Prime Crime: Solved Murders - Celebrity Hairstylist Murdered in His Own Backyard

Episode Date: March 7, 2026

A 16-year-old girl called 911 in a panic after finding her father motionless in the backyard of their California home. First responders rushed to the scene and found Fabio Sementilli dead, suffering from multiple stab wounds. Investigators determined a suspect ambushed Sementilli, stole his Porsche, and fled the Woodland Hills neighborhood. Sementilli was a prominent figure in the beauty industry, known as a “legend” for his work as a hairstylist with many high-profile clients. Find out what happened to Fabio Sementilli on this episode of “Prime Crime with Jesse Weber.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is the emergency? Oh, my dad, my dad! Okay, what's going on with that? My dad is... Fabio Semantelli was found by his daughter, Isabella. He'd been stabbed multiple times. Can you wake him up? No, I can't.

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This case unfolds unlike anything I've ever seen. The sheer number of layers investigators have to peel back to get to the truth. is staggering. They were putting a police car that was monitored by video and audio. Monica, Sonia, Semantilly. Wanted for the murder of Fabio Semantilly. What the . Get me out of this car!

Woodland Hills, it's this quiet, peaceful, suburban community. It's nestled in the San Fernando Valley. It's between the Santa Monica Mountains and the city of Los Angeles. But that piece is shattered when celebrity hairstylist Fabio Semantilly. Fabio Cementilli is found by his 16-year-old daughter, Isabella, on the patio, bleeding and unconscious. Isabella, upon seeing her father injured on the patio, contacting 911, 911 told her to go out to Fabio and attempt to revive him. Is he on his floor?

On his back? No, no, he's leading over a chair. He's like, over a chair. The phone call that Bella made to 911 is really heartbreaking. What you hear in there is just somebody who's in complete shock and desperation. And so she's desperately wanting to get help for her father and still, I think, trying to make sense of what she's seeing. Can you roll them onto his back?

Somehow we've got to get him on his back, okay? Good job. Yeah, keep going. I can't. It's hard to imagine what it would have been like for a teenager to come home. There's that shock of the unexpected seeing her dad who's so injured. And I think when something happens in her home, I think it shatters every sense of safety that we have, because I think we all feel like if we make it home, we're going to be safe. Emergency personnel arrive at the scene, and they do whatever they can to try to save Fabio's life, but it's too late.

He's pronounced dead. And this is when Detective Ryan Verna enters the picture, and he gets a call to come to the Semantelli home. We get to the crime scene. It's already locked down. The fire department's there. Police Department, as far as uniformed officers are already there. The scene has been taped off. Monica and the two daughters were across the street at a neighbor's house.

The kitchen led directly to the patio where Fabio's body was. There was a large amount of blood in the patio area. Fabio had injuries in all the right places if you wanted to kill somebody. These were all stab wounds to his neck, his heart, his femoral artery. There was a large amount of blood loss. Los Angeles County Coroner at the time determined that it was a homicide due to sharp force injuries. Now, by all accounts, Fabio Semantelli is beloved by his clients, his friends, his family. So police have to look into his background to figure out who would have wanted him dead this badly.

Fabio Semmitelli was an executive with a company called Wella. They were under the Prokering Gamble umbrella. He was an influencer within his group of hairstylists. was well known for styling hair of Hollywood AILA celebrities. Not only was he the celebrity who did the hair of famous people like Jennifer Lopez or Jackie Chan, he was a very devoted husband and a devoted father to three children, one by a previous marriage, Luigi, and then he had two daughters, Jessica and Bella, with his wife, Monica. Monica Simintelli was Fabio's wife. They had met in Toronto.

and got married in 1997. She had been one of his clients and also a makeup stylist. She supported him and moved with him to the United States. Welcome to Hollywood! For anyone on the outside looking in, they really described it across the board as a love story. The children would tell things like seeing their mom and dad dancing around in the kitchen. When he came home from work, he called her his queen. And the people who knew him just felt like that he felt like that.

who knew him just felt like he was so lucky, as was Monica, that they had this dream marriage, an extremely happy family. They were getting ready within a few weeks at the time of his murder to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. So detectives interview Fabio's wife, Monica, and their two daughters, Jessica and Isabella, at the neighbor's house.

