The Monica Sementilli Affair | Full Episode + Post Mortem | 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 knock knck burglaries I was hearing about home invasion it was assumed that it was a
couple guys that had jumped to 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 distro brought
and she was saying they killed Fabio Fabio's F 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 cimenti 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 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 cimenti is scheduled to go on
trial for the murder of her husband celebrity hairdresser and Beauty executive Fabio
simeni it's a tangled story her Defenders say Monica simeni 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 [Music] 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 Tilly'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 cimenti had been a superstar in the beauty business Welcome to
Hollywood you're on he was a happy man who we spoke with those who knew him best in
2017 Bobo's sister 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 friends 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 Luigi SEI the first thing that comes up is his profile yeah Fabio and
his sister Morella 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 Mela were
getting famous hey welcome FB 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 casos was Fabio's colleague what happened was this
was the opportunity to really allow the things that he wanted for his family to come to life by taking in 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's r a Porsche 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 porch 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 police 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 17 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 Brentwood 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 knocknock 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 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 Simmon Tilly house but when police came 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 $11,000 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
racketball 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 serve 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 knock knock 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 knock knock burglar 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 cimenti 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 people versus Robert Baker but almost 6 years later Robert Baker
changed everything when he came to court that day people were stunned [Music] Monica simonelli was being accused of
cheating on Fabio with that racket ball coach Robert Baker and then along with Baker planning fao'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 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 pleads no contest and that's in
essence accepting responsibility for the murders he's ultimately sentenced to life without
Paro the maximum sentence in this case is life in prison 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 forgivable 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 6 years and we will fight for her innocence as Monica prepared to go to
tribe 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 simonelli had nothing to do with the
planning or the murder of Fabio simentelli 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 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 6 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 you this is where the two joggers you know came according to the video from 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 centilli
yeah this indictment is a very detailed outline and timeline of the plot to kill
fabios selli the 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 knocknock 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 logging 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 cen's trial for
a look at a timeline of the case go to 48 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 that 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 going 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 simen 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 said say that about 2
months before the murder uh Baker told a friend that he'd 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
repair 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 Tor 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 his 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 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 Tim himself himself that in and of itself
does not establish that Monica was in on the [Music] murder Monica simen Till'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 citelli participated in a 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 is going to say um the defense I can promise you is
going to attempt to poke hes 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 santelli'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 Simon tell's Affair and specifically the
sexist and Lord manner in which it was presented was irrelevant improper and unfairly prejudicial to M 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 rendelman
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 fan 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 lucky 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 much
[Music] [Music] 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
the word that comes to mind get inside the twists and turns and get in on the case listen to postmortem from 48 hours
now available wherever you get your podcasts [Music] this is postmortem and I'm your host
anarie green the murder of beloved celebrity hair stylist and Beauty executive Fabio centilli sent shock WS
across Los Angeles for Fabio's friends and family learning who could have been involved and why shock them most of all
so with me to discuss the latest updates and some big new news for the case our CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller
and producer Greg fiser welcome guys hi there hey great to be here so 48 Hours has covered this story from the very
beginning 48 did a broadcast in an hour in 2018 how did you first learn about this case there was this open case of uh
this guy who'd been murdered and I live in Los Angeles and it seemed like a pretty
high-profile case to just be lingering around with no resolution and I started asking around some of my sources at LAPD
and I think it was more what they didn't say that made me wonder wow something's
going on with this there's some layers here yeah they don't want to tell me what's happening and I actually called
Monica because I wanted to just talk to her and find out hey why is your case open do you have any leads as to who
killed your husband what did she say I had a brief conversation with her on the phone she but she just said oh you know
I'm really busy I'm on a plane I'm taxiing on the runway I'll call you back later and she never called me back and
