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CASE UPDATE: On April 11, 2025, a assemblage recovered Monica Sementill, 53, guilty of execution and conspiracy for masterminding the execution of her hubby Fabio, with peculiar circumstances of execution for fiscal summation and execution portion lying successful wait.
Greg Fisher is simply a "48 Hours" producer. He investigated the execution of Fabio Sementilli for the episode, "Who killed Fabio?"
In these photos taken past February, Monica Sementilli, 46, and Robert Baker, 55, are seen connected the patio astatine a household memorial lone days aft the execution of Monica's husband, world-famous hairdresser Fabio Sementilli, 49. He had been brutally stabbed to decease astatine his Los Angeles location while smoking a cigar connected that aforesaid patio.
Four months later, Monica Sementilli and Rob Baker were arrested, accused of being concealed lovers who planned Fabio's killing.
Rob Baker and Monica Sementilli were photographed unneurotic astatine Fabio's wake
48 Hours
Relatives and adjacent friends wondered astir Baker, an unfamiliar look astatine the gathering which followed Fabio Sementilli's funeral. He was introduced arsenic a person of Monica Sementilli's from the gym, who spent clip that evening attending to the grieving widow.
"There was already suspicion of this quality from friends of the family. And determination was a representation taken of him that night. And I judge that representation was sent to the LAPD," explains Luigi Sementilli, Fabio's lad from a anterior matrimony who attended the gathering.
"48 Hours" has learned that a neighbour took these photos surreptitiously and forwarded them to the police, suggesting that Baker mightiness beryllium a imaginable suspect. "48 Hours" obtained copies of the photos, which person not been made nationalist previously.
Rob Baker was photographed astatine the aftermath held for Fabio Sementilli astatine the hairdresser's home. A bandage tin beryllium seen connected the scale digit of Baker's near manus [inset].
48 Hours
One of the photos intelligibly shows Baker has a bandage connected his near scale finger.
"(Baker) had a bandage connected his hand. Based connected what I heard, that was what raised the suspicion. There was capable suspicion determination that idiosyncratic decided, 'We should instrumentality a representation of this guy," Luigi Sementilli told CBS News.
The felony complaint which charges Monica Sementilli and Baker with execution and conspiracy to perpetrate execution states that "while stabbing unfortunate Fabio Sementill to death, suspect Robert Louis Baker chopped his near scale finger."
The ailment explains that humor from that chopped digit is what cracked the case. Police accidental Baker near humor and DNA astatine the country of the murder, arsenic good arsenic successful Fabio Sementilli's stolen Porsche, which the killers utilized arsenic a getaway conveyance and discarded successful a adjacent portion of Los Angeles 4 hours aft the murder.
The DNA led straight to Baker, who had a transgression record.
While this secretly-snapped photograph whitethorn good person been an enticing pb for detectives, LAPD ne'er fto connected to friends and family, nor the suspects, that Baker was a suspect. Instead, they watched the mates nether surveillance portion carrying retired a ruse aimed astatine lowering the defender of their suspects.
LAPD detectives allowed the household to deliberation that Fabio Sementilli's execution whitethorn person been portion of a pernicious Los Angeles transgression question of what are called "knock-knock burglaries." Skilled thieves people circumstantial homes and virtually sound connected the doorway and different cheque to find a clip erstwhile cipher is home, past the crooks burglarize the location rapidly looking for jewelry and cash.
The knock-knock burglars deed costly homes which usually person elaborate video surveillance systems truthful the crooks deterioration masks and hoodies to screen their identities.
Even the section media reported that Fabio Sementilli mightiness person been murdered by knock-knock burglars. These surveillance photos of 2 radical who constabulary accidental are Rob Baker and a antheral accomplice captured them entering the Sementilli home. Hiding their faces successful hoodies, they carnivore an unthinkable similarity to galore of the knock-knock burglars caught connected tape.
Surveillance representation of 2 radical constabulary place arsenic Rob Baker and an accomplice entering the Sementilli home, left; chartless suspects successful an LA "knock-knock" burglary, right
"48 Hours"
The LAPD believed aboriginal connected that the burglary was staged to nonstop them down the incorrect investigative trail. Detectives kept it to themselves, alternatively the LAPD fto the suspects deliberation that investigators had fallen for what constabulary perceived to beryllium a trick.
