rather than away from him. Forensic examination also found that he had been shot in the same wrist holding the knife.
There were eight bullet casings near the front door. The autopsy later found that Matt had been shot several times, including twice in the back and once in the chest. His official cause of death was multiple gunshot wounds.
The first account given to police suggested self-defence. Tracey told officials that her son, Kevin Stanley Ellis, had shot Matt. Kevin admitted firing the gun but said he had been frightened for his life after Matt arrived agitated and entered the house without permission.
That explanation did not sit neatly alongside everything investigators were finding.
Tracey reportedly told detectives that she knew Matt was expected to arrive at around 10pm, while Kate told police she had been upstairs with the children when the shooting took place. Investigators then began examining the physical evidence more closely.
The knife became one of the first major warning signs. Matt was holding it in his right hand even though investigators learned that he was left-handed. The position of the blade also appeared inconsistent with the explanation that he had been threatening someone.
Police then began looking at the family relationships surrounding Matt. According to court records, Kate’s relationship with her husband had deteriorated and she had spoken to a divorce lawyer. A message she sent to Tracey on January 13, 2024, reportedly said, “We’ve been fighting so much! I want out!” Her mother responded by saying she would drive nine hours and strangle Matt.
The investigation then moved into the family’s digital records, where things became considerably harder to explain away.
A message from Kate’s sister referred to an AirTag update, while investigators found a screenshot on Kate’s phone showing a location in California. Police subsequently searched Matt’s car and found an AirTag hidden inside a storage drawer.
According to court records, Kate, Tracey and Kevin all had access to the AirTag’s location information. What had initially been presented as a shooting during a confrontation was therefore becoming a case involving location tracking, family communications and evidence gathered before Matt's death.
Kevin was arrested in July 2024 and charged with murder, two counts of domestic violence in the presence of children, obstruction of justice, drug possession and being a restricted person in possession of a gun.
Kate and Tracey were arrested in October. Both faced murder, conspiracy to commit murder, obstruction of justice and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child. Tracey also faced additional charges involving a controlled substance and firearm possession.
Kate’s case was the first to reach a resolution.
On July 26, 2025, she reached a plea agreement with prosecutors. She pleaded guilty to a reduced murder charge, conspiracy to commit murder and felony discharge of a firearm, while the remaining charges against her were dismissed as part of the agreement.
Kate also admitted that she helped lure Matt from California to Utah by making him believe that they were going to reconcile. In September 2025, she was sentenced to one to 15 years for murder and another concurrent one to 15 years for conspiracy. She also received a five-year sentence for the firearm offence, which was ordered to run consecutively.
Kevin’s case went to trial in January 2026. Prosecutors challenged his original claim that he had shot Matt in self-defence. Kate became an important witness, telling the court that Tracey had not immediately called 911 because she wanted Kevin to have time to place a knife in Matt’s hand.
Kate also testified that her mother and brother had gone out on the afternoon of July 12 to plan how to kill Matt.
The defence did not dispute that Kevin had shot Matt. Instead, it argued that he had been deceived by his mother and had acted in self-defence.
On January 28, Kevin was convicted on all the other charges but acquitted of conspiracy. He was sentenced in March to 15 years to life for murder, followed by consecutive sentences of one to 15 years for obstruction and zero to five years for each domestic violence charge.
Kevin is currently incarcerated at Central Utah Correctional Facility in Gunnison, Utah.
Tracey’s trial began in April 2026, with prosecutors presenting her as the central figure in the alleged conspiracy. They relied on digital evidence and Kate’s testimony, while Tracey’s defence maintained that she had not participated in a plan to kill Matt.
On April 21, the jury found Tracey guilty on all charges.
In June, she received consecutive sentences of 15 years to life for murder, two terms of one to 15 years for conspiracy and obstruction, and zero to five years for both domestic violence counts.
Tracey is currently serving her sentence at Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City, while Kate is also serving her sentence there.
So, where are Kate Restelli, Tracey Grist and Kevin Ellis now? Kate and Tracey are at Utah State Correctional Facility, while Kevin is at Central Utah Correctional Facility. Their cases ended differently: Kate pleaded guilty, Kevin was convicted of murder but acquitted of conspiracy, and Tracey was convicted on every charge brought against her at trial.
What makes the case particularly striking is how dramatically the original explanation changed once investigators started putting the individual pieces together. At first, there was a dead man, a gun and a claim of self-defence. Then came the knife, the strange positioning, the gunshot wounds, the conflicting accounts and, eventually, the phone records and AirTag. Suddenly, what looked like a straightforward confrontation had become something much bigger.
My own view of the case is that the digital evidence makes the story especially difficult to ignore. A physical crime scene can be confusing, particularly when different people give different accounts, but phones and location technology can leave behind a remarkably detailed trail. The AirTag is particularly notable because it allegedly connected three family members to the same location information. Then there was Kate’s plea and her later testimony, which gave prosecutors another route into the events surrounding Matt’s death.
The strangest part is perhaps how many separate details had to line up before the original self-defence story began falling apart. The knife was in the wrong hand, the blade was facing the wrong way, and Matt had been shot multiple times. None of those details alone tells the whole story, but together they clearly became significant to investigators and jurors. And yes, hiding a knife in a dead man’s hand is hardly the sort of detail that makes an already complicated crime scene look less complicated.
Matt’s death left behind a family dealing with the loss of a father, while the three people prosecuted in connection with his killing are now serving sentences following very different courtroom journeys. Kate Restelli and Tracey Grist remain at Utah State Correctional Facility, while Kevin Ellis is at Central Utah Correctional Facility.
The Dateline episode “The Family Plot” revisits the case through interviews and evidence surrounding the investigation, giving viewers another look at how authorities pieced everything together. After hearing the full story, which part of the case do you think raises the biggest questions: the original self-defence claim, the AirTag evidence, Kate’s testimony, or the unusual crime-scene details?