The Monica Sementilli Affair | Full Episode | Forensic Files

[Music] she was incredibly Charming she was attractive I don't even want to entertain why she did what she
did you had a beautiful home you didn't work you had cleaning ladies You' pool people you had cars money you had it all
Monica Sean Tilly homicide investigators say she conspired to murder her husband they said when they talked to
her she lied and lied I was hearing about break-ins at the time in that particular area there
were a lot of what they call knocknock burglaries I was hearing about home invasion it was assumed that it was a
couple guys that had jumped the fence and it was a robbery what happened on the day of the
murder at night at about 5 something I got a text saying come to my house I need you I get the phone and and I'm in
disbelief saying what what what cuz I can't believe it and it was uh Monica she was crying and distra brought
and she was saying they killed Fabio Fabio's Fon Tilly Fabio was an executive in the
beauty business was a former hairdresser my queen he called her he would come home drop his bags sweep her
off her feet and dance with her he was the love of her life and he loved his kids it looked like a textbook
breaking a robbery gone wrong there was immense suspicion as to the explanation of a robbery from my
perspective didn't sound right didn't sound right we're here to announce the arrest
of two individuals in connection with the murder of Fab centi over the past several months
investigators have developed information and identified Robert Baker and Monica centilli who is the wife of our homicide
victim as responsible for his murder detectives say Monica simonelli had been having an affair her boyfriend
was arrested and charged with murder but so was she I'm like you sure there's no effing
way now the boyfriend has been convicted he has been sentenced to life without parole and Monica seanell is about to go
on trial for murder according to the prosecutor she was the one with all the information and intelligence and she fed
it to him and he was the Executioner the daughters she shared with Fabio are standing by her we want
to clearly state that we will continue to stand by our mother as we have done for the last 6 years and we will fight
for her innocence the defense is going to say there is no hard evidence by by the way
there's no evidence that Monica sementelli conspired to kill her [Music] husband
[Music] [Music] in 2017 Monica simonelli had an enviable life a luxurious house with a pool and a
Porsche in the driveway in a posh area of Los Angeles but after spending almost 7
years behind bars waiting through legal delays and Co Monica simonelli is scheduled to go on
trial for the murder of her husband celebrity hairdresser and Beauty executive Fabio
simonelli it's a tangled story her Defenders say Monica cimenti is an innocent victim but if you believe
prosecutors she's a criminal authorities describe a case of lust greed and murder
whichever it is the drama unfolded on January 23rd 2017 there were fire tracks outside of her
house and I was like oh gosh there was no police yet it was just the First Responders Elise bluel was a friend of
Monica simen til's we spoke with her in 2018 she says Monica texted her to come over the night Fabio was killed it was
her and her daughters she just kept saying that he's gone that I'm not a wife anymore I just held her I just held
her it was so painful just the Weeping the not being able to breathe she was beyond
devastated Beyond devastated Monica's husband Fabio was slumped over his chair by the pool had
you seen the body had you seen didn't I just wanted to be the best possible comfort
I didn't know how to comfort that she couldn't speak in complete sentences until like the fourth day
detectives quickly learned the victim Fabio simonelli had been a superstar in the beauty business Welcome to
Hollywood you're on he was a happy man whoa we spoke with those who knew him best in
2017 Bobo's sister morel aota and he wanted everybody around him happy all right and now it'll go backwards you say
the best way to describe my dad oh my god really is like a cup of coffee in the morning Luigi cimenti Bobo's son
from an earlier marriage he gets you going he lifts your spirits he gets you determined to charge the mountain of
Life did your friend say hey Luigi is that your dad absolutely yeah it was kind of a fun thing you know uh it's
hard to to avoid him when you type in seilly on on Google it's very hard in fact when you type in my name uh Luigi
SEI the first thing that comes up is his profile yeah Fabio and his sister Mela began cutting hair in Toronto Canada
good that's beautiful I love it that's where Fabio met Monica a customer and makeup artist he married in 1997 the
wedding was incredible restaurant tour Joe Mercurio grew up with Fabio he was best man at Fabio's wedding to Monica we
were dancing right to the very end we saw their relationship as a love story Fabio was also in love with his
career he and his sister Mella were getting famous hey welcome fob look at this in 2008 Fabio was promoted to an