then a few weeks later she got arrested and I said oh wow this is a story for us
okay so Michelle I want you to sort of take us through how this whole thing unfolded so on January 23rd 2017 Fabio
was brutally murdered by his pool at home and at the time investigators were stumped they just couldn't fathom why
anybody would want to kill this man he was a celebrity hairdresser he had come from Canada uh having been doing all
kinds of hair shows he was well known in his industry and everyone we spoke to his friends his co-workers his family
they just say he was this beloved person no one could figure out why somebody would not just kill him but kill him so
brutally and his daughter discovered his body which was really you know I can't even imagine that happening he had no
known enemies and and at first police believed he was yet another victim of the notorious knock knock burglars who
had been robbing the homes of Los Angeles celebrities for years uh some of some of their victims have been uh
basketball star Derek fiser and singer Nicki Minaj but the thieves typically just stole cash they stole jewelry but
no one would would end up being killed in these things what was surprising whoever killed Fabio left an $8,000
watch a on his wrist what we learn later on is that the people that killed Fabio wanted
to set it up to look like a botched burglary knock knock burglary who knock on the door to make sure nobody's home
and then they break in I remember the knocknock burglars because it made sort of national news and in watching the
video uh the surveillance video as well as a knocknock video I thought yeah they
do look a lot like them but I thought it would be quite a leap to kill someone because that's not these guys were up to
and then we find out that there's DNA from another man at the scene his name is Robert Baker yeah Robert Baker they
put his DNA in the system and it pained and that's because inside the police database he's a registered sex offender
yeah so they get that first hit and they start looking at his phone records and they see that he's got thousands of
phone calls back and forth with Monica Simon Tilly the wife of the victim the way the police describe it is they did a
ruse so they don't tell anybody about the evidence they have against Robert Baker so then they start uh following
them around and they catch Monica and Robert Baker who obviously in a relationship hanging out at these
different bars and restaurants um you know hugging and kissing outside and they start taking photographs and it
takes a while almost 5 months after Fabio's death Monica and Robert Baker they're arrested for his murder one big
question Still Remains how involved was Monica in her husband's death I mean is it really just
the love affair between the two that prosecutors think was the motive for her involvement well prosecutors say that's
one angle but the other is $1.7 Million worth of life insurance that's their theory that it was love and money you
think why why murder someone that you want loved and and you know you talk to family and friends uh her close friends
and they just see them as the picture of a love affair yeah and the the family was devastated so they had been married
for 20 years and and by all accounts their relationship pre Robert Baker was a loving one so the idea that you would
have your husband murdered so aggressively uh defense attorneys are arguing it just doesn't add up right I
imagine friends and family are sort sort of racking their brain looking back were
there any signs you know and you guys actually spoke to one of her friends Michelle you spoke to Elise yes we
interviewed Elise in 2018 she described how Monica reacted to her husband's Murder She said she was inconsolable she
was called over in fact by Monica the night that that FAO was murdered she said she couldn't complete full
sentences she was crying profusely and for Elise it just didn't seem fathomable just it was the last thing on her mind
that you know Monica could be involved in this way because she exhibited such love for her husband during the times
that she saw them together yeah and Michelle your interview was so great with Elise because there there was that
point where she was so emotional talking about trying to console Monica she'd never been in a situation before where
somebody's loved one was murdered that afternoon and she talks about just holding her and you can see the emotion
in her eyes when you were talking to her and you you wondered about the feeling of betrayal when Monica's then arrested
while family and friends are watching Monica after the murder of her husband investigators are watching her and there
are a few things that stand out in terms of the behavior one of them doesn't seem
like a big deal to me but she doesn't leave the house she doesn't move out of the house I could I thought to myself I
could understand this is where your husband was maybe you don't want to leave that but then she doesn't repair
the security system which does seem odd yeah and she's her prosecutors arguing she was too comfortable leaving her
children home alone she would stay out she went away for the weekend with Robert Baker Rob Baker and the
prosecutors argue that she felt well I know there isn't a killer on the loose because I'm with him the defense argues
that's not true but that's that's part of their rationale for the case so can we talk a little bit about Robert Baker
because before I watched your hour the first picture I saw was the last court appearance that he made and I just
thought this guy former porn star uh Uber masculine had something about him I I just didn't get it um but Greg you
actually met with him yeah I I went to the jail and I met with him and and right at first I was um struck he looked
well he always seemed kind of like this draggled character when I saw him in the
courtroom but when he he uh showed up to talk to me in jail through the glass you
know he looked like a you know the guy from the gym he looked like a racketball instructor he was fit like he lifted
weights and he was disarmingly Charming you know we really talked for 30 minutes
and he was asking me questions he was working it I realized afterwards did he work you uh just in trying to get his
message across what was the message you know I well he and I acknowledged like I
always do in those kinds of jail house interviews that the phone call is being recorded the police are listening to
every word he says to use it against him or Monica and so he knows that so I think he was trying to send a direct
message that Monica was not involved in the crime in any way shape or form so the assertion that you brought up from
prosecutors is that Monica is the brains behind the operation that he's the muscle but she's the brain
what do they mean by that well they mean that one that she knew the timing of when her husband would be at home she
knew where the surveillance cameras were outside the home she knew the security system passwords she's the one with the
