Alleged Killer Kevin Ellis Tricked, Lured Victim to His Death: State

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: conspiracy count, Kevin Ellis, Matthew Restelli, Catherine Restelli
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Gri family, Aurora Restelli, Martin Tim, Kevin Ellis
3. 10:00 – 15:00: conspiracy count
4. 20:00 – 25:00: American Fork
5. 25:00 – 30:00: conspiracy count
6. 30:00 – 35:00: conspiracy count
7. 35:00 – 35:33: conspiracy count

Notable quotes from "Alleged Killer Kevin Ellis Tricked, Lured Victim to His Death: State"

• Kevin acknowledges that he shot his brother-in-law, Matthew. The key question is this. When Kevin shot Matthew seven times, including three shots in the back, was it murder or.

  about Kevin Ellis · at 0:14

• Will show coordinated actions by Kevin Tracy, and Catherine. It will show that Catherine coaxes Matthew to Utah. Will show that Kevin shot Matthew. And it will show that C Tracy helped stage the scene to make it look like self-defense.

  about Catherine Restelli · at 2:13

• Catherine also insisted that Matthew drive a specific truck which had an Apple Air Tag in it that she had secretly placed before she left the state. This would allow and did allow.

  about Apple AirTag · at 3:27

• You will learn a little bit about the Gri family. Teryn also lived in California.

  about Gri family · at 6:28

• 20th, 2024 and taking their two young children to live, as I said, at her mother Tracy's house in American Fork Utah. She drove a rental car that Tracy paid for.

  about American Fork · at 8:29

• Shortly after that, Rachel called Tracy's two youngest children, Jacob and Rory, and made arrangements for them to be out of Tracy's house for the night.

  about Jennifer Jacob · at 19:01

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Kevin Ellis — Person · Defendant / alleged shooter · 2 mentions · first at 0:10
  Central figure accused of shooting and killing Matthew Restelli; prosecution argues the shooting was murder and part of a conspiracy staged as self-defense.
• Matthew Restelli — Person · Victim / decedent · 1 mention · first at 0:04
  Husband of Catherine (Kate) Restelli and the person killed in the shooting; the episode context frames the key issue as murder vs. self-defense.
  On the night of July 12th, 2024 Mr. Kevin Ellis killed him.
• Catherine Restelli — Person · Co-conspirator witness (pleaded guilty) / victim’s spouse · 1 mention · first at 2:18
  Described as Matthew’s wife (also called Kate) who allegedly lured him to Utah and later pleaded guilty to conspiracy and murder; expected to testify for the state.
• Aurora Restelli — Person · Referenced family member (aka Rory) · 2 mentions · first at 6:02
  Identified as one of Tracy’s children and also called Rory; mentioned as living in Tracy’s home and being arranged to be away that night.
  Kevin, Jacob, and Aurora lived in the same home with Tracy. That's the home that Catherine went to when she came to Utah. Tim lives elsewhere in the county.
• Martin Tim — Person · Referenced family member · 2 mentions · first at 6:02
  One of Tracy’s children; included to establish family structure and who lived where.
  Tim, Rachel, Jacob, and Aurora, who also goes by Rory.
• Jennifer Jacob — Person · Referenced family member · 2 mentions
  One of Tracy’s children; mentioned as living in Tracy’s home and being arranged to be out of the house the night of the shooting.
• Anna Steel — Person · Referenced minor / child of Matthew and Catherine · 1 mention · first at 6:15
  Named as one of the couple’s children; included to explain custody motive and family context.
  At the time this all happened, Cheyenne was eight and Steel was five.
• Cheyenne — Person · Referenced minor / child of Matthew and Catherine · 1 mention · first at 6:15
  Named as one of the couple’s children; included to explain custody motive and family context.
  Matthew and Catherine have two children.

Products & tech

• Apple AirTag — Product · Key device used for tracking · 1 mention
  The AirTag was crucial in tracking Matthew's location leading up to the incident.

