Monica Sementilli Murder Case – Celebrity Hairstylist Killed in Relationship Plot | True Crime Story

Now part of the Darkcast network. Welcome to indie podcasts with a dark side. On January 23, 2017, police responded to a 911 call from a home on Queen Victoria Road in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Isabella Simmentilli, the teenage daughter of the victim, had just gotten back home to find her father lying in a pool of blood on their backyard patio. As the dispatcher guided her through a desperate, failed attempt to perform cpr, they sent out emergency emergency responders. When officers arrived, they found 49 year old Fabio Simmentilli on, um, the backyard patio, unconscious and not breathing with, quote, injuries to his face and significant blood loss. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. Welcome, LaMs. Welcome to love and Heartbreak. To Homicide, your weekly true crime podcast, telling you cases of relationships that turn to murder. I’m your host, Kai, and in today’s episode, I tell you the story that. That quickly raised uncomfortable questions. What happens when investigators stop taking the scene of the crime at face value? Before we get back to the case, don’t forget to subscribe to Love and Murder on whatever platform you’re on. You can also subscribe for free on our Patreon patreon.com uh, loveandmurder with your free subscription, you never miss an episode. Plus, you do get some bonuses. Or you can become part of the LaM Patreon Fam by choosing one of the paid Patreon tiers. The last bonus episode I put out in the LaM Fam was a raw, unedited kyrantz about a teacher who had an inappropriate sexual relationship with a student and then tried to claim that she was being persecuted because she was too pretty. Yeah, I ranted about that one. Patreon.com loveandmurder I look forward to seeing you in the LaM Patreon Fam. But in the meantime, let’s get back to this case of love and murder. The medical examiner later determined that Fabio had been stabbed multiple times with numerous wounds to his neck and upper torso. The attack also left multiple wounds on his face and chest. Fabio’s sister Mirella Roda later said, quote, he probably was out there enjoying his cigar on the phone, speaking out loud, didn’t hear someone walking behind him. Which fit what police believed happened at the time. That Fabio had been outside, relaxed, not expecting anyone to come up. The LAPD believed the crime was the work of knock knock burglars who had been targeting expensive homes in the San Fernando Valley. Fabio’s 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera, uh, was missing, but nothing else was. In fact, Fabio’s $8,000 Rolex was still on his wrist. Inside the house, it was chaos. Monica’s friends Elise Bleu arrived after getting an urgent text. When she got there, a stranger told her, quote, don’t step in the blood. Detectives describe the area as an extremely gruesome and bloody scene. Fabio’s son from his first marriage, Luigi Simmentelli, later said, quote, it felt like a nightmare. After a while, it just feels surreal. When you go through this kind of tragedy. It just doesn’t feel real. A, uh, neighbor’s surveillance camera captured two people wearing hoodies running right towards Fabio’s house at, uh, around 4:15pm the same cameras later showed those two people leaving in Fabio’s black Porsche. About 35 minutes later, LAPD Chief of Detectives Justin Eisenberg said, quote, this is a particularly vicious murder. This individual was murdered in his own home. It looked like a textbook breaking. During the investigation, another puzzling piece came to light. The burglars seemed to have known exactly where where the home’s hidden DVR from the home surveillance system was located. It had conveniently, quote, vanished from where it had been hidden in the garage. Then the Porsche was found abandoned about five miles away and police took it in to comb through for clues. Publicly, authorities kept pushing the burglary theory, but privately, investigators started to believe the burglary was staged. To understand how this case got to this point, you have to back up and look at what was happening inside Fabio and Monica’s marriage. Fabio was a Canadian born industry legend, serving as the vice president of education for the beauty giant Coty Inc. And previously Wella uh, he was a world renowned hairstylist, known affectionately by his friends and family as Big Daddy. Respected throughout the industry for his technical skills and charismatic teaching ability, Fabio won numerous international awards and mentored countless stylists. His genuine passion for education made him a beloved figure in the beauty world. He was celebrated for his charm, wit and talent, having worked with celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Russell Crowe. After his death, hundreds of industry professionals paid tribute to his legacy. Many described him as generous, innovative and deeply committed to elevating the hairdressing profession. His wife, 42 year old Monica, was a former makeup artist and hair model. Fabio and Monica had met in Toronto while he was still married to his first wife and then they got married in 2007, then blended their family. Monica had a daughter from a previous relationship and they also had a daughter together. By 