Jury Convicts Tracey Grist on All Charges After Closing Arguments
The Tracey Grist trial ended with prosecutors and defense attorneys offering sharply different final versions of the case before jurors found Grist guilty on all charges. The state argued she was the driving force behind a family plot to kill Matthew Restelli inside her Utah home. The defense insisted prosecutors had built an overreaching conspiracy theory around a shooting they failed to prove Grist intentionally planned. After more than four hours of deliberations, the jury sided with the prosecution.
Prosecutors cast Grist as the architect of the killing
In closing arguments, prosecutors told jurors that Tracey Grist was the mastermind behind Matthew Restelli’s death. The state argued Grist hated her son-in-law and worked with her children, Kevin Ellis and Kathryn Restelli, to lure Matthew to the house and have him killed.
The prosecutor described the case as a “knock-off” version of the Donna Adelson case, using that comparison to argue that Grist had modeled a family-centered murder plot of her own. The state’s position was that this was not a chaotic confrontation or a split-second act. Prosecutors said the evidence showed planning, coordination, and an effort to stage the scene afterward.
By the time closings began, jurors had already heard weeks of testimony about text messages, tracking evidence, the knife, the 911 timeline, and family communications. The state used closing argument to pull those threads together and present Grist as the person who pushed the plan forward.
The defense said the state never proved a real murder plot
The defense rejected that theory and argued Tracey Grist had nothing to do with planning Matthew Restelli’s death. Her attorney told jurors the state’s claim of a premeditated murder conspiracy was flawed and unsupported.
Rather than a carefully orchestrated setup, the defense argued the case reflected a situation that was messy, emotional, and ultimately driven by Kevin Ellis. The defense position remained that prosecutors had tried to turn one man’s actions into a broader plot without proving Grist knowingly joined in planning a murder.
That final argument stayed consistent with the defense case throughout trial: Kevin Ellis pulled the trigger, and the state had not done enough to prove Tracey Grist intended for Matthew Restelli to be killed.
The jury returned guilty verdicts across the board
After hearing closing arguments, the jury deliberated for more than four hours before reaching a verdict.
Jurors found Tracey Grist guilty in the shooting death of Matthew Restelli, who was killed inside her home. She was convicted on all charges, including murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The verdict was a major win for prosecutors, who had argued Grist was part of a conspiracy with Kevin Ellis and Kathryn Restelli to lure Matthew to the residence and orchestrate his killing. By convicting on all counts, the jury accepted the state’s broader theory that Grist was not just present for the aftermath, but criminally responsible for the plan itself.
Why the verdict matters
This verdict closes the final major trial in a case prosecutors framed as a family murder plot. Kevin Ellis had already been convicted of murder, and Kathryn Restelli had already pleaded guilty. The central unresolved question was whether Tracey Grist would also be held responsible as part of that same conspiracy.
On Day 6, the jury answered that question clearly. The guilty verdicts show jurors were persuaded not only that Matthew Restelli was unlawfully killed, but that Grist played a knowing role in the events that brought him to the house and ended with his death.
What comes next
With the trial over, the case now moves to sentencing. That phase will determine the punishment Grist faces after being convicted of murder, conspiracy to commit murder, and the remaining charges in the case.
The trial itself ended with the prosecution’s theory intact. Jurors rejected the defense argument that the case was overbuilt and instead found Tracey Grist guilty across the board in Matthew Restelli’s killing.