Monica Sementilli was found guilty of sending someone to kill her husband’s celebrity hairstylist Fabio Sementilli, who brutally stabbed her eight years ago at the couple’s home in a luxurious woodland villa.
Sementilli, 51, gasped and burst into tears, holding her hands and holding her mouth while reading the verdict. She will face life in prison after being sentenced to murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Fabio Sementilli was found dead in the couple's home in January 2017, and police initially believed he was killed in an outbreak of house invasion, noting that “door knocking snow thieves” ransacked expensive houses in the San Fernando Valley at the time. Hair tycoon has multiple wounds on his face, chin, neck, chest and thighs. But the detectives were confused about why they left a $8,000 Rolex on his wrist.
The blood at the crime scene was soon associated with Robert Baker, a convicted sex offender and former porn star who started a relationship with Monica Sementilli after working as a squash coach at the West Hills Fitness Club. While prosecutors portrayed Sementilli as the “master” behind the killing, she stood for $1.6 million in life insurance costs, Baker picked up his stance at the 2 1/2 month trial and insisted that he killed Hairy for love.
“I murdered him because I wanted her,” Baker testified last month. “She has nothing to do with it.”
Baker was previously convicted of the murder of Fabio Sementilli and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Video evidence provided by Los Angeles County agents. Atti. However, Beth Silverman showed Monica Sementilli the on-site feed from the area shortly before the attack to ensure Baker had a clear path to her husband. Senior homicide detective Mitzi Roberts of the Los Angeles Police Department also testified that Monica Sementilli and Monica Sementilli and Baker exchanged 95 messages on the day of the killing through an encrypted messaging called Viber and 180 messages.
Although Monica Sementilli denied all wrongdoing and publicly grieving husband (executive at hair care firm Wella) encountered a painful incident with Baker. According to Silverman, the two had splits during her husband’s funeral, who said the new widow even sent nudes to Baker while serving in Toronto.
Baker's accomplice Christopher Austin also testified last month and insisted that Baker told him that Monica Sementilli had directed the murder. Former Oregon probation officer Austin said he never spoke directly to Monica, but Baker made it clear that his lover wanted her husband to “leave.”
“Everything he did, everything he did after receiving the text message, told me he was talking to her through the text message,” Austin testified. “I didn't hear him talking to her on the phone…but it all happened.”
Defense attorney Leonard Levine argued that prosecutors were too concerned about the details of their client’s extramarital affair, which in itself did not prove that she murdered the murder.
“Adultery is not murder. … Everything she did was to protect it, not to cover up the murder,” he said.
Los Angeles County. Atti. Nathan Hochman describes the killing as a “cold and justified crime motivated by greed and betrayal.”
“Today's judgment ensures that those responsible for this ruthless act will be held accountable,” he said in a prepared statement. “Our office remains firm in pursuing justice for the victims and their families. We express our deepest sympathy for Fabio Sementilli's loved ones as they continue to mourn his tragic losses.”