Those interviews were mainly two establish what they had done that day and the time period around then to find out did their dad have any kind of enemies, anybody was, you know, hanging around the house that shouldn't have been. When we interviewed Monica, every answer about Fabio potentially having an enemy or any issues, there was nothing. Fabio was a good guy. That was it. And, you know, we asked her about if she had any kind of stalkers or a boyfriend or anything else. And her answer to us was my husband was my boyfriend. After clearing the scene, then investigators realized that this attacker also robbed the Semantilly residents.

So now they have to wonder, is this a random crime that just went horribly wrong? There was some evidence of ransacking in the house. Monica said that she thought there might be some jewelry missing. She thought maybe there were $11,000 missing. Some of the evidence that was located was actually things that weren't found. There was definitely a camera system that was inside of the house. cameras that were placed outside the residence, and we discovered that the box should have been in the garage, but it had been taken. Where that DVR was located was up on a tall cabinet near the entry door from the garage to the actual house itself.

We saw the wires hanging from the wall. Monica basically told us that Fabio is the one that knew how to access it. She didn't know anything about it and had no ideas about how it worked or operated. It seems like everyone has a security camera these days, so investigators can't. canvass the neighborhood looking for any security footage of the attacker. One of the neighbors on their security system caught these two figures, looked like men, who were running down the street around the time. We see the two individuals running towards the residence prior to the murder.

The suspects are wearing oversized hooded sweatshirts with the hoods cinch tight to a hole that's about this big, so they're not exposed. There is not a lot you can see from the actual person. besides the clothing. And these guys are running with intent. They're not jogging. So based on what we see on the video, it appears that these are going to be our suspects.

And there is one more moment caught on camera that jumps out to investigators. We see that person wearing a distinct green hooded sweatshirt. Again, after the murder occurs, driving away from the scene, and Fabio Simintilli's black 9-11 Porsche. Using the neighbor's security footage, investigators are able to determine that it took these killers only seven minutes to attack Fabio,

ransack the house, and flee the scene in his Porsche. The time that it took to commit this crime let us to believe that there was a plan in place to kill Fabio Cementilli and to make it appear as if there was a burglary. And as is the case in most homicides, Fabio's body provides another clue to investigators. Typically, an incident with an edged weapon, you will see defensive wounds as if someone put their hands up to stop and attack if they got cut or slashed.

There was nothing on Fabio. So it definitely appeared to be a surprise attack. The crime scene is also telling investigators a lot about what may have happened both during and after this murder. In the kitchen, there was blood transfer, some bloody shoot prints, and also some blood droplets. The blood droplets were of interest to us. They appeared to be cast off as if someone had walked through with an injured body part and was bleeding. Our belief was that that blood was going to be related to our killer. While the blood evidence is sent out for processing, Fabio Semantilly is laid to rest by his family and friends.

And it is here when something very strange happens. At the memorial, which of course is filled with grieving friends and family, several people notice that there is a man who shows up, who nobody knows. People are wondering who this person is. What is he doing there? and why is he spending so much time with Monica? One of Monica and Fabio's friends was there

and saw a person that they didn't recognize. She ended up taking some photographs of this person and forwarded it off to us. The mystery man at the memorial service also had a bandage on his finger. When we got the photos, she said she believed the person named was Robb, that he may be related to the racquetball

or gym friends that Monica had. Police were eventually able to identify the person that had been at the memorial as Robert Baker. He was a racquetball instructor for Monica Semenelli and several of her friends. There's a lot going on in this investigation at the same time. So while authorities are looking into this rob guy, they actually find Fabio's stolen Porsche. Fabio's Porsche was recovered just a few miles away from where the murder occurred. The Porsche had been dumped there the night of the murder. and had been called in by a neighborhood,

seen the Porsche sitting there for several days. Once we got out there, it was evident that there was blood evidence inside the vehicle. We could see it on the door panel. Law enforcement run it through a DNA analysis, and it comes back with a match. That match was Robert Baker, the very person who had been at Fabio's Memorial Service.

The primary blood that actually came back as Rob Baker was actually inside the Porsche. There was some blood inside the house that came back as well, but primarily the hit was from the Porsche. Robert Baker pops up because if you've been convicted of a felony, your DNA is going to be in Kodas. And so they're thinking, who is Robert Baker? Going back to when he was in his late teens, early 20s,

he was a military police officer. He was disarmably discharged from the military because he had an affair with his then-wife's daughter, so he did some jail time for that. He had a prior conviction for a sex offense of which he was a registered sex offender. Upon coming out of the military, he got involved in the adult film industry, at which point that daughter that he had accosted became one of his adult film actresses. He had a pretty checker past.