Concepts & topics

• conspiracy count — Concept · 10 mentions · first at 1:56
  Unjustified by self-defense, the evidence will also show that he was not acting alone. There was a conspiracy, a plan by Kevin, his mother Tracy, and his sister Catherine to…
• Gri family — Concept · 2 mentions · first at 6:28

Places & events

• American Fork — Place · 2 mentions · first at 8:33

Full transcript with timestamps

0:01 Good morning. This is Matthew Restelli. On the night of July 12th, 2024 Mr. Kevin Ellis killed him. Kevin acknowledges that he shot his brother-in-law, Matthew. The key question is this. When Kevin shot Matthew seven times, including three shots in the back, was it murder or self-defense? In Utah, the state must prove both murder and disprove self-defense. Later, the judge will explain to you the exact legal definitions of these terms and what applies here. For now, though murder means an unjustified killing. Self-defense applies when someone reasonably believes force was necessary to prevent an imminent harm. In this trial, the evidence will show that Matthew's killing was not self-defense.

0:57 The state will argue from the evidence that Kevin's actions were not reasonable and were not justified by the facts or the law. The state contends that murder and not self-defense best explains all the evidence you will hear during this trial. For example, you will hear that Kevin and his mother Tracy waited more than 8 minutes after the shooting for calling 911. During those eight minutes no one attempted to give Matthew any life-saving aid. and he died. And Kevin was overheard saying during that time frame something to the effect of being careful because Matthew might still be moving.

1:38 Also during those eight minutes, a knife was placed in Matthew's hand, placed backwards, and in Matthew's right hand when Matthew was left-handed. If you find Kevin committed murder unjustified by self-defense, the evidence will also show that he was not acting alone. There was a conspiracy, a plan by Kevin, his mother Tracy, and his sister Catherine to kill Matthew, who was Catherine's husband. A conspiracy simply means two or more people agreed to commit or cause a crime. The evidence will show coordinated actions by Kevin Tracy, and Catherine. It will show that Catherine coaxes Matthew to Utah. Will show that Kevin shot Matthew. And it will show that C Tracy helped stage the scene to make it look like self-defense.

2:30 But why would you kill a family member? Because Katherine wanted a divorce. She wanted a divorce on her own terms including custody of the children that they had together. Terms that a lawyer told her just days before the shooting were not possible. A very high-level overview or summary of the evidence is as follows. On June 20th, 3 weeks before the shooting Katherine traveled from California California to Utah with her children claiming it was a temporary break. She would soon learn that law would require a divorce in California and not Utah and that she would not automatically get full custody of her children.

3:08 Catherine and Tracy then worked together to lure Matthew to Utah under false pretenses. They told Matthew that if he drove to Utah, Catherine and the kid would return to California with him. However, in reality, the evidence is showing that Catherine and her family never intended for her to go back home with Matthew. Catherine also insisted that Matthew drive a specific truck which had an Apple Air Tag in it that she had secretly placed before she left the state. This would allow and did allow her family members to track Matthew's location. On July 12th, as Matthew drove from Southern California to Utah Catherine repeatedly told him that he needed to come in and that he should enter Tracy's home without knocking.

3:53 What she didn't tell Matthew is that Kevin was waiting inside the door. When Matthew entered, Kevin shot him within seconds. Kevin and Tracy then delayed the call to 911, planted a knife in Matthew's hand and portrayed Matthews having been an armed intruder to both 911 and to the police who arrived on scene. And frankly, their version of events, the story might not have been called into question, but for what was observed about that knife, a small but critical error was made that ultimately led to a much larger investigation and the unraveling of this plan or conspiracy.

4:30 As I already noted, that knife had been placed backwards in Matt's right hand when he was left-handed. Now, members of the jury, this overview provides you a general idea of what this trial is about. We know that by his own admission, Kevin shot Matthew, and your job is to decide whether that was murdered or justified by self-defense. Were Kevin's actions on July 12th reasonable? To answer those questions you will hear a substantial amount of evidence over this trial. too much to neatly summarize in just a few minutes with you here today.

5:03 Instead, we will give you a framework to understand the events leading up to Kevin shooting Matthew. An outline that will help you follow not only the actions made by Kevin, but those taken by his sister Catherine, his mother Tracy, other members of the family, as well as Matthew. Feel free to take notes if you wish, as this will likely help you keep track of the evidence. Now, to begin with, I'd like to start with a family tree because it would be helpful to understand the family relationships of the people involved and the people you will hear about or hear from during this trial. We have Matthew placed right here. Matthew also went by Matt. He is the deceased person. Here we have Kevin right here. Kevin Ellis is the defendant. Now, we mentioned his mother Tracy. Tracy has seven children.

