Monica Sementilli, the wife of celebrity hairstylist Fabio Sementilli, was found guilty of orchestrating the brutal murder of her husband in their upscale Woodland Hills residence eight years ago. The shocking verdict left Monica gasping for air, her hands covering her mouth in disbelief as she faced the grim reality of life in prison without the possibility of parole. The trial unveiled a twisted tale of love, betrayal, and greed that captivated the nation’s attention.
Initially, Fabio Sementilli’s murder was shrouded in mystery, with authorities speculating it was a botched home invasion. However, as detectives delved deeper into the case, a complex web of deceit and manipulation began to emerge. The evidence pointed to Monica’s illicit affair with Robert Baker, a convicted sex offender and former porn star, who ultimately carried out the heinous act. Despite Baker’s claims of committing the murder out of love for Monica, prosecutors painted her as the mastermind behind the sinister plot.
The prosecution presented compelling video evidence showing Monica monitoring the area near their home before the attack to ensure Baker had a clear path to her husband. Testimonies from veteran homicide detective Mitzi Roberts and Baker’s accomplice, Christopher Austin, further incriminated Monica, revealing a trail of incriminating messages exchanged between her and Baker leading up to the murder. The sordid details of Monica and Baker’s affair, including sexting during Fabio’s funeral, painted a chilling picture of betrayal and deceit.
Despite Monica’s public display of grief and denial of any involvement in her husband’s murder, the court was swayed by the overwhelming evidence against her. Baker’s confession of killing Fabio at Monica’s behest, coupled with the incriminating messages and surveillance footage, sealed her fate. The $1.6 million life insurance payout Monica stood to gain from Fabio’s death further fueled suspicions of her greed-driven motives.
Defense attorney Leonard Levine’s attempts to downplay Monica’s affair as unrelated to the murder fell short in the face of damning testimonies and irrefutable evidence. The courtroom drama unfolded as the prosecution meticulously unraveled the intricate layers of deception and betrayal that culminated in Fabio’s tragic demise. Monica’s facade of grief crumbled under the weight of the truth, exposing the dark reality of a deadly love triangle gone awry.
As the trial drew to a close, the haunting question lingered: what drove a seemingly ordinary woman to orchestrate her husband’s brutal murder for the sake of a forbidden romance? The chilling details of Monica’s calculated actions and Baker’s chilling confession left a lingering sense of unease in the courtroom, a stark reminder of how love, lust, and greed can intertwine to create a deadly cocktail of betrayal and tragedy.
In the end, justice prevailed, bringing closure to a harrowing saga of love, deceit, and murder that shocked a community and forever altered the lives of those involved. Monica Sementilli’s conviction serves as a sobering reminder of the fragility of trust and the destructive power of unchecked desire. As the courtroom emptied, a sense of somber reflection lingered, a stark reminder of the thin line between love and obsession, loyalty and betrayal.
The echoes of Fabio’s tragic end reverberated through the halls of justice, a cautionary tale of the deadly consequences of a love triangle gone awry. Monica Sementilli's face was set like stone in the minutes leading up to a jury declaring her grim fate on Friday afternoon. It took the ten-man, two-woman panel seven hours and 47 minutes to declare the 53-year-old former Woodbridge woman guilty of cold-bloodedly orchestrating the murder of her husband, famed Toronto hairstylist Fabio Sementilli.
The 49-year-old style rock star was stabbed to death on the patio of his Woodland Hills, California home while enjoying a glass of wine and a cigar on January 23, 2017. More than eight years of agony and waiting have officially ended for the victim’s tight-knit family. Monica Sementilli will be sentenced on June 23, 2025. She was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The penalty for those crimes is life in prison without parole.
“Monica Sementilli is the most unsubtle defendant of all time,” Court TV legal analyst Michael Jaffer said. “Even though the axeman (Robert Baker, the admitted killer and Monica’s lover) testified she had nothing to do with it, the jury still found her guilty. And the jury got it right.” Jaffer added that everyone agreed former porn star and convicted sex offender Baker, 63, was the killer. But Monica Sementilli could not escape the weeks of testimony from friends, family, cops, and the third accused, Christopher Austin, that painted her into a corner as details of the lurid affair and her evil schemes emerged.
The sex trips to Vegas, the emails, and Fabio’s $2 million life insurance policy, she pestered detectives about. Jaffer added: “She was the most unsubtle defendant of unsubtle defendants.” Initially, detectives believed the murder of Fabio Sementilli was a botched home invasion. But blood from the crime scene carried the killer’s DNA, and that led to Baker and Monica.
The investigation was about money and sex. Behind her husband’s back, for 18 months, Monica and Baker — her racquetball instructor — engaged in a torrid, sex-fueled affair. Baker pleaded no contest in July 2023 and was convicted of killing Fabio. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — the same sentence Sementilli now faces. Another man, Chris Austin, who helped Baker stab Fabio, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and is serving a 16-year sentence.
But it was always Monica Sementilli pulling the strings. She was, prosecutors said, desperate for a new life with Robert Baker. “She’s the one who destroyed so many lives and their entire family. No one else did that, there’s no one else to blame,” Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman said. The scene in Los Angeles Superior Court Friday morning was surely a long way from the sexy second life that Monica Sementilli had envisioned for herself.
Looking much older and haggard after seven years in the LA County Jail, her gray-flecked hair was pinned off her forehead. She seemed edgy, twitchy. Her mouth was turned down in a frown. And when the verdict was read, Monica Sementilli shook and sobbed and appeared confused. Even as LA County Sheriffs led her out of the courtroom, she didn’t appear to comprehend her new reality.
The reality is this: Monica Sementilli orchestrated a horrific crime for sex and money, robbing her children of their father’s love and guidance, robbing his family of a beloved man, and robbing the world of someone who, in his way, made it better. And her own life? That’s utterly worthless.