Rob Baker is now law enforcement's prime suspect in the murder of Fabio Semantilly. Regardless of what happened in the house, Rob Baker never should have been in Fabio's Porsche. We knew the Porsche was at the house prior to the murder. We could see the Porsche leaving the murder scene on video. And we have Rob Baker's blood inside the Porsche. You know, when did Rob Baker cut himself? We know murder was taken with a sharp instrument, right?

For all those reasons, we know that Rob Baker is most likely our guy. Investigators immediately put up surveillance on Baker. Based on the surveillance, it was clear that you have Monica Simintilly dressing up like she's going up. for night on the town with Rob Baker. Investigators discover that not only is he her racquetball coach, but he is her lover. There was affection shown between the two of them.

And not only that, there was affection shown from Monica to other people as well, a bouncer at one of these dive bars. That was not typical behavior from a grieving widow. It definitely made us key in on Monica and what Monica was up to. You have to keep in mind that if you're married and you're having an affair,

you better pray that your husband or your wife does not end up dead. Because if you're having an affair, immediately, they're going to think there's a motive for you to have committed this crime. You had Monica Semantelli, who allegedly had a fantastic relationship with Fabio, but when you dug down deep, she actually was, in fact, having a very, very, very steamy love affair with Robert Baker. And keep in mind, this affair didn't stop when he died. She continued to see him, took pictures with him. There seemed to be no indication that she was suffering in any way from the loss of her husband.

We set up an appointment with Monica shortly after the surveillance went up on February 21st, 2017. And during that interview, we interviewed her. We interviewed Jessica, who was also at the house at that time. Jessica had told us that at one point, Rob Baker, slept a night at the house. prior to the murder happening months before that. And the story was that Rob had drank too much and needed to sleep it off inside the house. When we asked Monica who Rob was that day,

Monica did everything she could at the beginning to avoid talking about Rob Baker. But we led into it. We said, well, you play this racquetball. Are you in the league? And who would that be? And she goes, oh, I think his name is Rob. Yeah, Rob.

I think his last name is Baker. We go, okay, well, you know, this guy Robb. Has he ever been to your house? No, Rob's never been to my house. Okay? Has Rob ever driven in the Porsche 9-11? No, he's never driven in the Porsche 9-11. So when you put it all together, we know that Rob Baker's been there because his blood's there. We know that Rob Baker's been in the car because his blood's there. We knew that we were getting a story from Monica and that it was inconsistent with what was actually going on behind the scenes with her.

Now, after the police interviews, investigators continue to surveil both Monica and Robert Baker. and that includes their social media activity and their cell phones. Monica was definitely leading a double life at the time. Monica's public perception was that she was a grieving widow. She made Instagram posts, I think almost daily, about how she missed her husband. But in private, we know that there was this lusty relationship that was going. Where is Daredevil? Am I here?

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Marvel television's Daredevil, Born Again, now streaming only on Disney Plus. Going on with Rob Baker behind the scenes. And while she's making these posts on Instagram for the public to see that she's so upset and sad, within minutes she's sending nude images of herself to Rob Baker. One of her friends said that when they had kind of racy talk among the friends, that sometimes Monica was prudish. And yet, from what we know, from the investigation, it was the exact opposite. When she was with Robert Baker, she would go to thrift stores and she would buy clothes that were

provocative. And they engaged in this elaborate sexual relationship. And I think the contrast, even among people, have affairs was just remarkable in terms of how different she was in her appearance, in her behavior, and just about every aspect of her life when she was with Robert Baker versus when she was with her family. The data from Monica's and Baker's cell phones provides even more insight into their relationship. They end up uncovering a treasure trove of text and all kinds of messages between the two of them.

