PROVO, Utah — The man convicted in the murder of his brother-in-law inside an American Fork home in 2024 was sentenced to the maximum penalty allowed by a judge Tuesday.
Kevin Ellis appeared in a Provo courtroom where Judge Roger Griffin sentenced him to 15 years to life for the murder charge, one to 15 years for obstruction of justice, and zero to five years for two counts of domestic violence.
All the sentences will run consecutive to one another.
"Your niece and nephew are going to grow up knowing that their father was killed by their uncle for no reason," said Judge Griffin. "And tragically, your niece and nephew are facing the ramifications of your actions when they go to school, when other students at school bring up what you did.
"That really, to this court, shows that the gravity of your actions is that they'll never end for these two children."
Ellis was convicted earlier this year of murdering Matthew Rastelli on the night of July 12, 2024 after his sister, Kathryn Rastelli, Matthew's wife, and mother lured him from California to the Utah County home.
Woman sentenced to prison for luring husband to Utah to kill him:
In the aftermath of the shooting, Ellis claimed he had shot Rastelli in self-defense, saying his brother-in-law had a knife, and also telling detectives that Rastelli had shown up to the house uninvited and unannounced. However, an investigation uncovered that the knife found in Rastelli's hand had been placed there after the murder.
"I think your rehabilitative needs are extreme because this wasn't an action of passion," added the judge. "It wasn't a spur of the moment action. It's something that was coldly plotted out by you, yet something that you knew you shouldn't be doing."
Kathryn Rastelli had previously come to Utah with her two children to stay with her mother, Tracy Grist, after she and Matthew had marriage problems at home in California. When learning Matthew wanted to bring the children back to California, Kathryn lied and said she was willing to return with them as a family.
As Matthew made his way to Utah, Ellis, Kathryn Rastelli and Grist tracked him via an AirTag that Kathryn had placed in his truck.
When Matthew arrived at the home, Ellis shot him inside a bedroom.
Kathryn Rastelli pleaded guilty in July to murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and was later sentenced to the same 1-15 years in prison on both charges. She was also ordered to have no contact with her children, who are now being raised by relatives.
