Did a California wife conspire with her ex-lover to kill her husband?

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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.

Fabio Sementilli was a superstar successful the quality business. He began cutting hairsbreadth successful Toronto, Canada, and yet moved to Los Angeles erstwhile helium was promoted to an enforcement presumption astatine Wella. He settled successful a location successful Woodland Hills with his woman Monica and their 2 teenage daughters.

On Jan. 23, 2017, Fabio was successful his backyard by the excavation erstwhile 2 radical broke into the location and stabbed him to death. According to prosecutors, the suspects staged the country to look similar a robbery gone wrong. But erstwhile Los Angeles Police Department detectives began investigating the murder, they said they recovered humor astatine the country that didn't beryllium to Fabio. And they said they besides recovered grounds that his woman was having an matter astatine the time.

Jan. 23, 2017 | 3:26 p.m.: Monica Sementilli's alibi 

On the time Fabio was killed, prosecutors said a neighbor's information camera captured Monica Sementilli leaving location successful her black Ford F-150 pickup truck. She was headed to Target wherever prosecutors said she was establishing her alibi. Before Monica entered the store, according to prosecutors, determination is video wherever it appears an idiosyncratic got into Monica's truck. Prosecutors said that idiosyncratic was Robert Baker, a section racquetball manager who Monica had been having an matter with for astir a twelvemonth anterior to Fabio's murder. Monica's defence attorneys person disputed the prosecution's mentation of the video from the parking lot. According to the territory attorney, Monica past went unsocial into the Target store and began shopping. 

Jan. 23, 2017 | 4:18 p.m: Suspects caught connected camera

A neighbor's information camera captured 2 hooded figures jogging near Fabio's location close astir the clip of the murder. According to prosecutors, the idiosyncratic successful the greenish hoodie was Baker. And prosecutors said that Baker and the chartless co-conspirator entered the Sementilli location and attacked Fabio from behind. They past staged the country to look similar robbery.

Jan. 23, 2017 | 4:32 p.m.: Monica Sementilli pictured astatine Target the time of her husband's murder 

At 4:32 p.m. connected the time of Fabio's murder, Monica Sementilli was seen on surveillance video walking retired of the Target store and, according to prosecutors, she was fixated connected her telephone and apt monitoring her location surveillance cameras remotely. Prosecutors besides said that astir the clip of Fabio's murder, telephone records showed that Monica's iPhone was connected to her home's IP code and her telephone was consuming a ample magnitude of information accordant with streaming unrecorded video.

The prosecution stated successful pre-trial motions that Monica was monitoring the comings and goings astatine her location truthful that Baker and the chartless accomplice could participate and termination Fabio "without immoderate interruption." But according to Monica's defence team, determination is nary grounds that tin beryllium what precisely she was watching connected her telephone astatine that time. In tribunal documents, the defence raised the anticipation that Monica could person been remotely streaming a TV show.

Jan. 23, 2017 | 4:53 p.m.: The getaway car 

About 35 minutes aft the hooded joggers were seen adjacent the Sementilli home, astatine 4:53 p.m., Fabio's achromatic Porsche was seen connected the aforesaid neighbor's information camera being driven away. Prosecutors said this was Baker and his chartless co-conspirator leaving the transgression scene. According to detectives, the Porsche was discovered 2 days aft the execution parked astir 5 miles distant from the Sementilli home. Prosecutors besides said Baker's humor was recovered wrong the Porsche.

Jan. 23, 2017 | 4:54 p.m.: A daughter's heartbreaking discovery

Just 1 infinitesimal aft the achromatic Porsche is captured, Monica and Fabio's girl Isabella's conveyance was captured connected a information camera arsenic she is returning home. Isabella, who was 16 years aged astatine the time, discovered her father's assemblage and called 911. A fewer minutes later, Monica arrived backmost home. 

February – June 2017: The probe into Fabio Sementilli's murder

As detectives began investigating Fabio's murder, they said they discovered DNA astatine the transgression country that belonged to Baker. His DNA was successful the database due to the fact that helium was a registered enactment offender. According to prosecutors, Baker chopped his near scale digit erstwhile helium killed Fabio and that's wherefore his humor was astatine the scene.  

According to the indictment, Investigators besides learned that successful the twelvemonth starring up to Fabio's murder, Baker made thousands of calls and texts to Monica. 

In February 2017, an LAPD detective went to sojourn Monica astatine her home. Prosecutors said that erstwhile the researcher asked Monica astir Baker, she told them she wasn't definite of his past name.  

For the adjacent fewer months, investigators said they surveilled Monica and Baker's secretive romance and said the narration continued aft Fabio's murder. According to the territory attorney, the mates took 2 trips to Las Vegas and a travel to Myrtle Beach together.