When you look at their affair, it lasts for over a year before Fabio is murdered. There are thousands and thousands of communications between the two of them. When she and Rob first started talking to each other, they were talking through traditional means, text messaging back and forth. As the relationship gathered steam, they began using Viber, which is an encrypted messaging app. When the investigators looked at the Viber messages, the overwhelming amount of of messages sent and received by Rob Baker

and Monica Simmentelli was in the thousands per month. So there was constant communication between Robert Baker and Monica Simintilly. The night of the murder, all that changes. Vibre is discarded for some reason. And now they begin using WhatsApp. And there's one other aspect of how Monica was behaving. My perception of Monica and her feelings on her safety

and the safety of her family was that she wasn't overly concerned about it. Every time we would talk to Monica, we would say, hey Monica, did you get the cameras system put back up? She did change door locks, apparently. But at the same time, she never replaced the camera system to the house. If something had happened in my house, getting a camera system would be the first thing I would do. I would beg, borrow, or steal to make sure that my family was safe. And it appeared to us that her excuse for not replacing cameras was that the insurance hadn't come through yet. And that was a giant red flag to us as investigators.

And you remember how Monica told investigators that she didn't know how to access the DVR system that contained the security footage from the cameras at the house? Investigators find something else out. There is data in her phone that suggests that she provided Rob Baker with the username and passcode to her surveillance cameras. It's determined that she's the one on the email from the security company when the cameras are installed, explaining how to get remote access to the cameras and later, Later on, it's determined that her data from her device shows that she's actually accessing

those cameras on the day of the murder and had not access those cameras for months prior to that. And this is while she's at Target with her alibi and wasn't at home. Yeah, Monica's alibi during the killing was that she was shopping at Target, but there's a problem with that. On the day that Fabio is murdered, Monica leaves less than an hour before the murder happens, she goes to Target. While at the Target, there is video surveillance that's recovered from the parking lot,

showing her meeting with Robert Baker. After that, she reparks the vehicle, goes into Target. As she's leaving Target, that is when she's looking at her phone to the point where she almost runs into something with their shopping cart. That's at the exact moment where she's watching her video surveillance cameras on her phone. You can see the timestamps line up with everything that's going on at the time. And there's a massive amount of data coming from her phone because she's using the app to watch the video cameras.

It's circumstantial evidence. Why is she looking at the videos? But if you add in context that this is something she hadn't accessed in months, why did she look at the cameras today, right after meeting with Rob Baker? She also contacts Bella and tells her that before she comes home after school,

that her prescription glasses are ready. And so she asked her to go pick up those glasses before she gets home. And I think this is probably clearly a way for her to delay her daughter getting home. And so Bella gets home, about one minute after the murder occurs. And then Monica arrives home very, very shortly after that.

So it's really a risky situation. You wonder what would have happened if Bella had come home? Would they have killed her as well? Hi, this is for Julie. Julie, this is Monica Semantilly. We spoke today regarding my late husband's stock plan. Another piece of that behavioral evidence after the murder,

is how quickly she begins focusing on money and the life insurance policy and how quickly that might happen. When we had talked to Monica about the insurance early on in this case, we had asked her, did he have life insurance? She told us she had no idea. My lawyer has the forms that you sent me, but we're just wondering, I need to know, am I the beneficiary, is there a beneficiary? Otherwise, we have to go to court. And I don't know what the next steps are. If you can just let me know, if you know there's a beneficiary. Behind the scenes, Monica, she already knew there was life insurance.

They're making calls. They're trying to get the money. Hi, my name is Monica Simantilly. I'm calling behalf of my late husband, Fabio Simintilly. I'm calling about his stocks and his RSUs. My lawyer can't get a hold of anybody. My state lawyer. I don't know what's going on.

If Monica successfully obtained the life insurance money, it would have been well over $2 million. At this point in the investigation, detectives believe they have enough circumstances evidence to tie Monica Semantilly to the murder of her husband Fabio. Law enforcement believed that she committed the crime for several reasons. One, for Fabio's life insurance policy, and also significantly so she can continue her love affair with Robert Baker.

Monica is tied into this case through a mountain of circumstantial evidence. When you have one piece of it, you can disregard it real easy. When you have hundreds of pieces of circumstantial evidence that point to the direction of a person, then you really got to take a look at it. On June 14th, 2017, police officially arrest both Rob Baker and Monica Semin-Tilly for the murder. Just listen, listen. I know, I know, listen, listen, I know, listen. Got to get a lawyer immediately.