5:54 Carolyn, Kevin, Katherine, who also goes by Kate and was married to Matthew. I'll return to that. Tim, Rachel, Jacob, and Aurora, who also goes by Rory. Matthew's mother was Diane. Matthew and Catherine have two children. At the time this all happened, Cheyenne was eight and Steel was five. Now, Matthew and Catherine lived in California. You will likely hear from Diana during this trial. You will learn a little bit about the Gri family. Teryn also lived in California. Kevin, Jacob, and Aurora lived in the same home with Tracy. That's the home that Catherine went to when she came to Utah. Tim lives elsewhere in the county.

6:46 And Rachel lives in northern Utah. To the jury, I will now turn to that framework of what the evidence will show and from what you may conclude that Matthew's wife Kate and his brother-in-law Kevin and his mother-in-law Tracy conspired to murder him. We begin with the development of the motive or the origin of the conspiracy. I mentioned Matt and Kate married in 2016. They lived in California. Matt was an avid mountain biker. He loved the outdoors. Matt had a son from a previous relationship and Matthew and Catherine had two children together shortly after their marriage. You can see them here.

7:32 By early 2024, however, Matt and Kate's relationship had become strained. Kate had grown unhappy with the marriage. She viewed it as loveless and she sought out other relationships which became a point of contention between her and Matt. In January 20 2024, Kate had confided confided to her mother that she wanted out of the marriage. Here's one of the messages she sent. She says, "We've been fighting so much. I want out." And by May, text messages between Kate and Tracy reflected her frustration and unhappiness. She told her mom, "I hate my life, Mom." She said, "I hate that I have kids with Matt."

8:15 and she says, "This is so bad right now. I hate him so much." Ultimately, Kate was unhappy enough to separate from Matthew. Essentially disappearing without warning on June 20th, 2024 and taking their two young children to live, as I said, at her mother Tracy's house in American Fork Utah. She drove a rental car that Tracy paid for. In addition to Kate's unhappiness, there is evidence you will hear that will show there was no love lost between the entire Gri family and Matt. Text messages will show that members of the Gri family repeatedly talked about him and included comments about harming him. These texts will be presented in more detail during the trial. I will give you a few examples right now.

9:01 In January, there was one text exchange between Kate and Tracy where where Kate received this message. I'll just drive 9 hours and strangle him. Tracy referring to Matt. On June 6, there was a message by Tracy to one of the other daughters, Rachel where she said, "Matt made it so I want to kill him. He straight up lied. I'm going to kill him. These texts and other evidence will show that Tracy returned time and time again to making comments about killing Matthew. Now, the format of this exhibit is a little bit different, but this happened on June 16th. It was a text exchange between Terin, one of the sisters, and Rachel, one of the sisters. Carolyn asked Rachel, he wanted to know if you shot your 380 yet, referring to a handgun. And Rachel responded and note that the date on this is 4 days before Katherine came to Utah. She said, "No unfortunately, kids make it hard to get out and go shooting." Haha. We need to

10:08 coordinate with mom and take it out before any chance of Matt coming. Lol. After Kate came to Utah, she and the family learned that separating from Matt and getting custody would be very difficult. The biggest part was that California still had legal jurisdiction over the children in the marriage. Kate recorded the conversation she had with a lawyer about this situation and she shared that conversation with her family members. You will hear about that conversation during this trial. We have a summary of it we can show you right now. A friend of hers texted, "How did your attorney meeting go?" Kate said "Honestly, I'm fucked."

10:52 How, so he asks, "Just dumb California law. I just feel hopeless." And just like that the evidence is going to show it will show that these comments and jokes escalated into action. loose strands or thoughts present over a period of time were woven in those final days and hours into a plan that culminated when Kevin shot Matthew. Yes, Kate initially pursued a divorce. Then a different plan developed was a way out of the marriage with no California court, no shared custody, and no loose ends. This plan is what the state alleges is the conspiracy in this case and that this plan involved Kate and Tracy and Kevin. The evidence of this alleged murder conspiracy, at least in retrospect, can analytically be broken down into four steps or four phases.

