After eight hours of deliberation over two days, a 10-man, two-woman jury found Monica Sementilli guilty of the 2017 stabbing death of her husband, Fabio, a well-known Los Angeles hairdresser. As reported by NBC Los Angeles, Sementilli was convicted on charges of murder and conspiracy, involving special circumstances of murder for financial gain and lying in wait.
The case, which held the city's attention due to its twisted plot and the prominence of the victim in the hairstyling industry, concluded with a verdict on Friday morning. Fabio Sementilli, as cited by KCAL News, was vice president of education for Wella, the salon professional division of Procter and Gamble. He was 49 years old at the time of his death, which prosecutors argued was plotted by his wife and her lover for a $1.6 million life insurance payout.
Key testimony during the trial pointed to Monica Sementilli's involvement in a plan to kill her husband. Robert Baker, Sementilli's lover and now serving a life sentence without parole, unexpectedly testified that she had no role in the murder's planning. However, Christopher Austin, another defendant in the case, alleged that Baker had told him Monica wanted her husband dead. Despite not speaking to her directly about the crime, Austin entered a no contest plea to second-degree murder, facing 16 years to life prison according to a deal reached with prosecutors, a detail highlighted by FOX 11.
Throughout the trial, defense attorney Leonard Levine argued his client's innocence in terms of the murder, stating she was "guilty of a lot of things — stupidity, duplicity, lying, adultery" but not the orchestrating or conspiring to commit her husband's murder. This sentiment was echoed by a statement Levine made, as conveyed by NBC Los Angeles, indicating that while Sementilli has suffered for her poor choices, she was not guilty of first-degree murder. Nonetheless, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman was quoted by FOX 11 asserting that it was "very obvious that the defendant, along with her lover, murdered Fabio Sementilli along with assistance from Christopher Austin," primarily for financial gain and their future together.
Sementilli, who has remained in custody since her June 2017 arrest, now faces the possibility of life in prison without parole, mirroring the fate of her co-conspirator Baker. The case has drawn attention not only for its betrayal and greed but also for the impact it has had on the Sementilli family, leaving two daughters without their father, and now, potentially, their mother as well.