They were putting a police car that was monitored by video and audio. There was an operation that was conducted by robbery homicide division, so it wasn't just simply, you know, we're going to arrest him. to take them to jail. A fictitious warrant was read over communications so that Monica and Rob Baker could hear that she had an active warrant for the arrest for the murder of Fabio Semantilly. And it was all used as kind of theater to put this into, you know, their brains to see what they were going to say once they were in this car together. Number two, Monica, Sonia, Semantilly. 18, first degree murder for the murder of Fabio Semantilly. What the f***. Get me out of this

What they do say is somewhat incriminating. They talk about someone talked. A normal person when they're arrested for the murder of their husband doesn't say that someone talked. They go, I didn't do this. This is crazy. I didn't do this. What is going on? Yeah, I heard everything. What is this? There's a warrant for your arrest for murder. Oh my gosh, my husband was murdered five months ago. Listen, I'm very sorry for the loss. How can this be? All I can tell you is you've got a warrant for your arrest and I'm going to make a phone call right now.

Oh my God. The discussions they were having indicated that there was an intimacy between the two of them and that they should keep quiet. Get an attorney immediately, okay? Get you an attorney. Don't see. You don't see s'm nobody. Babe, I'm an offense.

Rob Baker and Monica Simintilli were both charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. After Robert Baker and Monica Simintilley are brought in, investigators interview. Monica at the Van Nuys police station. I can't believe that I don't believe that Rob did that. Monica is telling us that she doesn't believe Rob Baker is involved in the murder. The only other thing I can think of that his DNA

would be in my house is probably when I cracked him in the hand when we played racquetball. And I brought the towel home. And I even showed it to my husband. And he said, don't bother washing it. I will get rid of it. She makes up a story that, oh, yeah, his blood got in the house because they were playing racquetball that day, and she hit Rob Baker with a racquetball racket, which caused them to bleed.

And blood was transferred onto a towel and then probably transferred into the house by the towel. It sounded like the story that had been concocted long before they were arrested. Even with Monica and Baker in custody, investigators still come up with clever ways to get them together and get them talking. When Monica Simatili and Robert Baker were in custody and they were transported for third court appearances They were put in small gel cells near each other. They were monitored by audio equipment Just hanging there, baby. Just be strong. I need you. It's like you need me Hopefully they give me bandwidth Nothing is okay about this not for me not for you

Huh? I know I know baby. So you know we stick with the program. Okay? Conversations were picked up as far as sticking with the program. Rob Baker at one point talks about if he needs to, he will take the fall, he'll lie for her. Don't let anybody lie to you, babe. Stick into what I said I would. And that is be with you and support you and be your best friend. You hear me? Yeah.

All right. I'm never going to drop the ball. I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. I do. I got you. There was a conversation talking about how during count one night in jail, a custody officer had come by and had said, hey, Ms. Simatilli asking for count, and that she was upset at that person because they needed to refer to her as Miss Baker now.

They also do a lot of planning of their wedding. Like there's a fantasy aspect of this kind of going on, especially given a situation that they're in currently. They do some kind of mutual sexual stimulation. They declare their love for each other. And so the recordings that are captured in some of these conversations between the two of them is really damning. And it really does go to show the conspiracy part of it from the legal standpoint. At one point, there was a toothpaste tube that was left behind during a jail appearance.

The toothpaste tube was recovered by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. and the toothpaste tube was discovered to contain Rob Baker's semen. All along the way in this relationship, there's such a sense of immaturity to some extent. That's good. You want to see mine? Sure. Okay. I can't see anything. I can't see it. I can't see it at all. What is it saying?

Monica is having a conversation with one of their daughters, and she actually pulls her hair up and shows her in the back of her neck this kind of tattoo that says right or die, and she's proud of it. You couldn't see it? It says ride or die. I'm kidding. It's just a pen. I want to joke around with you.

It's like she's showing off to her daughter. What it shows is Monica's relationship with Robert Baker has really eclipsed everything else in her life, including her concern for her daughters. So due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pre-trial here, hearings, Monica and Baker's trial is delayed for six years. And then Baker does something that changes everything. In July of 2023, Robert Baker pled open to the court for the murder of Fabio Semantilly. Pleaning open to the court is essentially walking into the courtroom without a deal in place between the prosecution of the defense and changing your plea to guilty. For about six years,