executive job at the beauty giant Wella I'd love to recommend something new and moved his family to La Pete castios was
Fabio's colleague what happened was it was the opportunity to really allow the things that he wanted for his family to
come to life by taking on a bigger role he and Monica settled into a life most of us can only dream about well there
won't be snow in Africa this Christmas he R A pors yeah what man doesn't want a Porsche in Los Angeles
you're absolutely right they were living the life and raising their two teenage daughters Jessica and Isabella my own
family unit is uh the most most dear to me then came that January day it was late afternoon as he sat by the pool
Fabio was stabbed to death his then 16-year-old daughter Isabella discovered his
body to investigators the Simmon Tilly case started out a mystery but from early on they had at least one
intriguing clue from a neighbor's security camera they could see two figures and hoodies
running close to Simon Tilly's House at the time of the murder a little while later Fabio's Porche being driven away
back then investigators didn't suspect Monica had anything to do with Fabio's death she wasn't even home at the time
he was killed instead they looked at those two hooded figures and thought they seemed a lot like these guys what
do you call these guys well we call them the knock knock burglars at the time of
Fabio's murder in 2017 La was plagued with break-ins from notorious teams of criminals so this is
LAPD footage yeah they know what they're doing and they know what they want I mean they're running wild yeah they were
hitting homes of celebrities all over Los Angeles least say this may have been a case of him being in the
wrong place at the wrong [Music] time at least seven celebrities had hundreds of thousands of dollars worth
of jewelry taken it was 27 and for years the homes of La celebrities were targeted high-profile
victims include $300,000 from former Laker star Derek fiser $175,000 for Nicki Minaj and 2 million
from Alanis Mor sets brenwood home they're moving just as quick as they can in and out in about 3 minutes
they ransack a bedroom find some jewelry and get out William Dunn a Los Angeles Police
Department detective at the time had hours of videotape of the knock knock burglars in action all over wealthy Los
Angeles neighborhoods this one comes from a home just a few miles from Fabio's months after his murder they
seem to know what to look for right they're looking for jewelry they're looking for cash look at him yeah he's
checking clothes he's feeling the clothes to see if somebody's put jewelry or cash in some of the pockets see now
he's seeing that safe ah see and now he gets he tells his buddy hey look at what
we found now look at how many seconds and this is a a real heavy safe but they're very determined they put a lot
of effort into it and it's so heavy he can't he can't lift the thing but look at how he's just going to slide that
thing out so they got the safe that's Pay Dirt off they go g yep you see they're
gone to detectives those two hooded figures recorded on a neighbor surveillance camera near Fabio's house right around
the time of his murder looked a lot like the knocknock burglars and the Simon Tilly home had
its own cameras detectives hoped they would find even more video of those hooded figures on those tapes there were
four cameras outside the Simon Tilly house but when police came to to look for the video it was gone a DVR like
this was in the garage it stored all the surveillance whoever broke in must have
taken it strangely besides taking Fabio's Porsche that black box was one of the only things stolen from the house
say investigators Monica told them she thought some inexpensive jewelry and $111,000 in cash was possibly missing
but she wasn't sure detectives say the home safe hadn't been touched the only thing I thought that was unusual is why
didn't they take more why didn't they take his watch the suspected burglars left behind
an $88,000 Rolex on Simon Tilly's [Music] wrist but within months the knock knock
burglars began to fade as police suspects because the police were hanging on to a big secret nobody
except investigators knew it at the time but they discovered blood at the crime scene that did not belong to Fabio cimen
Tilly that meant detectives had DNA to work with DNA that eventually led to a suspect we were able to develop forensic
evidence some of that was DNA which identified Robert Baker Robert Baker he had been a racket
ball league director at a Los Angeles gym not far from Fabio's house and Monica's friend Elise knew him we
spoke to her about him in 2018 how would you describe Rob Baker he was cool we all really liked him he was
one of those gy guys you know Elise played in his League he was very Alpha he was a very alpha male there was also
kind of a sexually thing about him there was something sexual about him you know how
some guys just have this sexual kind of I don't know he's very manly he was in shape and he was kind of
you know kept everything he was in charge he was also Tangled Up in the porn industry even doing some acting
