- - Monica Sementilli Plotted to Murder Her Husband with Her Porn Star Lover — Then She Got Caught. Inside Her Life Now

Jessica SagerJanuary 24, 2026 at 6:30 PM

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Fabio Sementilli/Facebook; LAPD

Fabio Sementilli and wife Monica; Monica Sementilli mugshot -

Hair executive Fabio Sementilli was found stabbed to death in January 2017

His wife, Monica Sementilli, and her lover, former porn star Robert Baker, were arrested in June of that year in connection with the murder

In June 2025, Monica was sentenced to life without parole

In January 2017, hair executive Fabio Sementilli was found stabbed to death in his Woodland Hills, Calif., home.

According to prosecutors, his wife, Monica Semintelli, instructed her lover, a convicted sex offender and ex-porn-actor-turned-racquetball instructor Robert Baker, to kill Fabio. Monica, Baker and another accomplice, Christopher Austin, worked together to make the slaying appear like a burglary gone wrong, so she and Baker could be together without her having to go through a complicated divorce.

However, investigators were tipped off when Monica quickly began pressing Fabio's insurance company and police to collect more than $1 million from his life insurance policy. She and Baker were arrested in June 2017. Ultimately, Monica was found guilty of one count of murder with special circumstance allegations involving financial gain and one count of murder while lying in wait.

“The person responsible wasn’t a stranger but the woman we had welcomed into our family for over 20 years,” Fabio’s sister Loretta Picillo told the judge before Monica's June 2025 sentencing, according to the Los Angeles Times. “We treated her like family and she betrayed all of us.”

So, where is Monica Semintelli now? Here's everything to know about her life behind bars after murdering her husband, Fabio Semintelli.

Who is Monica Sementilli?

Fabio Sementilli/ Facebook

Fabio Sementilli with wife Monica

Monica is a former makeup artist and hair model who met Fabio in Toronto, where they both lived in the 1990s, per Town & Country. Monica wasn't eager to move away from her large Italian family to relocate to Los Angeles with Fabio, but agreed so he could pursue his career further. The couple shared two daughters, as well as Fabio's son from a previous relationship.

Fabio, nicknamed "Big Daddy," became a celebrity hairstylist who often worked on film sets, as well as vice president of education at Wella Professionals, per American Salon. His clients included Russell Crowe, Jackie Chan and Jennifer Lopez.

After his murder, Fabio's colleagues were shocked, with one telling PEOPLE in March 2021 that Fabio "had no enemies."

"He would charm you with his personality and his wittiness," his friend Ramsey Sayah added. "It was terrible to think that this is the way Fabio had died because he was such a great guy. You don't think anyone deserves to die that way, but especially not a really good person, that you really love and you know is kind and loving. It just didn't make any sense."

Who is Robert Baker?

Robert Baker

Baker met Monica at LA Fitness, where he was her racquetball coach, per Town & Country. Monica's friend, Elyse Bleuel, later said on the stand that Baker was "very alpha."

"He was muscular. He looked good in his clothes," Bleuel added, according to the outlet. "He had this confidence about him."

By 2016, Monica began an affair with Baker. However, she reportedly didn't yet know about his past: Baker was convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor in 1993, per the Los Angeles Times.

He also worked as a performer in adult films and a manager of female sex workers in the porn industry, according to Town & Country.

What happened to Fabio Sementilli?

Fabio Sementilli/ Facebook

Fabio Sementilli

On Jan. 23, 2017, Baker and Austin, his accomplice, ran to the Sementillis' home, snuck onto the property and stabbed Fabio to death in the backyard. They then ransacked the Sementillis' bedroom and fled in Fabio's Porsche 911 before abandoning the vehicle about five miles away, per the Los Angeles Times.

Fabio and Monica's then-teenage daughter, Isabella, found Fabio's body.

Initially, authorities suspected the murder was linked to several other "knock knock" burglaries that happened in the Los Angeles area, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, two things stuck out to detectives: First, if it was truly a burglary, the culprits likely would've stolen the Rolex off of Fabio's wrist, but it remained there after they fled.

Second, the killers took a DVR from the garage that stored the home's security footage, which was reportedly not in an easy spot to find, according to the outlet.

How did Monica Sementilli get caught?

Monica Sementilli

Police noted that immediately after Fabio's slaying, Monica began pressuring Fabio's life insurance company, as well as police, for the payout of his life insurance policy, which was worth $1.6 million.

During a memorial at the Sementilli house days after Fabio's murder, his sister, Mirella, noticed Monica sitting close to a man she'd never seen before: Baker. One of Monica's neighbors also noticed that Baker had a bandage on his hand, according to Town & Country.

Investigators found Baker's blood in Fabio's Porsche, which they later linked to his DNA from his prior sex offense, according to ABC News. Detectives obtained search warrants and began to surveil Baker and his communications.

Among those communications, a forensic technology expert later testified, were messages from Monica to Baker giving him instructions on how to access the DVR, per the Los Angeles Times. Investigators also found hundreds of sexually-charged messages and explicit photos the couple exchanged, including during the weekend of Fabio's funeral in Toronto, according to the outlet.

Police placed tracking devices on their cars and tailed them for months, watching them go on dates in L.A. and a trip to Las Vegas, per Town & Country.

On June 16, 2017, police arrested Baker and Monica, who were driving in her black Mustang at the time.

“Don’t talk,” Monica, who didn't realized that her car had been bugged, whispered, per the outlet.

What was Monica Sementilli charged with?

Fabio Sementilli/Facebook

Fabio Sementilli and wife Monica

Monica was charged with one count of murder with special circumstance involving financial gain and one count of murder while lying in wait. She pleaded not guilty.

Baker was charged with first degree murder with special circumstances. In July 2023, he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole. Meanwhile, Austin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison in May 2025, per ABC7 Los Angeles.

During Monica's trial, Baker testified that she had no idea that he and Austin planned to murder Fabio, claiming, "I murdered him because I wanted her. She had nothing to do with it."

However, Austin alleged that Monica orchestrated the slaying, adding that Monica instructed Baker about how to conduct the brutal stabbing via text.

"Everything he did he did after he got a text message, which told me he was talking to her via text message," Austin said on the stand. "I did not hear him talk to her on the phone ... but everything happened in sequence."

Monica's attorney, Leonard Levine, maintained her client's innocence, claiming that she only ever used encrypted messaging apps to hide her infidelity.

"Everything she did was to protect the affair, not to cover up the murder," Levine said (via ABC 7 Los Angeles). "She was obsessed with her family not finding out, with anybody not finding out."

What was Monica Sementilli's verdict?

In April 2025, a jury found Monica to be guilty on both charges, including one count of murder with special circumstance involving financial gain and one count of murder while lying in wait. Monica reportedly burst into tears when the verdict was announced.

"This was a cold and calculated crime motivated by greed and betrayal," District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement announcing the jury's ruling. "Today's verdict ensures that those responsible for this ruthless act will be held accountable. Our office remains steadfast in the pursuit of justice for victims and their families. We extend our deepest sympathies to Fabio Sementilli’s loved ones as they continue to mourn his tragic loss."

Where is Monica Sementilli now?

48 Hours/YouTube

Monica Sementilli

In June 2025, Monica was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She is currently incarcerated in the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, Calif., according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

In a statement released after Monica's sentencing, Levine said she "continues to maintain that she did not commit this crime and is innocent," per ABC7 Los Angeles.

Monica is expected to appeal her conviction, according to the outlet.

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