Celebrity Hairstylist Murdered in His Own Backyard

- What is the emergency schedule? - Oh my God, my God! - Okay, what's going on with that? - What's going on with that? - Oh my God, it's outside of you! Believe me, God, everything I need to get out of here! - Oh my God! - Can you move me, God? - Fabio Semintelli was found by his daughter Isabella he'd been stabbed multiple times. - Can you wake him up? - No, I can't. I can't touch him in believing and he's really staring at me. I'm in blood everywhere! - I'm not mad. Do you know what happened? - No, I just came all the way down from the floor I'm in blood everywhere! - Okay, well listen, I did help on his way, okay? - Dad, for you, Dad! No, I'm not! I'm shake, I'm shaking him! - This case unfolds unlike anything I've ever seen. The sheer number of layers, investigators have to peel back to get to the truth is staggering. - They were put in a police car that was monitored by a video and audio. - Monika, Sonya, Semintelli. - Hello, I'm Fabio Semintelli. - What the (beep) - Get me out of this car! (dramatic music) - Woodland Hills, it's this quiet, peaceful suburban community. It's nestled in the San Fernando Valley. It's between the Santa Monica Mountains and the city of Los Angeles. But that piece is shattered. When celebrity hairstylist Fabio Semintelli is found by his 16 year old daughter Isabella on the patio, bleeding and unconscious. - Isabella, on seeing her father entered on the patio, contacting 911. 911 told her to go out to Fabio and attempt to revive him. - Is he on his floor, on his back? - No, no, he's leaning over a chair. He's like over a chair. - The phone call that Bella made to 911 is really heartbreaking. What you hear in there is just somebody who's in complete shock and desperation. And so she's desperately wanting to get help for her father. And still I think trying to make sense of what she's seeing. Can you roll him onto his back? Somehow we can get him on his back, okay? - Okay, I'll trust, I'm trying. - You're doing a good job yet, keep quiet. - We can't, I can't. - I don't want you to die, I don't want you to die. - It's hard to imagine, but it would have been like for a teenager to come home. There's that shock of the unexpected sinker dad who's so injured. And I think when something happens in our home, I think it shatters every sense of safety that we have because I think we all feel like if we make it home, we're gonna be safe. - Emergency personnel arrive at the scene and they do whatever they can to try to save Fabio's life, but it's too late. He's pronounced dead. And this is when Detective Ryan Verna enters the picture and he gets a call to come to the cemetery home. - We get to the crime scene. It's already locked down. The fire department's there. Police department, as far as uniformed officers are already there. The scene has been taped off. Monica and the two daughters were across the street out of neighbor's house. The kitchen led directly to the patio where Fabio's body was. There was a large amount of blood in the patio area. Fabio had injuries in all the right places if you wanted to kill somebody. These were all stab wounds to his neck, his heart, his femoral artery. There was a large amount of blood loss. Los Angeles County corner at the time, determined that it was a homicide due to sharp force injuries. - Now by all accounts, Fabio Semintelli is beloved by his clients, his friends, his family. So police have to look into his background to figure out who would have wanted him dead, this badly. - Fabio Semintelli was an executive with a company called Wella. They were under the Procurengamble umbrella. He was an influencer within his group. Hair stylist was well known for styling hair of Hollywood A-list celebrities. - Not only was he the celebrity who did the hair of famous people like Jennifer Lopez or Jackie Chan, he was a very devoted husband and a devoted father to three children, one by a previous marriage, Luigi, and then he had two daughters, Jessica and Bella, with his wife Monica. (singing) - Monica Semintelli was Fabio's wife. They had met in Toronto and got married in 1997. She had been one of his clients and also a makeup stylist. She supported him and moved with him to the United States. - Welcome to Hollywood. (laughing) - For anyone on the outside looking in, they really described it across the board as a love story. The children would tell things like seeing their mom and dad dancing around in the kitchen, when they came home from work. He called her his queen. And the people who knew him just felt like he was so lucky as was Monica that they had this dream marriage and an extremely happy family. (singing) - They were getting ready within a few weeks of the time of his murder to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary. - So detectives interview Fabio's wife Monica and their two daughters Jessica and Isabella at the neighbor's house. - Those interviews were mainly to establish what they had done that day and the time period around then. To find out, did their dad have any kind of enemies? Anybody who was hanging around the house that shouldn't have been. When we interviewed Monica, every