Elise didn't know much about Baker's background but she did hear about his movie career from a friend who happened
to spot him in an adult film that's like the kind of Gossip you just need to tell
someone who did you tell I told Monica Monica was also in Robert Baker's racket ball league what was her reaction
well it was pretty anticlimactic I'll tell you really yeah cuz a lot of times when we would have girl talk she'd get a
little prudy like a little prude what Elise didn't know was that Robert Baker was also a registered sex
offender Robert Baker has a 1993 conviction out of a Long Beach case it's for luden
lascivious acts with a minor police say baker sered time for that offense against a teenage
girl for months police watched Baker and they discovered two things first he was
definitely not one of the knocknock burglers and second he made thousands of calls and texts to of all people people
Monica cimenti in fact just days after Fabio's death Monica held a wake in her backyard
and Robert Baker actually showed up you did meet him I did morela says she saw Monica hanging out with Baker I saw her
back outside again the drink smoking and talking to this guy I found out that that was his name Rob and um she
introduced me to him Luigi noticed him too Robert and Monica were in the corner talking to each other sort of away from
the party and there was something else Luigi noticed about Baker he had uh bandages on his hands one guest even
snapped these pictures of Monica and Robert Baker together if you look closely you can just make out a bandage
on Baker's finger police would later conclude Baker cut that finger when he killed Fabio and that's how his blood
was at the scene detectives visited Monica at home using what they called aruse telling her they
were investigating the knocknock burglars when in fact they were investigating her and secretly following
Monica and Robert Baker and according to authorities it paid off they say they found evidence that Monica and Baker
were having an affair and conspired to kill Fabio over the past several months months investigators have developed
information and identified Robert Baker 55 years old of Koga Park and Monica cimeni 45 years old of
Woodland Hills who was the wife of our homicide victim as responsible for his murder he said uh we arrested Monica for
the murder of your brother and Robert Baker for the murder of your brother and I was in shock I'm like they
you sure you know I I was in shock according to the prosecution these two were plotting and planning to kill Fabio so
they could live their life together Mary fulan is a former Federal prosecutor and a 48 Hours consultant it
was a very complicated investigation as author hustled Robert Baker and Monica simonelli into court
they each pleaded not guilty calling people versus Robert Baker but almost 6 years later Robert Baker changed
everything when he came to court that day people were [Music] stunned [Music] Monica simonelli was being accused of
cheating on Fabio with that racketball coach Robert Baker and then along with Baker planning Fabio's murder my instant
and thorough and complete reaction was there's no effing way I was there she was
decimated after months of crying and grieving alongside Monica Bobo's family couldn't believe it either 20 some years
in my life she was like a sister she was a cool aunt to my kids she was lovable whole family felt that way about her
then in 2023 Baker skipped trial all together and pleaded no contest Robert Baker leads no contest and that's in
essence accepting responsibility for the murders he's ultimately sentenced to life without
parall the maximum sentence in this case is life imprison without the possibility
of parole plus one year you understand this yes sir but while Baker was accepting responsibility for Fabio's
death Monica wasn't what he and Monica did to my brother Fabio is unfor give all but Monica's own daughters Isabella
and Jessica supported their mom we will continue to stand by our mother as we have done for the last six years and we
will fight for her innocence as Monica prepared to go to triy her defense attorney Leonard Lavine
made a statement we are confident that Robert Baker's guilty pleas and his truthful testimony will finally
establish once and for all that Monica Celli had nothing to do with the planning or the
murder of Fabio cimmelli her husband Monica's defense team wasn't answering questions before trial so we
asked New York based defense attorney Julie rendelman to review Monica's defense team's pre-trial
motions there's no witnesses that we know of so far that are going to come forward and testify that she planned
this Murder She says Monica's relationship with Baker doesn't prove anything it seems to strengthen the DA's
case that not only did she have an affair but the person she was having the affair with is the killer I hear you but
the problem is is that simply because an individual is having an affair the you cannot take the leap to get to um an
individual being responsible um for the death of their loved one certainly not Beyond A Reasonable Doubt but the