2016, the family had moved into the Woodland Hills LA home after relocating from Canada. When Fabio took an executive position at Wella Professional. To those on the outside, they were a successful, happy couple. Their social media showed parties, vacations, family moments and the kind of we’re living the dream image that makes people assume everything is fine. Monica posted about her amazing husband and the vibe was very much power couple, even with their 15 year age difference. But detectives later learned that behind all of that, the relationship had been unraveling. By late 2016, prosecutors said the marriage was basically for appearances. Friends said Monica had complained that she felt, quote, trapped and that she wanted more freedom than her marriage allowed. Cell phone records showed investigators that Monica had an extramarital relationship that same year with a 55 year old man named Robert Baker. Robert was a former model and he and Monica met at a West Hills LA Fitness where he worked as her racquetball coach. He lived a nomadic lifestyle, moving between temporary homes in the Los Angeles area. Elise said that Robert appeared very alpha, muscular and confident. During this time, Monica was unaware of Robert’s criminal past at the start of their relationship. What criminal past, you ask? Well, he was a convicted sex offender who had been dismissed from the U.S. army in 1993 following convictions for sex crimes involving a minor. He also had a history as an adult film actor and was a manager in the porn industry. Now back to the day of the case. During the investigation, the burglary story kept getting weaker and weaker. Crime scene texts found blood droplets inside the house and inside the Porsche that did not belong to Fabio. Then detectives noticed a picture where Robert had shown up at Fabio’s memorial with a bandaged finger. Police studied the photo and connected the injury to the blood evidence. Because Robert’s DNA was already in law enforcement databases from previous convictions, they compared it to the blood found at the scene and in the Porsche and it was a match. That was the moment things really went from we think this was staged to we know who was physically there. As detectives kept building, more digital evidence came in. Forensic analysis showed Monica and Robert had exchanged encrypted Viber messages and deleted them hours after the murder. Phone records showed thousands of calls and texts between them in the year before Fabio died. On the day before Fabio was murdered, they’d exchanged 180 messages. And on the day of his murder, they’d sent another 95 messages. Investigators also gathered witness information that Robert had been around the house when Fabio wasn’t there. Neighbors reported seeing a man matching Robert’s description visiting. And one witness said that they saw Monica and Robert in, quote, intimate embraces in the driveway more than once. Surveillance footage from businesses near The Simentelli home caught Robert’s car passing by multiple times in the weeks before the murder. Most significantly, cameras recorded his car parked just blocks away on the afternoon Fabio was killed. These visual confirmations, coupled with cell tower data, place in Robert’s phone near the crime scene and created a really, um, timeline. Investigators then turned to financial records to see if they could continue to flesh out a potential motive. Bank records showed that Monica had withdrawn cash, often 300 to 500 at a time, around the same times that Robert was visiting. And after Fabio was killed, their communication continued and in some ways, actually even intensified. Police surveillance documented Robert visiting Monica repeatedly while the murder investigation was still active. Detectives followed them on dates to bars and comedy clubs, where staff described Monica as being, quote, animated and relaxed rather than grieving. Remember, though, she still has a teenage daughter, the one who found her father’s body, and she’s just leaving her at home alone to go on dates with Robert. Police even recorded them going on a trip to Las Vegas while the case was still being treated publicly as a burglary. I mean, what I’m guessing is that they were comfortable. They thought they’d gotten away with it, so they were living life. Investigators had also learned that Monica had upgraded the home security system about six months before the murder, and she sent the login information and user manual to Robert the same day. And within days of Fabio’s death, while the investigation was still in its earliest stages, Monica started pressuring the life insurance company and LAPD about a, uh, $1.6 million payout. She repeatedly demanded to know why it was taking so long for the policy to be paid out. This aggressive focus on the money so soon after her husband’s violent death struck detectives as highly suspicious. I know $1.6 million sound like enough, but they’re already living in a rich neighborhood and living a rich lifestyle. You know how fast $1.6 million will go, and that’s what your husband’s life was. I don’t even care if it was $2 billion. A human life to you is worth any amount of money. That’s just. It’s crazy. By June 16, 2017, nearly five months after the murder, police arrested Monica and Robert. While they were driving in Monica’s