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AFTER her husband, renowned hairstylist Fabio Sementilli, was found dead poolside at the couple’s home, investigators realized that what they thought was a robbery gone wrong was far more sinister.
On Saturday, March 9, 2024, 48 Hours follows Fabio Sementilli’s murder case in an episode titled The Monica Sementilli Affair, exploring the fatal love triangle between Monica, her husband, and her alleged lover, Robert Baker.
Who is Monica Sementilli?
Monica Sementilli seemingly had it all.
She had a 20+ year marriage to a globally renowned hairstylist and hair industry executive, two daughters, and a million-dollar home near Los Angeles, California.
However, beneath the surface, Monica allegedly had secrets.
After her husband, Fabio Sementilli was murdered, poolside at the couple’s home, in what initially appeared to be a robbery gone wrong, Monica returned home minutes after their daughter discovered his lifeless body.
A neighbor’s security camera showed Monica leaving the couple’s home in her black Ford F-150 pickup truck.
She claimed that she was heading to Target to run some errands.
However, additional surveillance footage showed an individual getting into her truck before Monica entered the store.
Prosecutors alleged that the individual was Robert Baker, whose DNA was later found at the scene of the murder.
Baker was a former adult film star and a local racquetball coach, who had allegedly been having an affair with Monica for well over a year.
Phone records showed that Monica had called and texted Baker more than 9,000 times in the year before the murder, while Baker called her more than 17,000 times, as reported by the Toronto Sun.
Neighborhood cameras caught two individuals, one of whom was presumed to be Baker, jogging near the couple’s home around the time of the murder.
Monica, meanwhile, was seen at Target at the same time, with surveillance footage capturing her looking at her phone – and at the store’s cameras.
Phone records later showed that Monica’s phone was connected to her home’s IP address, and “consuming a large amount of data consistent with streaming live video,” according to CBS News.
Within days of her husband’s murder, Monica was distraught – for all the wrong reasons.
“Why haven’t you cleared us? When are you going to clear us? I need this money,” she demanded from detectives, asking about when she would be able to claim Fabio’s life insurance policy.
“Oh my God, I’m going to have to sell the house, I’m going to have to fire my housekeeper, I’m going to have to fire the gardener, I’m going to have to fire the pool man,” she said.
Baker, the investigation’s prime suspect, later appeared at Fabio’s wake and funeral, and was seen having private conversations with Monica throughout both events.
Weeks later, surveillance footage even caught Monica and Rob partying in Las Vegas, Nevada.
What has she been accused of?
On Wednesday, June 14, 2017, just days after accepting a lifetime achievement award on behalf of her late husband, Monica Sementilli was arrested for his murder.
In the five months following Fabio’s murder, investigators were able to piece together Robert Baker and Monica’s alleged involvement in the crime.
In September 2018, a grand jury indicted both Monica and Baker on capital murder charges, as well as conspiracy to commit murder.
“She lied to two LAPD homicide detectives that she was uncertain of the last name of her lover and co-conspirator, Baker,” the prosecution’s statement alleges.
“She also lied that she didn’t know how to access her home surveillance system remotely via her cellphone…Monica and Baker [also] planned to live together once Fabio was dead,” the statement continued.
Monica Sementilli’s attorney, Leonard Levine, told reporters his client was not involved in her husband’s killing.
“My client adamantly denies any involvement whatsoever in the murder of her husband, and we are hopeful that when all the facts come out she will be totally exonerated,” he said, as reported by Mike South.
In July 2023, Baker pleaded no contest to murder and conspiracy charges and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“He got exactly what he deserved and we’re only half done,” Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said outside court after Baker’s plea and sentencing, as reported by CBS News.
On March 2, 2024, Greg Fisher, a producer for 48 Hours, met with Baker in prison, where Baker dropped a bombshell claim.
“Monica did not know. She didn’t know s***. If she did find out, I would have been in here [jail] a lot sooner,” he said, as reported by CBS News.
Baker also said he would testify at Monica’s trial, not “for her” but “to tell the truth.”
“We are confident that Robert Baker’s guilty plea and his truthful testimony will finally establish once and for all that Monica Sementilli had nothing to do with the planning or the murder of Fabio Sementilli, her husband,” her attorney, Leonard Levine, added.
Monica’s long-delayed trial is expected to begin in April 2024, nearly eight years after her husband’s death.
She has pleaded not guilty, and none of the charges against her have been proven in court.
What happened to Fabio Sementilli?
Fabio Sementilli was a renowned hairstylist from Toronto, Canada.
He was also a major player in the beauty industry, serving as the vice president of education for Wella, a global brand specializing in hair care, styling, colorants, and other beauty products.
“He would charm you with his personality and his wittiness,” friend Ramsey Sayah previously told People.
“It was terrible to think that this is the way Fabio had died because he was such a great guy,” he added.
On January 23, 2017, Fabio was alone in the backyard of his Woodland Hills, California, home, watching TV.
He was sitting on the patio “where he loved to smoke cigars, sip tequila, and post motivational videos on social media,” as reported by People.
Two individuals, both wearing dark clothing and hoodies, snuck onto his property, attacking Fabio from behind.
During the vicious attack, Fabio’s femoral and carotid arteries were cut, and he suffered seven stab wounds to the neck, chest, and thigh.
Then, the two assailants went inside Fabio’s home, where they “ransacked” his and Monica’s bedroom.
However, the only item they supposedly took was the DVR from the couple’s garage, which stored the home’s security footage.
The two intruders then stole Fabio’s 2008 Porsche 911, which police found days later, abandoned about five miles away from his and Monica’s home.
Later that day, Fabio’s youngest daughter, Isabella, came home around 5 p.m.
She found bloody shoe prints, saw blood on the floor, and found her father, Fabio, slumped over in a chair, poolside in the backyard.
Distraught, she called 911 to report the crime.
Fabio’s wife, Monica, showed up at the scene minutes later.
Investigators initially believed that the murder was the result of a robbery gone wrong.
However, the safe inside the home hadn’t been touched, and Fabio’s Rolex watch was still on his wrist.
Police also found blood on the scene that didn’t match Fabio, which led them to their prime suspect – Robert Baker, whose DNA was in a database from a prior sex offender conviction.
Baker had ties to the family, as he was Monica’s racquetball coach.
Using the DNA at the crime scene, cell phone records, and surveillance footage alongside additional evidence, investigators were able to piece together Baker’s other ties to Monica.
The duo were allegedly having an affair and had allegedly conspired to have Fabio murdered, partly for a hefty $1.6 million life insurance payout.
The case is explored in a true crime special episode of 48 hours, airing on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at 10 p.m. ET.
The episode airs on CBS and will be available to stream exclusively on Paramount+ the following day.