Meanwhile, constabulary were pursuing Monica Sementilli to Las Vegas wherever they accidental she spent a play with Baker.
Police assertion they learned that Monica Sementilli gave Baker the codes for distant entree to her location information strategy and that each of them monitored it connected the time of the execution to facilitate the crime. Sementilli's lawyers disputed this grounds successful tribunal and argued that her relation with Baker did not represent a conspiracy to perpetrate murder.
Fabio Sementilli's household continued to enactment his wife, unaware that constabulary were methodically gathering a lawsuit against her arsenic the alleged mastermind of the crime.
Fabio and Monica Sementilli had moved to Los Angeles from Toronto, Canada. Fabio Sementilli had been promoted arsenic an enforcement for the quality elephantine Wella, based successful Los Angeles. The Sementillis had 2 teenage daughters and lived successful a cardinal dollar location with a excavation successful the toney Woodland Hills neighborhood.
Luigi Sementilli, a masters pupil successful doctrine who inactive lives successful Canada, was entitled to a beingness security argumentation which his begetter had taken retired for him arsenic portion of the divorcement colony from Luigi's mother, Fabio Sementilli's archetypal wife. Monica asked Luigi to get $30,000 from the funds portion Fabio Sementilli's beingness security argumentation was being held up pending the constabulary investigation. Luigi offered to help, but Monica was arrested earlier the wealth was transferred.
In court, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman explained that Fabio Sementilli's $1.6 cardinal beingness security argumentation was the motive for Monica Sementilli and Baker to termination Fabio. Although, Monica Sementilli's lawyers challenged this motive theory.
Mirella Rota is Fabio Sementilli's sister, besides a hairsbreadth dresser who competed alongside her member astatine planetary competitions. She told CBS News that Monica Sementelli was idiosyncratic she loved and cherished for 2 decades.
After the murder, Rota says she remembers trying her champion to enactment Monica erstwhile she was disconsolate with her ain grief.
Together they attended a backstage memorial for Fabio Sementilli held astatine Wella's Los Angeles headquarters. In grant of her slain husband, Monica sang the Frank Sinatra opus "My Way" successful beforehand of a assemblage of astir 100 mourners paying their respects.
In June, Monica Sementilli and Rota attended a nationalist hairdresser normal successful Toronto to jointly judge a posthumous beingness accomplishment grant for Fabio Sementilli. The 2 sisters-in-law were unaware that the LAPD was wrapping up their lawsuit against Monica Sementilli and Baker.
Days aft receiving the grant and returning location to Los Angeles, Monica Sementilli and Baker were arrested.
Rota says the household was blind-sided ne'er imagining their sister-in-law could person been involved: "I spell to furniture frightened of nightmares. And I aftermath up trying to retrieve thing that could marque immoderate sense."
Since June, Monica Sementilli and Baker person remained successful custody successful Los Angeles awaiting trial. The felony ailment charges them with execution and execution conspiracy, laying retired 56 abstracted overt acts which DDA Silverman says represent the execution conspiracy betwixt the alleged lovers.
Blair Berk, the Hollywood personage defence lawyer who is representing Harvey Weinstein, is 1 of Monica Sementilli's lawyers. At a Feb. 27 proceeding arguing to person the ailment dismissed against her client, Berk characterized grounds successful the lawsuit arsenic "poppycock."
"The grounds is arsenic accordant with my client's innocence arsenic with her guilt, and determination is nary grounds of conspiracy," Berk argued.
In response, DDA Silverman countered that "circumstantial grounds doesn't look to beryllium thing Ms. Berk understands." Silverman said that circumstantial grounds indispensable beryllium viewed successful totality to found its validity.
Judge Scott Gordon denied the defence question and sent the lawsuit to proceedings successful Judge Ronald Coen's courtroom. The adjacent proceeding is scheduled for March 27 and proceedings could travel by the extremity of the year.
Both Monica Sementilli and Baker person pleaded not guilty. Baker's lawyer refused comment. Sementilli's lawyers person besides declined to remark but for 1 connection that different of her attorneys, Leonard Levine, made aft the archetypal arraignment:
"The lone applicable question is whether my lawsuit had thing to bash with the decease of her hubby and that she adamantly denies."
Police accidental the 2nd antheral successful that surveillance video, whom they place arsenic an accomplice of Baker's, has not been identified. Police are inactive investigating and searching for leads arsenic to his identity.
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