prosecution says the affair is key to establishing a conspiracy between Monica and Robert Baker an alleged conspiracy
detective spent months tracking how long was that investigation 5 months 5 to six months
while the da also declined an interview before going to trial former prosecutor Mary fulan reviewed the case against
Monica so this is the scene of the crime yeah yeah this is where the two joggers
you know came according to the video from a a neighbor uh running up here toward the house prosecutors say that
first hooded figure in the green sweatshirt is Robert Baker so what about that accomplice we don't know who that
person is it's a mystery what does this indictment say about Monica cimenti yeah
this indictment is a very detailed outline and timeline of the plot to kill fabios
selli motive here is simple I mean this is love and money this is one of the oldest crimes in the book where you know
two lovers desperately wanting to be together and they try to get rid of one of the spouses so they can be together
for what for financial benefit and that would mean the 3/4 of a million life insurance policy the house 401ks police
say the plan was to Stage the scene to make it look like the work of the knock knock burglars and throw police off
their Trail and they believe Monica was deeply involved they believe she was one
the coordinated everything the one that showed him you know where the house was where the DVR was so that he knew where
to go to rip it out of the walls how to get into the house and that's not all the prosecutor says 6 months before
before the murder Monica forwarded this email sharing details of her home security system with Baker she provided
the password the username the loging credentials as well as the user manual to Robert Baker the same day that she
received it from the surveillance company and then there's the day of the murder prosecutors say Monica's behavior
that day is a key element of her role in The Conspiracy to kill faia according to
prosecutors this surveillance video shows Monica left home at 326 p.m. driving the family's black Ford F-150
pickup this is where she came according to prosecutors to establish her Alibi so that happens in
this parking lot she pulls in here in her Ford 150 pickup truck right in front of this store stops for just a few
minutes prosecutors say they have video where it appears an individual gets into
Monica's truck they say that person was Robert Baker Monica then goes alone into the
Target store and begins shopping but as she leaves prosecutors say this surveillance photo shows her fixated on
her phone they would tell a grand jury it appear years she was streaming video from her home a lot of it but what was
Monica watching how do you think Robert Baker's plea will affect Monica cti's trial for
a look at a timeline of the case go to 48 [Music] hours.com [Music] so what was Monica simonelli watching on
her phone that afternoon at about the time her husband was being murdered the phone records and data show
that she's connecting to a unique IP address it happens to be the IP address of the house and there's a large amount
of data that's being consumed and that large amount of data is consistent with video streaming I.E the surveillance
video of the surveillance video according to the DA it might have been video from her
home security cameras but could Monica have been watching the actual murder no the surveillance cameras on
the house are are facing outside but they're not facing in the pool area which was where Fabio was located at the
time so they didn't actually capture the murder but they would capture obviously
who was coming and going Monica could have been watching everything else prosecutors say they're
going to argue she's watching the scene the scene of the crime to see the comings and goings of when Baker and the
accomplice are going into the house when are they leaving the house so that she knows when she can leave here and go
home prosecutors say while she's watching the feed Baker and his accomplice were on the cimen Tilly
property stalking Fabio according to the prosecution quote it was a very targeted attack that was
done with the intent to kill they also go on to say that quote he was stabbed in the neck it cut his jugular vein cut
the carded artery and there's more evidence of the plot to kill Fabio prosecutors say baker was planning
a future with Monica the da say is that about 2 months before the murder uh Baker told a friend
that he hadd been dating this woman for about a year uh and that he sent a picture of that woman and that woman was
Monica and then two months later Fabio was killed authorities also say Monica's Behavior after the murder is suspect she
didn't move her teenage daughters out of the [Music] house or have her security system
repaired and the prosecutors argue that the reason why she had no concern because she knew who the killer was and
she was with them this is a woman who is pretending to be a grieving Widow and making all
these posts on social [Music] media who at the same time is carrying on a tour love affair with the man who
actually killed her husband prosecutors made explicit photos public in court filings some we can't