Robert Baker denies that he has had anything to do with Fabio's murder, and then really on the eve of his trial, he does a complete about-face, and he pleads guilty to first-degree murder. So he decides not to go to trial. I think that must have floored prosecutors. I've been a huge surprise. It threw a giant monkey wrench into this case. At this point, Robert Baker and Monica Simmetilli were being prosecuted together in the same case. So you would have Rob Baker and Monica Simatili sitting next to each other at a defendant's table. Once Rob Baker pleads guilty open to the court, that takes that away. Now it's just Monica Simmetly sitting by herself. It becomes a much more difficult case because we

have direct evidence showing that Rob Baker is involved in the murder of Fabio Simintili. We don't have that with her. We have circumstantial evidence. Robert Baker is full of surprises because in an unorthodox move, he decided to write a letter to attorneys on Monica's behalf. If you put this in context with the jail recording that we have of him telling Monica that I will take the fall, I will lie for you, I will do whatever it takes to get you out of here. I think it's really important because what happens next is you get this letter that's sent off to Monica's attorneys where Rob Baker writes and says that he is fully responsible for what happened.

Monica knew nothing. Rob Baker says he goes to the Semantilly House. He's going to leave a love letter for Monica on a windshield of a car. At that time, he's confronted by Fabio Semantilly. And in defense of his own life, he has to stab Fabio Simintilly. It didn't fit with the facts of the case,

but it gave a plausible way for Monica to say that she had no idea that this was going to happen. It really did force them, I think, to take a broader approach to gathering evidence. Now, there was one aspect to the crime that authorities couldn't figure out at first. You remember the surveillance footage? You remember who was in it? That is when detectives get a huge break in the case.

Throughout the investigation of Fabio Semantelli's death, they were able to track down Robert Baker pretty quickly. They did not, however, initially have the name of the unidentified person that was with Robert Baker, when the murder. murder happened. But prior to Monica Semantelli's trial, they did find that individual. There was a money trail showing some payments to Christopher Austin. Christopher Austin was discovered to be the second individual scene running up to the house and involved in the murder himself. There was flight data of him flying from Alaska to California. He was there the date of the murder. We actually flew in the day before the murder and flew out the night of the murder back to Alaska. I'm really sad that I'm here.

I understand, and to be honest with you, it's not the favorite part of our jobs. I understand. I can tell. Sometimes things happen, but, you know, we're all human. You seem like a good guy. Chris For Austin's father and Rob Baker were friends. He was the big uncle to Christopher Austin.

At the time of the murder, and prior to that, Christopher Austin looked up to Rob Baker, And so he would do odd jobs. He would send Chris Rosson out to go pick up food and go do things and whatever need to be done. And Chris Rosson would do so. It goes to show that no matter what good you do, you do a super bad thing. He talks about the fact that his friend, Robert Baker, had approached him and said he needed help, had told him initially that Monica was in an abusive relationship and he needed his help.

He wanted him to be the lookout person. He implied there would be some financial benefit to him as well as well as he needed his help. well and so Christopher agrees to essentially help Robert Baker with this murder. He said we won't go get this. Okay. So one, two, three, and we go. And then what does that mean go though? You did what? You went to, they heard him. Well, I wasn't just heard. Yeah, I know. Did you stop him at all? I bet this has been weighing on you a long time, all right?

But it's important for us to know. But from you. is what I'm asking for. How do you take? Once? Where? Christopher Austin says that when they got to the Simmetzility residents, that the front door was unlocked, Rob Baker knew this information, that the front door would be unlocked.

They came into the house. It was a one, two, three go, is what he said. And they rushed into the backyard. Christopher Austin held down Fabio Semantility, why Rob Baker did the majority of the stabbing. Christopher Austin admits to stabbing Fabio Semantelli once. Then they ran to him. They'd sack the house and got in the car and they took off.

He was arrested, convicted, and he agreed to cooperate against Monica Simentelli. This is a homicide case that's going to look an awful lot like a Hollywood movie, except that it's reality. You're going to learn a lot about the defendant, Monica Semeaneele. You're going to learn about her lies and deception and ultimately the murder of Fabio Semantili, her devoted husband of almost 20 years. The prosecution's case was pretty straightforward. They argued that Monica Semantelli had a motive to kill her husband,

i.e., the life insurance policies, because she was having an affair and wanted to leave her husband, and that that affair continued on. We have not, from the start of this case, seven and a half years ago, ever once contested that Monica Semen Tilly probably made the most fatal mistake of her life when she entered into an affair with Robert Baker. But that has nothing to do with Monica wanting Fabio dead or conspiring to kill him. The defense argued that anytime you have an affair doesn't mean you are committing murder.

