Tracey Grist is on trial in Utah over prosecutors’ claim that she helped orchestrate the killing of her son-in-law, Matthew Restelli, inside her American Fork home after he drove from California believing he was picking up his estranged wife and children. The case has drawn attention because prosecutors say it was not a spontaneous shooting or a failed confrontation, but a planned family plot involving Grist, her daughter Kathryn Restelli, and Grist’s son Kevin Ellis.

Who is involved

Tracey Grist, now 60, is charged in 4th District Court with murder, criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to commit murder, obstruction of justice, and domestic-violence-related counts tied to the presence of children during the killing. The victim, Matthew Restelli, was Grist’s son-in-law. Grist’s daughter, Kathryn Restelli, was Matthew’s estranged wife, and Grist’s son, Kevin Ellis, is the man who admitted he shot Matthew inside the house. Grist has pleaded not guilty.

What prosecutors allege happened

According to charging documents and later trial reporting, prosecutors say Kathryn Restelli and Tracey Grist lured Matthew Restelli to Utah by making him believe Kathryn was ready to return to California with their children. Investigators say Matthew drove to Grist’s American Fork home on July 12, 2024, expecting a reunion, only to be led into the house where Kevin Ellis was waiting with a handgun. Prosecutors allege Ellis shot Matthew almost immediately after he entered. An autopsy found Matthew had been shot seven times.

The state’s theory goes beyond the shooting itself. Investigators say the scene was staged to look like self-defense: a knife was placed in Matthew Restelli’s hand after the shooting, and officers later concluded it had been positioned unnaturally in his non-dominant hand. Court filings and plea materials tied to Kathryn Restelli say the plan was to create the appearance that Matthew entered the home unlawfully, giving Ellis a justification for using deadly force.

Prosecutors also point to evidence of preparation before Matthew arrived. Kathryn Restelli admitted in her plea case that she misled Matthew into believing reconciliation was possible, tracked his drive from California, stayed in contact with him to keep him calm, and knew her mother and brother were preparing for his arrival. Her plea statement also said Grist removed the screen door, moved toys, and covered the couch, facts prosecutors have used to argue the killing was planned rather than reactive.

The family’s roles before trial

By the time Tracey Grist went to trial, the two other central figures had already been dealt with in court. Kathryn Restelli pleaded guilty to reduced counts including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and felony discharge of a firearm. At sentencing, Judge Roger Griffin imposed consecutive and concurrent terms that mean she will serve at least six years in custody, with an indeterminate maximum stretching much longer under Utah sentencing rules. Prosecutors said her cooperation was considered in the plea deal, and she later testified in Kevin Ellis’s trial.

Kevin Ellis was tried first. In January 2026, a jury found him guilty of murdering Matthew Restelli but not guilty on the conspiracy count. Reporting from that trial said Ellis’s lawyers argued he had been manipulated by other family members, while prosecutors maintained he was part of a larger murder plan and helped stage the aftermath. He was later sentenced, and reporting ahead of Grist’s trial said her case was set to begin in April 2026.

What the defense says

Tracey Grist’s defense has pushed a narrower theory: that Kevin Ellis is the person responsible for the killing and that the state is trying to turn a chaotic family situation into a broader conspiracy case against Grist. In opening statements on April 14, 2026, defense counsel argued that Ellis alone murdered Matthew Restelli and described the situation as a messy family conflict that spiraled, rather than a murder plot directed by Grist.

That defense matters because prosecutors have repeatedly described Grist as the organizer or “ringleader” of the plan, while the defense is trying to separate her from Ellis’s act of pulling the trigger. The jury’s job is not just to decide whether Matthew Restelli was unlawfully killed, but whether Grist knowingly helped set the trap and cover it up.

Key developments heading into trial

The case against Grist had already been shaped by months of pretrial litigation, a preliminary hearing, Kathryn Restelli’s plea, and Ellis’s completed trial. Those developments gave prosecutors testimony and a more detailed factual record before Grist’s jury was seated. By the start of her trial, the state had already previewed evidence including text messages, planning details, and internet searches they say tie Grist to the alleged plot, including searches connected to other notorious family murder cases and a search about getting a U.S. passport quickly.

Openings in Grist’s trial began on April 14, 2026, after the case had been set to start the previous day. Court TV’s day-one summary said prosecutors told jurors Matthew was lured to the home with the promise that Kathryn and the children would return to California, and that he was shot moments after entering. The same day, Kathryn Restelli took the stand and, according to that summary, admitted she conspired with her mother to kill her husband and said she did not think she could get custody of the children and remain in Utah through a normal divorce.

Where the case stands now

As of April 14, 2026, Tracey Grist is in trial in Provo, Utah. The central factual dispute is whether jurors believe prosecutors’ account that Grist helped engineer a deliberate ambush and staged self-defense narrative, or the defense claim that Kevin Ellis alone bears criminal responsibility for the killing. Either way, the case now arrives at Grist’s jury after one co-defendant has pleaded guilty and another has already been convicted of murder.