access to the financial reward if they're in on it together I mean the prosecutors have 56 overt acts which
they claim constitute the conspir and those are the things that Michelle is listing and they say that she tried to
establish an alibi as well so I want to go through the timeline Monica centilli left her home around 3:26 p.m. just less
than an hour later about 4 18 there were two hooded figures that rounded the corner surveillance camera
from a neighbor's home picked them up and police believe that between that time and 453 was when the murder
actually happened because at 4:53 they see the black Porsche leaving the home Fabio santi's black Porsche so Monica
before the actual murder goes to Target um and she drives into the parking lot and the car door opens and a figure gets
into her car and then she drives to the far end of the par parking lot and the person gets out of the car she
drives to another location in the parking lot Parks the car and walks into the Target store the prosecution
believes this person who got into her car is Robert Baker that's how the prosecutor describes that tape but the
defense describes that very same Target surveillance video of the parking lot saying you can't see anybody get into
her car you don't even know if the door opens the prosecutor is making this brainy it's you know but the behavior of
the car like why would you stop it's odd why would you park over on the other side right stay there and then come back
and park in a different location those are questions prosecutors are hoping that all 12 members of the jury will
Define as as suspicious prosecutors describe her behavior in the store is that she is fixated and fascinated on
the screen of her phone and they check the data and it seems that the prosecutors alleg that she's watching
the home security system and that she must be doing that because of the amount of data that's being used by her phone
connected to the home IP address and of course you know the defense attorneys will argue that you don't know well
maybe that app was connected but she was looking at an email on her phone and she
didn't know the app was was connected you know and prosecutors will say that she was watching the period of time that
her husband was murdered so what I loved about this hour is the inclusion of that
attorney that defense attorney it's not Monica's defense attorney but another defense attorney that really goes after
the case you got a window into how they are going to tackle this case Point by Point by Point CU everything seems so
clear until you talk to a defense attorney and in many cases case yes learned they
break everything apart I think of all the great cases that we have watched that have riveted America over the last
20 years and that's how in large part many people are found not guilty as a result of the breaking apart of the
evidence so one of the most heartbreaking details of this case is of course that their daughter Isabella is
the one who comes home and discovers her father's body and it would seem unusually cruel for Monica a mother to
allegedly allow her daughter to walk into the crime scene like that but what may be even more shocking is her
daughters are standing by her are they the only family members still standing by her yeah they are the uh you know her
daughters are standing by her but all of Fabio's siblings the son from his first
marriage uh that end of the family uh feel convinced that Monica was involved it's very sad how there's this
split now between the daughters and Fabio's siblings who used to all be such a close-knit
family so Michelle you interviewed so many people from Fabio's life his friends his family I could feel his
energy through the screen even in sort of shaky Family Video you could see he was a big personality Fabio was a
self-made man you know he and a sister they were so incredibly talented that they created opportunity after
opportunity for themselves and ultimately being excellent at what he did the world came looking for him they
traveled all over the world the lifestyle the the circumstances he spent a lot of time away from home traveling
perhaps that was really the root of an opportunity for for Monica to have this affair uh with Robert Baker but all of
the success in the career ultimately led to this moment Monica simeni made a choice and put her family In Harm's Way
by being in a relationship with someone who had had a sex offender background who had uh we didn't even really get
into this he was a pornographic film star right uh yeah by some by some estimations I can't speak to that but
Greg has a number of details that he can illuminate GRE do you tell well so you know that was one of the funny things
Baker asked me well have you done a background check are you aware of my background and so the first thing I
talked about well you know I'm aware that you worked in the industry in the in the industry he looked kind of happy
that I I brought that up and he was very proud yeah I had this sense that he was
saying like a lot of people in Hollywood want to say to you you know I'm an actor
I had the sense that he wasn't talking about well you know how badly it's going to play out in court that I have this
history in pornography no he was kind of saying well you know I'm an actor right
that that was strange and then you know he has this sex offense that involved his stepdaughter wow who after he got
out of prison for the charge married him and then they went into the business together and she
became pornography and she became kind of somewhat of a small level uh porn star that didn't make it into the hour
that didn't did not wow so then it makes it even more remarkable that after Monica and Rob are arrested for Fabio
seti's murder they're in custody they're in a Los Angeles jail awaiting trial they continue their relationship they do
can I just add something on the back end of what because you wonder if yeah not so fast we're leaving my
favorite part of the story well it's interesting because it it's now part of the evidence uh has been introduced by
prosecutors of his pornographic ped and so why don't you lead into it just this past
week there was a remarkable filing yesterday I think what's happening is um you know this is very common in a trial
situation that as it comes down to the wire because the trial is going to start very soon in April they start um both
sides prosecutor and the defense start arguing what should be allowed in and what shouldn't and so there's a flurry
of motions which is common um but the defense keeps trying to limit the amount of photos that are allowed in and so
yesterday the prosecutor did this remarkable filing with I don't know 20 or 30 I would call them pornographic
photos of Monica that were found on Rob Baker's phone there's screen grabs from video taken by ostensibly Rob Baker of
he and Monica engaged in different acts I mean it was really a a remarkable filing to find in the court record and
at the same time the prosecutors arguing that all of Monica's uh social media post about