answer about Fabio potentially having an enemy or any issues, there was nothing. Fabio was a good guy. That was it. And we asked her about if she had any kind of stalkers or a boyfriend or anything else. And her answer to us was, my husband was my boyfriend. - After clearing the scene, investigators realized that this attacker also robbed the Semintelli residents. So now they have to wonder, is this a random crime that just went horribly wrong? - There was some evidence of ransacking in the house. Monica said that she thought there might be some jewelry missing. She thought maybe there are $11,000 missing. - Some of the evidence that was located was actually things that weren't found. There was definitely a camera system that was inside of the house. Cameras that were placed outside the residence and we discovered that the box should have been in the garage but it had been taken. Where that DVR was located was up on a tall cabinet near the entry door from the garage to the actual house itself. We saw the wires hanging from the wall. Monica basically told us that Fabio is the one that knew how to access it. She didn't know anything about it and had no ideas about how it worked or operated. - It seems like everyone has a security camera these days. So investigators canvass the neighborhood looking for any security footage of the attacker. - One of the neighbors on their security system caught these two figures look like men who were running down the street around the time. - We see the two individuals running towards the residents prior to the murder. The suspects are wearing oversized hooded sweatshirts with the hood cinch tight to a hole that's about this big so they're not exposed. There is not a lot that you can see from the actual person besides the clothing and these guys are running with intent. They're not jogging. So based on what we see on the video it appears that these are going to be our suspects. - And there is one more moment caught on camera that jumps out to investigators. - We see that person wearing a distinct green hooded sweatshirt again after the murder occurs driving away from the scene and Fabio Simantelli's black 9/11 Porsche. - Using the neighbor's security footage investigators are able to determine that it took these killers only seven minutes to attack Fabio, ransack the house and flee the scene in his Porsche. - The time that it took to commit this crime led us to believe that there was a plan in place to kill Fabio Simantelli and to make it appear as if there was a burglary. - And as is the case in most homicides, Fabio's body provides another clue to investigators. - Typically in an incident with an edged weapon you will see defensive wounds as if someone put their hands up to stop an attack and they got cut or slashed. There is nothing on Fabio so it definitely appeared to be a surprise attack. - The crime scenes also telling investigators a lot about what may have happened both during and after this murder. - In the kitchen, there was blood transfer, some bloody shoe prints and also some blood droplets. The blood droplets were of interest to us. They appeared to be cast off as if someone had walked through with an injured body part and was bleeding. Our belief was that that blood was gonna be related to our killer. - While the blood evidence is sent out for processing Fabio Simantelli is laid to rest by his family and friends. And it is here when something very strange happens. - At the memorial, which of course is spilled with grieving friends and family, several people notice that there is a man who shows up, who nobody knows, people wondering who this person is. What is he doing there? And why is he spending so much time with Monica? - One of Monica and Fabio's friends was there And. saw a person that they didn't recognize. She ended up taking some photographs of this person and forted it off to us. The mystery man at the memorial service also had a bandage on his finger. When we got the photos, she said she believed the person thing was Rob, that he may be related to the racquetball or gym friends that Monica had. Police were eventually able to identify the person that had been at the memorial as Robert Baker. He was a racquetball instructor for Monica Semintali and several of her friends. There's a lot going on in this investigation at the same time. So while authorities are looking into this Rob guy, they actually find Fabio's stolen Porsche. Fabio's Porsche was recovered just a few miles away from where the murder occurred. The Porsche had been dumped there the night of the murder and it had been called in by a neighbor who had seen the Porsche sitting there for several days. Once we got out there it was evident that there was blood evidence inside the vehicle. We could see it on the door panel. Law enforcement run it through a DNA analysis and it comes back with a match. That match was Robert Baker, the very person who had been at Fabio's memorial service. The primary blood that actually came back as Rob Baker was actually inside the Porsche. There was some blood inside the house that came back as well but primarily the hit was from the Porsche. Robert Baker pops