June 14, 2017: Monica Sementilli and her then-boyfriend Robert Baker arrested

Monica Sementilli and Robert Baker mugshots

LAPD detectives said they came up with a program to secretly grounds Monica and Baker while they were together. On June 14, 2017, Monica and Baker were pulled implicit successful her Mustang nether the guise of a postulation halt and were told that the car they were driving mightiness person been stolen. According to the prosecution, the officers then handcuffed Monica and Baker and enactment them successful the backmost spot of a constabulary car, which was wired for dependable truthful that they could beryllium recorded.

The detectives who had been investigating Monica and Baker for months said they were listening to them from a van parked nearby. And that's erstwhile investigators said Monica was recorded telling Baker, "Somebody indispensable person talked. Somebody is doing this to us." The mates was past taken to the LAPD Van Nuys Station wherever they were placed successful abstracted cells and questioned by detectives astir the execution of Fabio. 

Wife of slain hairdresser Fabio Sementilli arrested for murder

Later that day, investigators said they told Monica that Baker's humor was recovered astatine the transgression scene. According to detectives, Monica explained wherefore Baker's humor would beryllium wrong her home. She told them that she "cracked" Baker connected the digit with a racquet and helium bled each implicit the racquetball court, truthful she gave him a towel and past brought that bloody towel location with her. 

Aug. 14-18, 2017: The expansive assemblage hearing 

The prosecution presented its lawsuit to a expansive assemblage successful August 2017. They described Monica's actions connected the time her hubby was killed successful item and said she was establishing her alibi for the clip of the murder.  

The prosecutors besides presented grounds that six months earlier Fabio's murder, Monica communicated with a information camera institution to upgrade the strategy astatine her home. The upgrade allowed her to remotely entree her surveillance cameras from her cellphone. According to the prosecution, Monica forwarded the log successful credentials and idiosyncratic manual for her information strategy to Robert Baker connected the aforesaid time it was upgraded.  

In the months pursuing Fabio's murder, prosecutors said that portion Monica was posting connected societal media that she was grieving her husband's death, she was besides secretly spending clip with Baker. Friends of Monica and Baker's testified that they went retired connected treble dates and saw affectionate behaviour betwixt the two. At the decision of the hearing, Monica and Baker were indicted by the expansive assemblage for execution and conspiracy. 

Aug. 31, 2017: Defendants plead "not guilty"

Monica Sementilli and Robert Baker successful court.

On Aug. 31, 2017, some Monica Sementilli and Robert Baker pleaded "not guilty" to the execution of Fabio Sementilli.  

Monica Sementilli's defence presents its case 

On Jan. 3, 2018, Monica's defence squad filed a question to acceptable speech the indictment against her. Among their arguments, they stated that during the expansive assemblage hearing, the prosecution presented grounds of Monica's quality that was irrelevant.

The defence said, "the grounds presented against Ms. Sementilli establishes that she was a pistillate having an matter that she wished to support secret. Any further allegation that she wanted to person her hubby murdered, oregon stood to payment from his murder, oregon orchestrated his execution with Mr. Baker, was based connected axenic speculation."  

The defence besides stated that the prosecution presented nary connection betwixt Baker and Monica that was grounds of an statement to execution Fabio. The defence besides took contented with the surveillance footage successful the parking batch that the prosecutors claimed to spot Baker getting into Monica's truck. They stated successful their question that "... the video prime is truthful grainy, and the focal constituent truthful distant, truthful arsenic to beryllium borderline unwatchable," and you cannot spot an idiosyncratic permission Monica's truck.

July 7, 2023: Robert Baker's melodramatic plea change 

On July 7, 2023, Baker changed his plea from "not guilty" to "no contest." At his sentencing hearing, the justice explained to him that a "no contest" plea is fundamentally the aforesaid arsenic a "guilty" plea and asked if helium understood to which Baker replied, "Yes, sir." Baker was sentenced to beingness successful situation without the anticipation of parole. Monica's attorneys had antecedently attempted to person her lawsuit severed from Baker's, which the justice denied. By pleading "no contest," Baker created a important alteration successful tribunal proceedings going forward. Now, Monica volition beryllium tried separately, without Baker, for the execution of her husband, Fabio.

Feb. 24, 2024: "48 Hours" talks to Robert Baker 

"48 Hours" went to spot Robert Baker successful jail, and said Monica had thing to bash with the execution of Fabio and she ne'er knew that helium was Fabio's killer. Baker besides told "48 Hours" that he's nary longer successful interaction with Monica and helium has not decided if helium volition attest astatine her trial. 

April 11, 2025: A blameworthy verdict

Afer 2 days of deliberations, the 10-man, two-woman assemblage recovered Monica Sementilli, 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.

May 6, 2025:

Christopher Austin pleaded blameworthy to second-degree execution was sentenced to 16 years-to-life for his relation successful Fabio Sementilli's murder.