Mustang, investigators had bugged the police cruiser they were placed in after the arrest. Unaware that they were being recorded, Monica leaned in and whispered to Robert, quote, deny everything and don’t talk. At that point, police had Robert’s DNA tying him to the scene in the Porsche. A digital trail showing non stop Contact between. Between him and Monica and evidence that Monica had shared access to the security system. But what they didn’t have yet, well, at least not publicly, was the full story on how many people were involved and how the attack was carried out. Remember that surveillance camera captured two people in hoodies running in and out of the house? So police were wondering, were both of them arrested just now, or was there a third party? Robert initially lied to cover the identity of the second person. And it wasn’t until October that detectives learned Christopher Austin had fled the scene with Robert in Fabio’s Porsche. I know that’s vague, but honestly, I couldn’t find anything about what Robert told investigators or how they actually found out about the second person and that his name was Christopher. Because, you know me, I like to dig, and I like to find any. Each and every particular bit of information. There was nothing. Robert had taken steps to hide the second man’s trail, including taking Christopher to a bus station so that he can catch a flight out of town immediately after the murder. Once that connection was made, Christopher was arrested back in Oregon, where he worked as ready A, uh, probation officer. Christopher eventually took a deal. He pleaded no contest to second degree murder, and the whole point of the plea was that he would testify against Monica. Like, honestly, Christopher would have done what I did. If I know anything about any crime, I’m singing like a bird. Like, you’re not taking me. Sing, sing, sing, sing, sing. I’ll tell you everything. But, um, unlike me, Christopher decided to go through with something illegal, which. I’m not helping you in anything illegal. In the meantime, while waiting for the trial to start, Monica and Robert didn’t stop their relationship. Even while locked up and housed separately, they continued it through what Robert later described as jailing. This happened when they were placed in cells where they could see each other. Robert would instruct Monica to partially undress and perform sexual acts while he watched from his cell. He admitted that he did the same thing for her from his side. During these exchanges, Monica reportedly referred to him as master and maestro. At one point, she had also shaved Robert’s initials into her pubic hair. Their communication wasn’t limited to visual contact, either. Investigators said the two used kites, which are secret notes passed between inmates to keep in touch. They also relied on three way phone calls routed through a third party number in an effort to bypass jail phone restrictions. One of those little kite messages drew particular attention. Monica had asked Robert to send her something, quote, personal. Authorities later intercepted a toothpaste tube that contained Robert Seaman, which He intended to have delivered to her inside the jail. What the frick did I just read? Their trial started in March of 2025 and lasted 10 weeks. Lead prosecutor Beth Silverman painted Monica as a manipulative, quote, academy award winning actress who used Robert as her weapon. The prosecution presented Christopher’s testimony, digital evidence, jailhouse communications, where prosecutors argue that this behavior mattered. They said it showed that the relationship wasn’t casual, one sided, or the result of manipulation after the fact. Instead, they framed it as evidence of an ongoing committed conspiracy that continued even while both were in custody. Now, during Christopher’s testimony, he said that Robert told him Monica wanted her husband gone and had coordinated the entry via text. Prosecutors backed that up with evidence that on the day Fabio was killed, Monica’s iPhone connected to the home’s IP address and used data consistent with watching a live video feed. And they claimed that she was monitoring the cameras to make sure Robert had a clear path. He admitted that while Robert stabbed Fabio, he covered Fabio’s eyes and stabbed him once. He also testified that he’d never communicated directly with Monica and that everything he knew about her involvement came through Robert. Christopher said Robert told him Monica would leave the front door unlocked. That mattered because it showed that it wasn’t just a random house in a random neighborhood. This was a gated, upscale home. And the theory was that getting in quietly depended on Monica cooperating. Christopher also said that during the crime, Robert appeared to be getting sequential instructions via text. And he described it as, quote, everything happening in sequence. In other words, the prosecution wanted the jury to believe Robert wasn’t winging it. He was being guided in real time. Then the prosecution presented forensic experts who testified that they’d recovered instructions Monica sent to Robert on how to access the home’s dvr. Most importantly, the felony complaint was presented to the jury. While stabbing victim Fabio Sementelli to death, defendant Robert Louis Baker cut his left index index finger. This