Disclaimer: This article contains mentions of murder. Reader discretion is advised.
CBS 48 Hours will chronicle Fabio Sementilli’s brutal murder case from 2017. Before his murder, Sementilli had worked for decades as a trendsetting hair stylist and served as vice president of education for Wella, the salon professional division of Procter and Gamble. The episode “The Monica Sementilli Affair” airs on the network this Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET.
An official synopsis for the upcoming episode reads, “When a renowned hairstylist is killed poolside, investigators look at his wife. Was her alleged affair with her racquetball coach a motive for murder? 48 Hours contributor Michelle Miller reports.”
Fabio Sementilli, a married father and popular Toronto hairstylist, was alone in his Woodland Hills home in Los Angeles on the day of his murder, on January 23, 2017. People Magazine reported that two people sneaked into the house and attacked him from behind on the patio. They stabbed the 49-year-old seven times in the neck, chest, and thigh, severing his femoral and carotid arteries. The intruders then fled the crime scene in the victim’s car. Sementilli’s youngest daughter found the crime scene that evening.
The subsequent investigation into Sementilli’s murder took a shocking turn after authorities arrested someone close to home in connection with the murder. Investigators learned that an extramarital affair and his million-dollar life insurance may have been the motive.
Who were the suspects in Fabio Sementilli’s murder case?
According to People Magazine, LA police initially suspected that Fabio Sementilli’s murder was the result of a home-invasion burglary gone wrong. However, nearly five months after the crime, in June 2017, they arrested Sementilli’s wife, Monica Sementilli, and her lover Robert Baker, a former porn actor and sex offender. Authorities then charged the duo with murder with the special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and financial gain.
The outlet reported that prosecutors had alleged investigators found the latter’s DNA at the crime scene. CBS News further stated that the prosecution alleged the two conspired to kill Sementilli. The accused wanted to collect more than $1 million in life insurance proceeds. They were indicted in August.
Per CBS, the indictment alleged that Monica Sementilli and Robert Baker “communicated via cell phones and encrypted communication applications regarding their plan to kill victim Fabio Sementilli.” It said that Baker allegedly “solicited an unknown co-conspirator to assist him in killing victim Fabio Sementilli.”
The indictment further alleged that Monica informed Baker via email to access their home video surveillance system. She also allegedly notified her lover that Sementilli would be home alone that afternoon. She then left their house to go shopping and establish an alibi.
It further said that Robert Baker and the “unknown co-conspirator” allegedly attacked Fabio Sementilli from behind. However, in the attack, Baker allegedly cut himself and “went into the kitchen to wash off the victim’s blood and destroy evidence, leaving his own blood behind.” He then tried to stage the crime scene to make it appear like a robbery and burglary.
CBS further stated that Monica Sementilli allegedly waited for her youngest daughter to arrive home and find the victim’s body. She then returned to their home and went to the crime scene. She later called an LAPD detective multiple times, asking about her husband’s life insurance proceeds.
In July 2023, Robert Baker pleaded no contest to one count each of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. Additionally, Baker admitted the special circumstance allegations of murder for financial gain and murder while lying in wait. Following this, he received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Monica Sementilli has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
CBS 48 Hours episode on Fabio Sementilli’s episode will air on March 9, 2024.