11:55 Phase one was getting Matt to Utah. Phase two was getting Matt inside of Tracy's house. Phase three was surprising and shooting Matt. And phase four was attempting to cover it up. I'll briefly discuss each of these phases. So phase one, getting Matt to Utah. For any planned work, they had to get Matt to Utah. The evidence will show the efforts taken to get Matt to travel to Utah. As mentioned, Kate had come to Utah under the guise of a temporary breeder. Matt wanted Kate and the kids to come home to California, and he did try to assist Kate in coming home without him traveling to Utah. He attempted to rent a car for Kate. He tried to give her money so that she could rent a car and come back to California. But that didn't work. Didn't work because Kate and Tracy worked together to create excuses as to why Kate couldn't drive to California and Matt had to come to Utah. During the trial, you would hear and see messages

12:51 documenting these falsehoods or ruses. Here's one example of them. This is a text message the day before Matthew came from Tracy to Kate. Plus, you are going to sprain your ankle soon. To which Kate replies, "Yes, he wants me to leave tomorrow. I have to make arrangements for the car today. He can't drive with that ankle." The evidence will show Kate never had a sprained ankle. Not only did Kate convince Matt to drive to Utah, she convinced him to drive a very specific car, their truck. You would hear a phone call in which Matt expressed concern about that truck.

13:35 He was concerned it would break down. He was concerned about the tires and he wanted to borrow a car. But Kate was insistent he needed to drive the truck. Why is that? Because Kate had hidden an Apple Air Tag inside the truck. This Apple Air Tag. Kate had placed that Air Tag in the truck in a bin under a pile of trash. Now, here's a screen grab from some body cameras of the officers. There's the bin that she talked in. And there in the top middle is the Air Tag. And you'll see a clip of this in the trial. And they also had to pull out a lot of trash before they ever saw this. She hid this on the day she left California, June 20th 2024.

14:21 Multiple family members, including Kevin, could and did track the Air Tag. In fact, they tracked him all the way from California to Utah when he came on July 12th. Now, despite Kate convincing Matt to drive to Utah in this trackable truck there was another problem. Matt was reluctant to come inside Tracy's house. Phone calls and texts show Matt had one purpose. He wanted to pick up his little family and go home to California. These are the first messages between Kate and Matthew on the day he was shot. Kate says, "Good morning. Getting up and getting moving. Excited for today."

15:03 Matt says, "I'm over the moon. Can't wait to hug and kiss you all." But as far as going in Tracy's home, the evidence will show he didn't want to do that. It will show he didn't want a confrontation with Tracy. He wasn't even going to turn off the car. He just wanted to load up quickly and go home with Kate and the kids. Which brings us to the second phase or the second step, getting Matt inside of Tracy's house. Now, the evidence will show that Matt likely didn't want to enter the house because he and his mother Tracy didn't get along. This wasn't a big secret.

15:36 There were many texts about this. This is one example of a conversation about Matt. Between Tracy and Kate begins with Tracy saying, "I just told your husband, don't mess with my child. I want you to know I meant that he should not mess with you." He asked if it was a threat, and I said, "I just wanted him to not react." But that's only because I was watering down my words. Kate told her, "He's so mad. Please don't call him. And this is when she said to try to sleep. I won't call him. I'll just drive 9 hours and strangle him. But also continued Kate let Tracy know, "Matt's really upset that you quote unquote threatened him. He wants to call you and make sure that you back battle." Appears to me backpedal the threat of him. You can read the exact words there to which Tracy responds, "Okay but [ __ ] him. He can call and I will act innocent enough, but he doesn't have the balls to call me."

16:45 Now, despite despite this, Kate repeatedly reassured Matt throughout the drive. She gave him the gate code to this gated community so he could get in. She told him the doors were unlocked. She said Tracy would be asleep and he could come right in. In fact, at one point, Tracy told Kate to reassure Matt that I'll be sweet as candy. Tracy, who previously belittled Matt now encouraged with this text Matt to enter the home without hesitation. Meanwhile, the family, including Kevin was monitoring the Air Tag. Now, Kevin could, monitor, the, Air, Tag, at least, as early as June 21st. And we know this because he commented on that to his sister Kate.