being a grieving Widow with all these different pictures of Fabio should be allowed in because the judge listened to
the defense and said well we'll only have a few pictures of Fabio allowed so we don't Prejudice the jury and so this
seemed like a really aggressive move by the prosecutor yesterday to file all these offensive photos of the defendant
along with these media posts I think it was her way of saying to the defense hey
stop trying to limit things don't forget how much out there well shocking I said
to you earlier that when I watched the hour I thought it doesn't seem like there's a lot of proof of this affair
clearly there's a lot more that didn't come to light how are they able to keep their relationship going after they've
been arrested so there there's obviously an intermediary out there a friend of theirs who when they call the friend
each calls at the same time and they connect them via the phone yeah so the friend is merging the phone calls
because the jail prevents you from talking to other inmates just for their own security reasons in 2021 there was a
filing that for four years there had been numerous maybe hundreds of three-way phone calls that the they were
really complaining in the motion that they didn't even have the resources to record them all but they clearly had
recorded a lot and they recorded them they put them uh early on in uh cells not far away from one another and so
conversations between the two of them were actually recorded and they had their own love life anguage so to speak
oh yeah it was quite remarkable so we found in the filings two intercepted love letters that Monica had written to
Baker we assume they actually maybe even have more but those were the two that were in the filings and she would sign
them like saying l m l love of my life they refer to one another as their ride or die or she call herself your wifey
yes Monica Baker till death r or D ride or die wow and they had this according to the prosecutor which I'm sure is
going to be disputed by the defense they had this ride or die packed between the
two of them and they you know there are these mentions of r or and there was a ride or die cartoon of Two Lovers on
Baker's phone and that you know they claimed that the ride or die means we're together forever and committed to not
talk and keep the SEC but the defense is going to say that's a big leap for the uh prosecutor to make
but the prosecutor is making it but you also said that Robert Baker claims they are no longer in contact with one
another right so all these letters and overhears which they call them the recordings of the two of them talking in
jail happened during the first year so it's it's not clear if they're still in contact Baker claims they no longer are
and that the last time he passed Monica and spoke to her in a uh you know a random coincidence between jails she
cursed him uh as a murderer H so ultimately what we know is that in 2023 Robert Baker pleads no contest meaning
that he essentially accepts responsibility for Fabio's murder he sentenced to life without
parole what impact can his admission possibly have on the outcome of Monica's trial was this a gift I mean you you
sort of asked that in the hour yeah it's a win for Monica in that she's no longer
sitting beside the person that admitted to killing her husband so he's no longer in
line of sight so to speak yeah and you've got to realize that the Monica's defense attorneys tried time and again
with the judge to get the cases seever so they'd have separate trials and the judge denied that request so Baker and
one Fell Swoop by pleaing he just said I'm done I'm not g to fight it I'm gonna go down for life and he didn't get a
deal he gave her that severed trial that her lawyers were unable to get through legal means until he made it happen and
Greg when you talk to Rob Baker you know you said that he made it clear to you that Monica had nothing to do with this
but he said something else too about if Monica had known yeah he it was a interesting statement he said if she had
known I would have been in here in jail a lot sooner his meaning was that if she
had known I did it she would have turned me in and the prosecutor says no I have
56 overt acts that you know tell you're lying about that you asked him directly if this was one more gift one last gift
to his ride or die what did he say oh he got offended he said it's not a gift and
and actually there I kind of understood where he was coming from he's sitting there behind glass in a jumpsuit at the
becking call of Corrections Officers and he you know he's just kind of looking at
me like you think this is a gift stay in here for life and and and I said to him
well you know as well as I do that Monica's lawyers wanted to get the cases severed you were sitting there in court
while they argued it before the judge and uh they were unsuccessful until you made it happen sounds like a gift to me
and why not fight for your freedom why didn't he plead not guilty well that was another question I asked him I said
listen it's only a one a million shot because your blood and your DNA is at the crime scene in the car you know you
it's a slam dunk case against you but I said to him most people take that one in
a million shot cuz it's all they got instead of being in here here he hasn't technically confessed yet you know he
made it clear that he was the Killer and he acted without her what he said was you think there's due process and he was
kind of saying to me like you naive person sitting out there you haven't faced the system there's no no due
process for people like me once we get inside here and I said to him well there kind of is due process I mean you know
you got a lawyer he was paid for by the state he's got a good reputation he argued these things out in open court on
your behalf he even tried to stop you from pleading guilty and talk you out of it the judge makes his decisions they're
on the open record that's due process and he just looked at me like I was so naive like that's not due process so he
so basically there was no point in fight you can't fight the system yeah that was
his argument well I got to tell you I thought I could predict the outcome of this throughout almost the whole hour
and now I have no idea you just can't make some of this stuff up it's also fascinating to have a woman as the
defendant I've definitely seen cases where it's harder for a prosecutor to make the case and the jury's looking
over at a housewife and a mother and you know why would she go to this extent but
then of course at the same time I've seen a lot of cases where they kind of create that black widow Aura it will be
an interesting case to watch the trial well I will be watching cuz this is really a riveting fascinating case and
of course Fabio from my hometown of Toronto so I have a particular interest um thank you so much Michelle and Greg
this has been fantastic thank you great to be here so join us next Tuesday everyone
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When a renowned hairstylist is killed poolside, investigators look at his wife.