They argued that Robert Baker acted alone, that there was no evidence that established beyond a reasonable doubt that Monica Semantelli was involved. The prosecution calls their star witness Christopher Austin to the stand and asks him about Monica Semantilly's alleged role in this murder. What was the plan? was to have him killed. Baker told me she's loaded. She wants him gone. She's going to get paid. Did he specifically state insurance money?

He did. He said, once we get this insurance money, like, we're going to be good. There's going to be plenty money where that came from. Did he tell you how he knew Fabio was going to be home alone? No, he said it was a, it was a text. he kind of jolted. He said, yo, he's home alone.

He said, she's going to leave the door unlocked. And when he said she, did he tell you who she was? The defendant. When you got to the front door, was it unlocked? It was indeed unlocked. Christopher Austin testified that he had been to the Cementelli home before. In fact, on one occasion, he had gone there with Robert Baker, and Monica Cementelli was in the home.

home, she showed them around so that they knew what the home looked like, and she even fed them pizza so that they had a good familiarity with the home, and that she, Robert Baker, and himself were part and parcel of this crime. What happened when you came through that door? Baker had covered his mouth and started stabbing and it covered his eyes. I stabbed him most. So you recall that you sat in one time. Where was that at? On the neck. Was he so seated in the chair? Yes. Christopher Austin says that he never talked to Monica directly

in terms of her giving him instructions about the video surveillance or about the door being open. But he did say that Robert Baker had told him that Monica was giving him all these things and that he had observed Robert Baker texting with her on the day of the murderer. But on cross, the defense challenges Austin's account, trying to poke holes wherever they can. You knew already that Mr. Baker had been sentenced to life without parole, correct?

Yes, sir. And you knew you were facing that as well, correct? Yes. And you knew the only way you could save yourself was to testify on behalf of the prosecution, correct? To tell the truth, yes. To testify also, correct? Yes. So it was that that time was the first time that you ever said,

oh, Mr. Baker told me that Monica Simintilly wanted him dead for insurance money, right? After I spoke with my attorney, yes. Right. And your attorney told you, if you stick to this borg as you've been telling, you're getting no deal. Objection here, sir. I'll withdraw the question here. I apologize. To counter Austin's testimony, the defense calls Robert Baker,

himself to the stand. Did you plan and execute the plan to murder Fabio Cimintilly? Yes. And did you in fact do so? I did. You see the defendant seated over here, Monica Cementilly? Yes. You knew her well at the time of the murder.

Is that right? Yes. Is it fair to say you were in a romantic or sexual relationship with her? Yes. You can say that. Is that true? Yes. Did she have anything to do with the planning

or the execution of the plan to kill Fabio Cementilli? No. You're sure? I'm positive. Does that remain your testimony under oath today? Yeah, it is. Prior to Monica Semantelli's trial, nobody knew whether Robert Baker was going to come in and testify,

but lo and behold, he did. And what he testified to was that he had done this crime without Monica Semantelli's knowledge, that he had done it because he wanted her to himself and that he was going to get rid of Fabio Semantelli for him, not for her. This is obviously key testimony for Monica. And yes, when he was questioned by the defense, he was calm, he was cooperative. But his demeanor completely changes when the prosecution gets their chance. repeatedly changed your story in this case to fit the evidence, correct?

Officially, no. When you say officially, I don't know what that means. I'm just asking you, you've repeatedly changed your story to fit the evidence in this case, correct? Are you asking me or are you telling me what to say? Your Honor. On an official statement, I've been honest with you. on everything else is nothing. So if you were to have a conversation with defense counsel

where they are asking you to tell the truth and you lie to them, you would consider that to be unofficial? True. So it's okay that they asked you to tell the truth and that you repeatedly lied to them. I did lie to them. He had told many, many different stories before that. So he was not credible.

he had a hard time on the stand, remembering the lies he told. And in fact, on cross, it was clear he had lied in his testimony on direct. The prosecution pulls out all the stops to prove Monica's involvement in this homicide. And as an example, they play the jury recordings of some of the conversation she had with Robert Baker while they were in custody. How does it look? Be right into you. After they told me they found her to him. That's right. I'll take it too my .

I'll take it to my . I know but I'll see the wrong I'll lock my case. I'll take you right of this. What if I got that to me? If they can't take it back? I think you're... That's extremely damning, especially in light of

the letter that's written after Rob Baker pleads guilty in this case. After more than two months of dramatic testimony, the trial of Monica Semantilly heads into closing arguments. We're not here because she's a cheater or a liar or any of the other words that you could use. We're here because she's a killer. She's the mastermind. The defendant wasn't going to do the dirty work herself, right? She's not going to kill Fabio. But she knew that Baker would because Baker is a stone cold killer.