up because if you've been convicted of a felony your DNA is going to be in Kodas and so they think it who is Robert Baker. Going back to when he was in his late teens really 20s he was a military police officer. He was dishonorably discharged from the military because he had an affair with his then wife's daughter so he did some jail time for that. He had a prior conviction for a sex offence of which he was a registered sex offender. Upon coming out of the military he got involved in the adult film industry at which point that daughter that he had accosted became one of his adult film actresses. He had a pretty checker past. Rob Baker is now law enforcement's prime suspect in the murder of Fabio Semintelli. Regardless of what happened in the house, Rob Baker never should have been in Fabio's Porsche. We knew the Porsche was at the house prior to the murder. We could see the Porsche leaving the murder scene on video and we have Rob Baker's blood inside the Porsche. You know when did Rob Baker cut himself? We know murder was taken with a sharp instrument, right? For all those reasons we know that Rob Baker is most likely our guy. Investigators immediately put up surveillance on Baker. Based on the surveillance it was clear that you have Monica Semintelli dressing up like she's going up her night in the town with Rob Baker. Investigators discover that not only is he her racquetball coach but he is her lover. There was affection shown between the two of them and not only that there was affection shown from Monica to other people as well. A bouncer at one of these dive bars that was not typical behavior from a grieving widow. It definitely made us keen on Monica and what Monica was up to. You have to keep in mind that if you're married and you're having an affair you better pray that your husband or your wife does not end up dead because if you're having an affair immediately they're going to think there's a motive for you to have committed this crime. You had Monica Semintelli who allegedly had a fantastic relationship with Fabio but when you dug down deep she actually was in fact having a very very very steamy love affair with Rob Baker. Keep in mind this affair didn't stop when he died. She continued to see him, took pictures with him. There seemed to be no indication that she was suffering in any way from the loss of her husband. We set up an appointment with Monica shortly after this surveillance went up on February 21st, 2017 and during that interview we interviewed her, we interviewed Jessica who was also at the house at that time. Jessica had told us that at one point Rob Baker slept the night at the house prior to the murder happening months before that and the story was that Rob had drank too much and needed to sleep it off inside the house. When we asked Monica who Rob was that day, Monica did everything she could at the beginning to avoid talking about Rob Baker but we let into it. We said well you play us racquetball are you in a league and you know who would that be and she goes oh I think his name is Rob. Yeah Rob I think his last name is Baker. We go okay well you know this guy Rob has he ever been to your house? No Rob's ever been to my house. Okay has Rob ever driven in the Porsche 911? Now he's never driven in the Porsche 911. So when you put her all together we know that Rob Baker has been there because his blood's there. We know that Rob Baker has been in the car because his blood's there. We knew that we were getting a story from Monica and that it was inconsistent with what was actually going on behind the scenes with her. Now after the police interviews investigators continue to surveil both Monica and Robert Baker and that includes their social media activity and their cell phones. Monica was definitely leading a double life at the time. Monica's public perception was that she was a grieving widow. She made Instagram posts I think almost daily about how she missed her husband but in private we know that there was this lusty relationship that was going on with Rob Baker behind the scenes and while she's making these posts on Instagram for the public to see you know that she's so upset and sad within minutes she's sending new images of herself to Rob Baker. One of her friends said that when they had kind of racey talk among the friends that sometimes Monica was prudish and yet from what we know from the investigation it was exact opposite. When she was with Robert Baker she would go to thrift stores and she would buy clothes that were provocative and they engaged in this elaborate sexual relationship and I think the contrast even among people who have affairs was just remarkable in terms of how different she was in her appearance in her behavior and just about every aspect of her life when she was with Robert Baker versus when she was with her family. The data from Monica's and Baker's cell phones provides even more insight into their relationship. They end up uncovering a treasure trove of taxed and all kinds of messages putting the two of them. When you look at their affair it lasts for over a year before Fabio is murdered there are thousands and thousands of communications between the two