17:31 Text from June 26 show and confirm that he actively monitored the air attack. So Kevin was traveling in Idaho and Kay asks him, "What day are you coming back?" Kevin says, "Friday late." Okay cool. Then he says, "The tag is still active." She says, "Really?" And he says, "If I have to rush back, I can make that happen." And in conjunction with that text, he sends a screenshot. That screenshot is the Find My Apple Matt's truck's location. As you can see, that's the emoji they chose for Matt's truck. Now, on July 12th, throughout the day of the shooting, the family exchanged numerous phone calls and messages, many of which discussed Matt. Preparations were made throughout the day for his arrival. Early in the day, there was a hive of activity via phone and text between Kate and Tracy and Rachel and Terin. They discussed Matt coming out.

18:39 They looked up his location multiple times. Just after lunch, Rachel sent Terin an image of Matt's truck. to which Terin replies "Oh, [ __ ] That's pretty far up there." That then led to a flurry of overlapping phone calls and messages between between Kate, Tracy, Rachel, and Carolyn. Shortly after that, Rachel called Tracy's two youngest children, Jacob and Rory, and made arrangements for them to be out of Tracy's house for the night. And throughout the day, Tracy and Kate continued the ruse of Kate going back to California and their messages and conversations to Matt. Other preparations had been made. The children's toys had been cleaned up and placed in another room for that evening.

19:27 A blanket was placed on the couch. This blanket is on the couch right next to the front door where Matthew entered and adjacent to where he was shot. Additionally, previously, only a few days earlier, Tracy had deleted her entire chat history with Kevin. And only a couple weeks earlier before that, Kate set her Snapchat conversations with Kev Kevin to disappear so they were no longer saved on her phone. With all these while all these preparations occurred and while the family monitors Matt's location, Kate continued to coax Matt to come into the home unannounced.

20:03 Audio from a phone call just hours before his arrival shows that not only did Matt not want to turn off his car and come inside, we asked Kate to put out the cardboard so it didn't leak oil on the road for the few minutes that he'd be parked there. And indeed, they did put out that piece of cardboard. Kate consistently told Matt during these phone calls that she loved him. She was excited to go home with him even though she had no intent of leaving with Mackie that evening. Then at 10:01 p.m., just minutes before Matt's arrival, Rachel texted Tracy and then Kevin. These are the texts to Tracy.

20:40 Oram, keep an eye on find my text in that or to Kevin. forum. Keep an eye on fine mine. Metadata shows that Kevin read this message which brings us to phase three, the surprise in the shooting of Matt. So, at 10:01 p.m., Matt was in or within minutes, he arrived in American Fork. Just before 10:06 p.m., Matt entered the gated community. inside the home Tracy's home, where Kate, she was upstairs with the children. Evidence will show Tracy was waiting in the kitchen and that Kevin had put on a holster and a gun and was waiting in the front room. There was no one else in the house that night.

21:37 At 10:06 p.m., a neighbor security camera recorded Matt's truck pulling up. You can see right there, the camera detected the motion of the truck and started recording at 10:06 p.m. Matt took a little over 30 seconds to park. He left his hazard lights on. He carefully parked over the cardboard that Kate had left out for him so his truck wouldn't leak oil on the road. At 10:07 p.m. the neighbors said they heard gunshots coming from the Grace home. The evidence will show that when Matt entered the home, he removed his sandals. You can see him right there and he placed them right inside the front door.

22:25 Shows that within second of Matt's entry, Kevin began shooting. The evidence will then show that Matt tried to flee, but he didn't get far. According to the physical and medical evidence, Kevin shot Matthew in the chest, the side, the wrist, and three times in the back. As Matt moved from the front door down a hallway to his immediate left, the evidence will show that Matt then fell down face first in that hallway some 10 to 15 ft from where he had taken off his sandals. At 10:08 p.m., the neighbors who had heard the shots texted Tracy and asked if everything was okay.

23:11 At 10:09, neighbors hadn't heard back so they called 911. Now, around this time, Kate, who had stayed upstairs through everything that happened with the kids overheard Kevin say something against the effect about being careful because he, Matt, might still be moving. Tracy didn't call until 10:15 more than 8 minutes after the shooting 6 minutes after the neighbor's call. By that time, police had already been dispatched and they did arrive about 2 minutes into Tracy's call. You'll hear the call. During the call, Tracy described Matt as having been armed with a knife. To the police that arrived Kevin's first words were, "That guy had a knife."