show you they say it's evidence the secretive romance continued after Fabio's death I mean that's a double
life the da presented a photograph of Monica and and Baker to the grand jury and it was a photograph of Monica
actually grabbing his crotch and this was one uh that was taken in Vegas there was also this this photo of
a mirror right and it was a photo of the back of Monica with Mrs Baker uh written
a lipstick on the mirror the lipstick and the mirror what does that tell them again this all goes
to motive I mean Mrs Baker she wanted to be Mrs Baker but when detectives asked Monica
about Robert Baker prosecutors say she told them she wasn't even sure of his last name they say she also told them
she wasn't sure how to work the home security cameras to quote the prosecution here
they say quote she's a liar she's a manipulator she's a cheater and everything that comes out of her mouth
has to be taken with a large grain of salt large enough so that you could choke on it if they can show that Monica
lied about her lifestyle about the affair about a variety of other things that they'll convince the jury that
she's also lying about her involvement in this conspiracy to kill Fabio and they say when she was later
confronted about why Baker's blood was found in her house she continued to lot she comes up with some cockin story
about you know playing rocketball with Baker and hitting him in the finger and that it was bleeding and there was a
bloody towel and she had to bring it home and and that's why his blood was at the
house but full genan says one of the biggest pieces of evidence against Monica is what happened when police came
up with a plan to secretly record the couple it began when they pulled them over as they were driving it's a ruse by
the police they say that they think the car that they're in is stolen and they wanted to you know just check it out and
you know probably isn't and they handcuff them per protocol put them into the police vehicle but what they don't
know is that vehicle's wired and that there's a van up the street with police in it listening to the for every word
and it's at that point Monica says and I'm going to quote here somebody must have talked somebody is doing this to us
and then she said they must have something they must have something that's pretty damning evidence
as a former prosecutor that is close to an Omission to being involved in this conspiracy according to detectives
Monica was also recorded telling her cellmate he's not just my lover he's my Confidant he's my
everything detectives also intercepted letters Monica wrote to Baker from behind bars saying I'm always amazed how
we both know what the other is thinking destined and I miss you so much my love when you look at these pieces in the
totality it's going to put together a pretty perfect puzzle here and the puzzle will paint this picture that
Monica conspired with Baker that he did not do it alone that they did it together but Monica's Defenders say the
case against her is flimsy and they say baker did it without her Robert Baker may have killed him
because he wanted him out of the way maybe he did it because he hoped that by killing him he would get Monica to
himself that in and of itself does not establish that Monica was in on the [Music]
murder Monica simen Tilly's defense is adamant she had absolutely nothing to do with Fabio's murder the defense's
position is that there is no hard evidence actually no evidence that establishes Monica sementelli
participated in conspiracy and if you can't prove a conspiracy you can't prove Monica's guilt says rendleman the sheer
number of circumstances that seem to weave together the parking lot meeting the walking into the store and watching
video that is streamed live from the home the password being given to the killer all of those things the sum of
them wouldn't a jury believe is just too much of a coincidence obviously I can't
answer for what a jury's going to say um the defense I can promise you is going to attempt to poke holes holes in every
single piece of evidence you just spoke about so let's go step by step the sharing of that password for the
surveillance video so there is no question that she shared the password let me says there's no connection
between sharing that password and a murder plot there's absolutely no evidence between the 6 months that she
shared it and the day he was killed that establishes there was any plan in place
between them whatsoever to have her husband killed not a text not an email not a conversation with her best friend
saying she's over her relationship the second issue is there's absolutely no evidence that Robert Baker downloaded
the app or ever even used the app let's talk about the actions in the parking lot the day of the markers
someone appears to be getting into the car keep a couple things in mind one is from the defenses perspective the video
footage is so grainy that you can't make out who if anybody is getting into Monica Celli's car and what about the
allegation that she was watching video of the house as the murder took place once she went inside the target
