The wife of celebrity hairstylist Fabio Sementilli was found guilty by a Los Angeles jury of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the 2017 stabbing death of Fabio.
Sementilli was found on his patio in Woodland Hills, California, with stab injuries to his chest, neck, and face on January 23, 2017.
The sentencing of Monica Sementilli is scheduled to take place on June 23rd.
Prosecutors said Monica Sementilli and her lover, Robert Baker, were having an affair and conspired to kill Fabio so the couple could be together and collect life insurance money.
Baker, who was waiting for the trial to begin, decided to plead no contest to all charges related to Fabio’s murder in 2023, including the special circumstances allegations of murdering Fabio for financial benefit and murdering him while lying in wait.
Baker pleaded no contest, which meant that he did not contest the accusations and accepted the facts as alleged by the prosecutors without admitting guilt. He was sentenced to life without parole.
Christopher Austin, a second man arrested in October, was charged with the same crime.
He told the jury that he and Baker had stabbed Sementilli after she left their house door unlocked. Austin denied, when questioned by defense attorneys, that he was offered a deal in exchange for his testimony by prosecutors.
Austin was found guilty of second-degree homicide and the personal use of a blade in Sementelli’s murder. When he is sentenced in April, he faces up to 16 years behind bars.
The verdict on Friday may bring some justice to the Sementilli family. They told “20/20” in interviews before the jury’s verdict that they still felt his absence deeply. Luigi Sementelli, Monica’s stepson and Sementelli’s child, said that his father’s Rolex watches comfort him.
“He wore this all the time. He wore it when he died,” he told “20/20.” “I wear it for special occasions when I wanna feel close to him. It’s probably my most- one of my most cherished- possessions.”
Mirella, Sementelli’s younger sister, said that she finds comfort in the memory of her father.
It’s difficult to find a silver lining in this situation. She told “20/20” that his legacy would live on. “We were fortunate to have him even for a brief time.”