24:03 But the evidence will show that Matt is not armed. Will show that he was not an intruder. It will show that he was unarmed. Will show that he was invited show that he was an expected guest to that home. He'd been trapped from California. The cardboard had been placed out for his arrival. He was given the gate code and specifically told the front doors unlocked and he should just walk right in. This brings us to the fourth phase, the attempt to to cover it up. When police arrived when police arrived, as I noted, Kevin immediately said that Matthew had a knife. The video that you'll get to see the body cam, he says pointing towards Matthew's body. Guy had a knife and I the voice trails off in the body cam video.

24:59 And a knife was indeed found in Matthew's hand, but the evidence will show it was planted there. There are several key pieces of physical evidence that show the knife was planted. Here are three pieces. Two of them I already told you about. Here's a still frame from Body Cam showing the position of that knife as the police entered. As I mentioned, the knife was held backwards in the hand and it was in the wrong hand. Now today, this is not the knife that was in Matthew's hand. You'll see that during the trial. This is a replica of that knife. It is essentially the same knife.

25:39 And you can see what this knife looks like, tactical knife. You can see that there is the spine where the palm goes. You can see the area where the finger finger goes. You can see the back part of the blade. And you can see the sharp part of the blade. And you can compare this to how Matthew was holding a knife in his hand. It's right there in the photo. The blade was facing inwards. The spine of the knife facing his fingers while the finger grip was in the palm of his hand. There's a third fact that's important. Matt had been shot through his wrist.

26:30 I suppose more correctly to say through the arm right below the face. The gunshot wound to the arm perforated the skin, the tissues under the skin the muscles and the ulna or the forearm bone. The evidence will show that all these structures are the structures that affect a person's ability to grip objects such as a knife. Further, you will hear evidence this wasn't even Matt's knife and it was definitively Tracy's knife. Tracy had access to this type of weapon and was seen with it before the shooting. You also see evidence regarding Tracy's search history. She searched on June 16th, 2024, 4 days before Kate came, 3 weeks before the shooting. Quote, Utah s Utah shoot breakin.

27:28 And then on July 11th, 2024, the day before the killing, Tracy search, when was Donna Adlesen arrested? Donna Adlesen was a woman charged with hiring a hitman to kill her son-in-law. Finally, there is one more piece of evidence and one more witness you should know about upfront. She's our first witness. Katherine Restelli will testify at this trial. Kate admits that she conspired to murder Matthew. She has pled guilty to the crimes of conspiracy and of murder. She has been sentenced. It is true that Kate entered into a plea agreement., You, will, hear, at least, some of the details of that plea deal.

28:11 In exchange for pleading guilty, Kate will have the possibility of being released earlier than she otherwise would have. But Kate's plea agreement is not irrevocably tied to her testimony. You will hear that the terms of the plea agreement did not require her to testify to receive the benefit of the bargain she received. To be clear, Kate is not presented as the centerpiece of the state's evidence. Rather, the state expects that Kate's testimony will corroborate the physical the digital, and the forensic evidence you will hear about during this trial.

28:56 And as she testifies, Kate may minimize some things. She is expected to testify about her relationship with Matt. She'll testify, we expect, that it wasn't just strained, but that she constantly that Matt constantly blamed her for their problems. She described this as emotionally abusive. She may also testify that Matt begged or pressured her for sex, which is what she describes as sexually abusive. But this testimony is not presented to excuse her actions. testimony is presented to explain why she agreed to participate in a conspiracy to kill her husband Matthew along with Tracy and Kevin.

29:43 So, you'll hear all those details. You'll hear about the plea. You will judge her credibility as when she testifies when she testifies about the communication she had, things she saw things she heard, and things she did. She will testify that Tracy specifically told her that either she Tracy or Kevin would kill Matt. She will explain that Tracy showed her the knife before the killing and that she knew where it was being stored. She will explain that after hearing the shots that killed Matt, she's the one that heard Kevin say something to the effect about being careful because Matt might still be moving.