there was a point in time where she seemed fascinated fixated on her phone well I'll tell you one thing the
prosecution doesn't know what she was watching on her phone they cannot articulate nor will they ever be able to
articulate what was going on on in that phone but it was being streamed from her
home she could be watching a show just like any one of us watched a show while we're walking
along the prosecution really digs in on Monica's character fact that she's having an affair well let me quote what
the defense says in regards to that quote the prosecutor's evidence of M Simmon tell's Affair and specifically
the sexist and Lord manner in which it was presented was irrelevant improper and unfairly prejudicial to Ms simonelli
they go on and say the sexual and romantic details of their Affair were simply irrelevant to the question
whether they conspired to murder Fabio Celli but then why lie to investigators allegedly saying she was unsure of
Robert Baker's last name the question becomes why is she lying is she lying because she committed a murder or is she
lying because she has been in a trist with someone for quite a while and doesn't want the world to know
particularly law enforcement prosecutors did find it suspicious that on the night Fabio died
Monica was already inquiring about his life insurance but rendelman says it's not odd I understand um how it could
look insensitive to start asking about a life insurance policy so soon after but
if you're uh an individual that is not financially sound you have two girls at home you have potentially a mortgage to
pay you have bills to pay you are going to be worried about the Financial Security of your
family and come trial says rendleman what may really help Monica is that she won't be tried with Baker the jury will
not see the man who committed the actual murder at the defense table next to Monica and that could make the case
harder for prosecutors says Mary F and the fact that he's her lover and the killer the one that the DNA is around
the house I mean that there is a spillover effect and that all would have you know potentially impacted I think
the jury in this case and he's no longer there would you say it was his last gift
to Monica yeah I would cuz there's absolutely no other reason for him actually to plead straight up without
any real plea bargain here to life without the possibility of parole except I guess his last murderous chivalrous
act but it seems Baker may have an even bigger impact on Monica's case 48 Hours went to see him in jail and he told us
Monica had nothing to do with the murder of Fabio and she never knew that he was
Fabio's killer Baker also told us that he's no longer in touch with Monica and he has not decided if he will
testify another factor that could help Monica says rendleman the daughters Monica shared with Fabio are standing
behind their mother and so there's an argument to be made that the jury's looking at the daughter saying if they
believe her after all this shouldn't we as for Monica herself she's never spoken publicly except at a
memorial for her deceased husband how luy am I to have lived the greatest love story of all
time the story that people only read about the story that movies are made of thank you so
[Applause] [Music] much need more time with 48 Hours go deep behind every True Crime episode with
firsthand accounts from 48 Hours investigations were you at all prepared for what happened in this case shock is
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When a renowned hairstylist is killed poolside, investigators look at his wife. Was her alleged affair with her racquetball coach a motive for murder? "48 Hours" contributor Michelle Miller reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

CASE UPDATE: On April 11, 2025, a jury found Monica Sementill, 53, guilty of murder and conspiracy for masterminding the murder of her husband Fabio, with special circumstances of murder for financial gain and murder while lying in wait.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Monica Simonelli is accused of conspiring to murder her husband Fabio with her lover Robert Baker, raising questions about evidence and innocence.

Key points

The Murder of Fabio Simonelli. Fabio Simonelli, a celebrity hairdresser, was found murdered in his home, leading to a complex investigation.
Robert Baker's Plea. Robert Baker, accused of murdering Fabio, pleaded no contest and was sentenced to life without parole.
Monica Simonelli's Arrest. Monica Simonelli was arrested for conspiring to murder her husband, Fabio, amid allegations of an affair.
Monica's Suspicious Behavior. Prosecutors argue Monica's actions after the murder indicate she knew the killer.
Evidence of a Double Life. Prosecutors present photos of Monica and Baker that suggest a secret romance.
Defense's Argument. Monica's defense claims there is no hard evidence against her involvement in the murder.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

He was the love of her life.

1:58WatchMar 15, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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