was evident by the drops of blood in the house and in the Porsche. Finally, the prosecutors also pointed to behavior that they said showed Monica wasn’t acting like someone devastated by what happened, Leaving her daughter at home to go on dates, traveling, and acting lovey dovey. And even during Fabio’s funeral in Toronto, Monica used a, uh, burner phone while she was there to sext Robert and send nude photos of herself. And some of those photos show her still wearing her wedding ring. Prosecutors used that to argue she wasn’t just having an affair, she was committed to it. Even while standing in the middle of her husband’s Mourning period. Robert’s story was completely different. And honestly, it read like a man still trying to protect Monica while also trying to sound romantic enough to make it believable. Robert took the stand as the defense’s star witness and kept repeating that Monica, quote, had nothing to do with it. He told the jury, I murdered him because I wanted her, and said that he did it because he wanted Monica with him all the time. Like Fabio was just an obstacle in his way. He claimed he acted alone out of passion and obsession, not money, not planning, and definitely not at Monica’s direction. When they asked about Monica’s actions at her husband’s funeral, Robert answered with, quote, everyone grieves differently. Wow, what a jerk. But Robert also had to answer for why his story kept changing. Under cross examination, he admitted that he told multiple unofficial versions of what happened. And he admitted that he lied for months about who the second person was because he was covering for Christopher. Then the prosecution asked Robert why both he and Monica deleted the Viber app on the same day that Fabio was killed. He tried to explain that deletion by testifying the app was, quote, glitchy, which, I mean, okay, I guess that’s your explanation. And the prosecution argued that it was a move to destroy evidence. Investigators also testified that after the arrest, the two were overheard questioning whether police could break in and read message history, which didn’t exactly help the we deleted it because it was glitchy explanation. Investigators said that when Monica was arrested, they found a burner phone in her purse. The defense, led by attorneys Leonard Levine and Blair Burke, argued that the burner phone, the encrypted messages, and the secrecy were all about hiding her affair from her family, not plotting a murder, basically saying, yes, she was cheating, yes, she was sneaky, but adultery is not murdered. They also argued that there was no direct statement, no text, no recorded phone call showing her explicitly plotting Fabio’s death. But prosecutors countered that the whole point of encrypted apps, burner phones, and deleted messages is that you don’t usually get a neat little text that says, hey, babe, can you murder my husband at 4:15. They argue the volume, the timing, and the coordination filled in that gap. Prosecutors also said she posted about Ms. And Fabio on Facebook and then went out the same day. They also used an example where, on surveillance, she was at a bar, went outside for a cigarette, grabbed a bouncer’s thigh, and made out with him. Prosecutors argued that even Robert was angry about that because they claimed that he felt that he’d, quote, gotten rid of her husband for her to still run around acting reckless and grab and bounce her thighs and making out with them. They also presented that while at a memorial held at the family home just days after the murder, Fabio’s sister Mirella noticed Monica sitting unusually close to Robert, a man Mirella had never seen before. Prosecutors also pointed to Monica’s pressure in the insurance company and the police for the $1.6 million payout within days of the murder, repeatedly asking why it was taking so long. They argued that urgency about the money, combined with the affair, combined with the staging of a burglary, combined with the digital evidence was motive and planning, not coincidence. So the jury had two men involved in the killing, both admitting they were there and both given two completely different versions of Monica’s role. Now, as I stated before, Robert had pleaded no contest in July 2023 and received, uh, life without parole. Christopher pleaded no contest in January 2025, and in May 2025, he was sentenced to 15 years to life. On April 11, 2025, a jury found Monica guilty of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder with special circumstances of financial gain and lying in weight. At sentencing on June 23, 2025, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Cohen imposed life without the possibility of parole. He rejected the defense’s request for Alessa sentence and said, quote, defendant was the prime mover in this execution of a human being. He also said Monica was the mastermind in this conspiracy to commit murder. And he added that Robert, quote, did not have the intelligence to plan such a brutal, well thought out slaughter by himself. Damn. He just called him dumb. Fabio’s sisters spoke at the hearing. Loretta Pcillo called it, quote, an unimaginable betrayal. And she said, quote, only a demon could orchestrate the murder of a loving husband and savagely time it so that her own daughter will come home to find her father’s lifeless