Italian-Canadian celebrity hairstylist Fabio Sementilli of Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States turned 49 on July 13, 2016. He died on January 23, 2017.
Fabio Sementilli
Sementilli and his first wife Vanda Apostoli-Carino have a son together named Luigi Sementilli. The son was entitled to a $1.6 million life insurance policy which the father had taken out for him as part of the divorce settlement from the mother.
Fabio was the vice president of education for the Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) salon professional division Wella, which is based in Los Angeles. His work was featured on TLC and other networks.
Lori Sementilli Picillo and Mirella Sementilli Rota are Fabio’s sisters. Among his close friends were Antonio Quintieri, Connie Veroni, Dominic Veroni and Joe Mercurio and among the late hairstylist’s clients were Jackie Chan, Jennifer Lopez, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Russell Crowe.
In 1997, Fabio married Monica Sementilli. She gave birth to Gessica Sementilli in 1998 and Isabella Sementilli in 2001.
In 2007, Fabio and Monica moved from Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Los Angeles with their two daughters after he was promoted as an executive for Wella. While they were Los Angeles, Luigi was pursuing a master’s degree in philosophy at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Robert Baker
Robert Louis Baker is a registered sex offender and a former adult film actor who was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor in the early 1990s. He was as a racquetball coach at West Hills LA Fitness in Los Angeles when he met Monica.
In 2015, Baker and Monica started having an affair. They allegedly communicated via cell phones and encrypted communication applications regarding their plan to kill Fabio.
Baker enlisted the help of his longtime friend Christopher Brooks Austin of Vancouver, Washington, USA to kill Fabio. On January 23, 2017, Fabio was smoking a cigar on the patio of his residence in Woodland Hills when he was held down by Austin and stabbed in the neck, face and chest by Baker.
Baker and Austin used Fabio’s black 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera as a getaway vehicle. Isabella found her father’s body minutes after the murder and four hours later, his car was found abandoned on Califa Street in Woodland Hills 5 miles away from their residence.
Earlier that day, Monica drove to a nearby Target allegedly to establish her alibi. In August 2017, she and Baker were indicted in Fabio’s murder.
On July 7, 2023, Baker pleaded no contest to one count each of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and admitted the special circumstance allegations of murder for financial gain and murder while lying in wait. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In March 2025, Baker insisted Monica had nothing to do with the murder of Fabio. However, prosecutors believe that as the mastermind behind the murder plot, she wanted to score $1.6 million in her husband’s life insurance funds and avoid the process of a divorce.
Christopher Austin
Before moving to Vancouver, Austin lived in different parts of California including Van Nuys and Winnetka and in different parts of Nevada, USA including Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. He is also a former resident of Anchorage, Alaska, USA.
In 2020, Austin joined the field office of the Oregon Youth Authority (OYA) in Multnomah County, Oregon, USA as a parole and probation officer dealing with at-risk youths. On October 2, 2024, he was arrested in Washington.
Austin was still an OYA employee at the time of his arrest. He was extradited to Los Angeles County, California and booked into the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles where he was held on more than $2 million bail.
On October 18, 2024, Austin was arraigned at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles on charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder. On October 31, 2024, he resigned from his job at OYA.
In March 2025, Austin testified in court that he and Baker did kill Fabio. According to Austin, Monica did not take part in the killing but she left the door of their residence unlocked for him and Baker.
Austin clarified that prosecutors had not offered him a deal in exchange for his testimony. He was convicted of second-degree murder and personal use of a knife in Fabio’s killing.
On April 30, 2025, Austin will be sentenced. He is facing 16 years in prison.
On May 2, 2025, Baker will turn 63. In January 2026, Austin will turn 40.
Monica Sementilli
Before Fabio’s murder, Monica gave Baker the codes for remote access to the home security system of her residence in Woodland Hills. She and Baker monitored it on the day of Fabio’s murder to facilitate the crime.
Around 100 mourners attended the private memorial for Fabio at Wella’s headquarters in Los Angeles. In front of them, Monica sang the Frank Sinatra song “My Way” in honor of her late husband.
After Fabio’s murder, Monica spent a weekend with Baker in Las Vegas. They were unaware that the Los Angeles Police Department was wrapping up a case against them.
On June 11, 2017, Monica and Rota attended a national hairdresser convention in Toronto to accept a posthumous lifetime achievement award for Fabio. On June 14, 2017, Monica and Baker were arrested and imprisoned in Los Angeles.
On January 10, 2025, Monica turned 53 and on April 11, 2025, a jury in Los Angeles found her guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in Fabio’s death. On June 23, 2025, she will be sentenced at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles.
CONAN Daily 