We're not here to decide whether or not Monica Cementilly was a bad wife, an adulteress. You are here to decide if she's been proven guilty of first-degree murder. Robert Baker and Christopher Austin committed first-degree murder, conspired to do that. Boy, did she make a stupid mistake. Mistake that brought a man into the lives of her family that she will have to live for the rest of her life. And she is guilty of a lot of things. Stupidity, duplicity, lying, adultery,

but she is not guilty of murder. The jury goes to deliberate, and they have a tough job ahead of them. They have to weigh the competing testimonies of two confessed murderers. So where are they going to believe? Christopher Austin for the prosecution or Robert Baker for the defense?

We, the jury in the above entitled action, find the defendant Monica Simantilly, guilty of the crime of murder of the first degree. In the same case, we the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant Monica Simintilly guilty of the crime of conspiracy to commit murder. After being convicted on all charges, Monica then heads to sentencing.

And this is where Fabio's sisters, Loretta and Morella, deliver just absolutely powerful victim impact statements. On January 23rd, 2017, my brother Fabio was ambushed in his own backyard, stabbed multiple times. One of those wounds pierced straight through his heart. And the person responsible wasn't a stranger. It was the woman we had welcomed into our family for over 20 years, his wife, Monica. You can go ahead and call yourself Mrs. Baker now because you lost the right to the Cemetery name.

The world sees you now for what you are, a whore and a murderer. You shattered your daughter's futures, stole their innocence, and destroyed. the safety of their world. Let this stand like a punch to your face, to your body, to your rotten soul. Since the day I met Monica over 25 years ago, I respected her like a sister because my brother wanted to build a life with her. Reminacy is too painful and it deepens the wounds. She is a complete and utter stupid b*** watching her dress like a slap for baker, living six months off of her off of blood money. Only a devil can manipulate a reality

to suit her comforts. In all my worst nightmares, I could never have fathom this calculated plan. Monica, you are a demon. She can't even look at me. Today, a life sentence will set us free for the wretched pain she put us through. To my beloved brother, Fabio,

you can finally rest now. Let your love and our words rest your soul. Justice has been served here on earth. Go now. Go to the arms of those who went before you. Our father, our mother, our uncles and cousins, they're waiting to welcome you. Into God's eternal embrace.

You are safe now. No more suffering. No more fear. only light, love, and peace. And then, Monica and Fabio's daughters deliver their victim impact statements. And you have to imagine how conflicted they must be, considering they're the children of both the victim

and the perpetrator. In the spirit of trying to heal from this very horrible situation, I'd like to speak about my parents, how I remember them. I often watch old home videos, just to hear his voice, to hear his laugh. I want to remember what it felt like to have a dad to be wrapped in that kind of love and the protection. And then there's my mom, my rock, now that we're grieving both our parents.

I won't have my dad to walk me down the aisle one day. I won't have my mom to help me when I become a mother myself. and yet I will keep going, I'll keep fighting, for justice, for the truth, and for my mom. My name is Isabella. I'm the youngest daughter of Monica and Fabio Cimittilly. My mother was the best. She did everything for me. She gave up her career, left her family, all to support my dad, and give us a good life. Many people think because I stand by my mother that I don't miss my father. That is false. I think about my dad every single day.

My dad was the biggest loss of my life. And it pains me that he will never know this version of me. To my mom and dad, I love you, I miss you, and I will forever remember you dancing in the kitchen. After the victim impact statements from both sides, this is when the judge hands down his sentence. I do find that the Fennel was a mastermind in this conspiracy to commit murder. Baker did not have the intelligence to plan such a brutal, well-thought-out slaughter.

A Fennon was a prime mover in this execution of a human being. Fennon sentenced his life in prison without the possibility of the role. It's a lust, right? I mean, it's one of the deadly sins. And, you know, she fell into it. It's so easy in this world to be a good person. And she could have, if she had these feelings that she wanted to do something outside of her marriage, just go to Fabio and say, look, I think I'm done here.

And that would have been the easy and the correct thing to do. But she chose to do this instead. And so now you have a family that's destroyed. And so she's absolutely deserving of being in prison for the rest of her life.