30:25 We now return to the key question. When Kevin shot and killed Matthew, was it murder? Was it self-defense? In answering that question, you might wonder where exactly Kevin fits into all this evidence. This evidence we heard about Kate and Tracy and the other family members of the conspiracy. Was Kevin truly part of the murder conspiracy? The evidence will answer those questions. started this with a summary of the evidence and I will conclude this with a summary of the evidence. I will conclude it with a summary of what we expect the evidence to show in answering those two key questions.

31:10 Was it murder or self-defense? The evidence will show there was an advanced plan to shoot Matt. The evidence will show a coordinated plan to stage self-defense claim. Tracy had the knife beforehand, was seen with it beforehand. The knife was found in the non-dominant hand, held backwards with that wound that he saw. The evidence will show Matt was coaxed into the home. Kate told Matt the front door be unlocked. Asked him to enter the home to help her. Told him to enter without knocking. Told him Tracy would be asleep as sweet as candy. Matt was also provided the gate code so he could enter the neighborhood without contacting anyone inside.

31:52 that was tracked. Kate ensured he drove the truck so that everyone in the family could track his location right up until his arrival. There were the coordinated actions during the shooting. Kate was told to remain upstairs with the children. She'll testify about that. Kevin shot Matthew seconds after ending the home and Kevin or Tracy planted that knife in Matthew's hand. Then there's the post shooting conduct. The post shooting conduct that tells you or will help you analyze whether it was murder or self-defense. There was that significant delay in calling 911 when the neighbor called almost immediately.

32:36 No life-saving measures performed. There was the numerous text messages and internet searches on various phones that were deleted. And there were the statements by Kevin and Tracy to the police when they arrived at the home that conflict with the physical evidence. Then there's the second question. Was Kevin part of the conspiracy? What will the evidence show about that? evidence shows Kevin was a shooter of Matt. We'll learn about circumstances related to the gun. The gun belonged to Tracy but it was used by Kevin. You will hear that Kevin was wearing a holster and carrying a gun inside his own home even though he lived in a safe gated neighborhood and he did so after 10 p.m.

33:26 at night. This evidence will show Kevin was prepared to kill Matthew. Evidence will show that Matthew knew Kevin was close by. Evidence will show that Matthew did not surprise Kevin that night. Then there was Kevin's participation in placing the knife in Matt's hand. We know what the statement was through Kate's testimony if you believe her. She overheard Kevin say, "Be careful cuz Matt might still be moving." Matt only left in the home. Tracy or Kevin the plant that night. Kevin participated in the tracking of Matt. We have text messages from him that show that he could and did track Matthew. We have the message to him that he read that shows he knew Matt was close by.

34:21 There is the corroboration of Kate's testimony. She is expected to directly implicate Kevin in Matthew's murder. In some you will look at the totality of the evidence. The evidence shows Kevin's ties to the conspiracy through his actions before during, and after the shooting. Taken to other, this evidence will show that it was murder and not self-defense. In light of this evidence, you may conclude that Kevin played a key role in this murder. For these reasons, at the conclusion of this trial, my colleague will address you. He will review the evidence with you, including evidence you haven't even addressed yet.

35:12 He will ask you to return guil verdicts of guilty on the murder charge, on the conspiracy charge, on the obstruction of justice charge, and all the other charges against him. We ask you to return verdicts consistent with what the evidence will show. Thank you.

35:29 Thank, you,, Mr., President.

Questions about this episode

What is discussed in "Alleged Killer Kevin Ellis Tricked, Lured Victim to His Death: State"?

In order: 0:00 conspiracy count, Kevin Ellis, Matthew Restelli, Catherine Restelli; 5:00 Gri family, Aurora Restelli, Martin Tim, Kevin Ellis; 10:00 conspiracy count; 20:00 American Fork; 25:00 conspiracy count; 30:00 conspiracy count; 35:00 conspiracy count.

What is mentioned in this Law&Crime Trials episode?

12 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Kevin Ellis, Matthew Restelli, Catherine Restelli, conspiracy count, American Fork, Apple AirTag. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Alleged Killer Kevin Ellis Tricked, Lured Victim to His Death: State"?

The episode runs 36 min; the transcript is about 5,221 words in 46 timestamped sections.

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