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.

Was a woman's alleged affair with her racquetball coach a motive for murder? Watch "The Monica Sementilli Affair" and then catch up with "48 Hours" contributor Michelle Miller and producer Greg Fisher on "Post Mortem" as they discuss the murder of celebrity hairstylist and beauty executive Fabio Sementilli. Go behind the scenes of Rob Baker's jailhouse interview as he serves a life sentence for murder, the love affair between Baker and Fabio’s wife Monica, and her alleged involvement in the plot to kill her husband.

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 Cimenti faces trial for allegedly conspiring to murder her husband Fabio, with evidence linking her to lover Robert Baker.

Key points

The Murder of Fabio Cimenti. Fabio Cimenti, a beloved hairdresser, was found murdered in his home, leading to shocking revelations about his wife Monica.
Monica's Arrest. Monica Cimenti was arrested alongside her boyfriend Robert Baker for the murder of her husband.
Trial and Confession. Robert Baker pleads no contest to the murder, while Monica maintains her innocence.
Prosecutors' Case Against Monica. Prosecutors argue Monica was involved in a conspiracy to kill her husband, Fabio.
Evidence of a Double Life. Prosecutors reveal Monica's secret affair with Robert Baker, the alleged murderer.
Monica's Defense. Monica's defense claims the evidence against her is flimsy and circumstantial.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

There's no effing way!

Reaction to the accusation against Monica.

3:04WatchOct 4, 2024

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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