body lying in a pool of blood. Mirella called Monica, quote, a, uh, demon, as she said, who traded lust for love, family for filth. District Attorney Nathan Hodgman said, quote, monica betrayed the person who loved and trusted her most. Her calculated scheme to profit from her husband’s death cost a, uh, kind and talented man his life. And I mean profit. I mean, 1.6 million. They’re really living in a house that, uh, probably costs like $10,000 a month or something like that. That one, that’s not really a profit. She would have run through that in six months to a year. But either way, I get what he’s saying, because even if you did it for $5. That’s like you’re trying to profit off your husband’s death. Some people do it for what, $5,000 insurance money? Oh, my God. Just so little care for a person’s life. Even after all of that, her daughters continued to support Monica. Jessica said she would, quote, keep fighting for justice, for the truth. And my mom, Isabella, spoke out about losing both parents, but still said she hoped justice will prevail over time. As of today, Monica is incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. Mirella spoke after the verdict, saying, quote, my brother is gone and the murderers that have deceived him are exactly where they belong. That verdict brought a level of closure for some, but it didn’t undo what happened in the backyard. A man lost his life, children lost their father, and a, uh, family lost someone they described as generous, talented, and deeply loved. Now, I want to hear from you. What did you think about this case? Do you believe the evidence proved that she was the mastermind? Or do you think Robert acted on his own, as he said? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Now, if you want more cases like this, the ones where relationships unravel behind closed doors and the truth takes years to surface, well, join us over on the Patreon. That’s where we go deeper, where you get bonus cases, where you get extra content, and where you help keep these stories told. And this podcast listener funded. Patreon.com uh, loveandmurder thank you for listening all the way to the end and for continuing to support love and murder. And don’t forget that, as always, say it with me now, all, uh, love and no murder, y’. All. I’ll see you in the next episode. Bye. Foreign. Welcome to the after show. Oh my God, do I have a case for you. As usual, this is an article I already wrote, so I’m just going to read straight from it. Let’s get right into it. This case I titled, Infant Left with Cerebral palsy after Mother claimed baby rolled off mattress. Medical experts say the force was comparable to a car crash. That part’s not the title, but you know the subtitle. In December 2022, a, uh, three month old baby boy was taken to a GP appointment just after 5pm and the doctor immediately noticed something wasn’t right. There was a large bump on the baby’s head that was about the size of a golf ball which had been hidden under a hat when the baby came in. When the GP asked how it all happened, the baby’s mother, who has not been named so that her son can’t be identified for legal reasons, began shaking and said that he had rolled off the mattress two days earlier. Well ma’, am, why you shaking so badly? The baby was pale, floppy and not responding normally. For more on this after show and if you want more after shows like this, then you just need to join the patreon patreon.com uh, loveandmurder you can join the lam fam at only $3 a month and to get after shows plus at the $3 a month tiers you can listen to the back catalog of after shows. You also get commercial free and intro free episodes so we get right into the meat of the case. You also get case files such as pictures of the victims, pictures of the perps, pictures of the evidence if that’s available. And if I could find like interrogation videos or the trial videos, you get that too. All of that just for $3 a month. And if you want bonus episodes so you can get more time with me, then you just choose any of the bonus tiers. $5 a month and above. Patreon.com loveandmurder don’t forget, with your help, you also keep this podcast listener funded and help me keep telling the cases exactly as they should be told. Patreon.com loveandmurder I look forward to seeing you in the lamb fam and letting you hear more of this after show. Bye.

Sources: (what the sources say)

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/04/12/fabio-sementilli-wife-found-guilty/83061653007/

https://people.com/porn-actor-killed-celebrity-hairdresser-defending-lover-accused-orchestrating-8778925

https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/monica-sementilli-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-murder-la-hairdresser-husband/

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-04-11/wife-of-l-a-hair-mogul-convicted-acquitted-in-husbands-murder

https://apnews.com/article/fabio-sementilli-murder-los-angeles-wife-sentenced-9bfafd0393710600753895e1c5bea2df

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14604945/fabio-sementilli-murder-widow-outburst-guilty-hairstylist-death.html

https://lacounty.gov/2025/06/23/monica-sementilli-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-husbands-murder/

https://people.com/where-is-monica-sementilli-now-11889517