of them. When she and Rob first started talking to each other they were talking through traditional means text messaging back and forth. As the relationship gathered steam they began using Viber which is an encrypted messaging app. When the investigators looked at the Viber messages the overwhelming amount of messages sent received via Rob Baker and Monica's cemetery was in the thousands per month so there was constant communication between Robert Baker and Monica's cemetery. The night of the murder all that changes. Viber is discarded for some reason and now they begin using WhatsApp. And there's one other aspect of how Monica was behaving. My perception of Monica and her feelings on her safety and the safety of her family was that she wasn't overly concerned about it. Every time we would talk to Monica we would say hey Monica did you get the camera's system put back up? She did change door locks apparently but at the same time she never replaced the camera system to the house. If something had happened in my house getting a camera system would be the first thing I would do. I would beg borrow or steal to to make sure that my family was safe and it appeared to us that her excuse for now replacing cameras was that the insurance hadn't come through yet. And that was a giant red flag to us as investigators. And you remember how Monica told investigators that she didn't know how to access the DVR system that contained the security footage from the cameras at the house? Investigators find something else out. There is data in her phone that suggests that she provided Rob Baker with the username and passcode to her surveillance cameras. It's determined that she's the one on the email from the security company when the cameras were installed explaining how to get robot access to the cameras and later on it's determined that her data from her device shows that she's actually accessing those cameras on the day of the murder and had not access those cameras for months prior to that. And this is while she's at Target with her alibi and wasn't at home. Yeah Monica's alibi during the killing was that she was shopping at Target but there's a problem with that. On the day that Fabio is murdered Monica leaves less than an hour before the murder happens and she goes to Target. While at the Target there is video surveillance that's recovered from the parking lot showing her meeting with Rob Baker. After that she reparks the vehicle, goes into Target, as she's leaving Target that is when she's looking at her phone to the point where she almost runs into something with her shopping cart. That's at the exact moment where she's watching her video surveillance cameras on her phone. You can see that the timestamps line up with everything that's going on at the time and there's a massive amount of data coming from her phone because she's using the app to watch the video cameras. It's search for natural evidence while she's looking at the videos but if you add in context that this is something she had in access to months why did she look at the cameras today right after meeting with Rob Baker. She also contacts Bella and tells her that before she comes home after school that her prescription glasses are ready and so she asks her to go pick up those glasses before she gets home and I think this is probably clearly a way for her to deliver lay her daughter getting home. And so Bella gets home about one minute after the murder occurs. And then Monica arrives home very, very shortly after that. So it's really a risky situation. You wonder what would have happened if Bella had come home? Would they have killed her as well? Hi, this is Vanessa just for Julie. Julie, this is Monica. So until we spoke today regarding my late husband's stock plan. Another piece about behavioral evidence after the murder is how quickly she begins focusing on money and the life insurance policy and how quickly that might happen. When we had talked to Monica about the insurance early on, in this case, we had asked her, did he have life insurance? She told us she had no idea. My lawyer has the forms that you sent me, but we're just wondering, I need to know, am I the beneficiary? Is there a beneficiary? Otherwise, we have to go to court. And I don't know what the next step starts. You can just let me know if you know there's a beneficiary. Behind the scenes Monica, she already knew there was life insurance. They're making calls. They're trying to get the money. Hi, my name is Monica Simantilly. I'm calling me half of my late husband, Fabio Simantilly. I'm calling about his stocks and if I refuse, my lawyer can't get a hold of anybody, my state lawyer. I don't know what's going on. If Monica successfully obtained the life insurance money, it would have been well over $2 million. At this point in the investigation, detectives believe they have enough circumstantial evidence to tie Monica Simantilly to the murder of her husband, Fabio. Law enforcement believe that she committed the crime for several reasons, one, for Fabio's life insurance policy, and also significantly so she can continue her love affair with Robert Baker. Monica is tied into this case through a mountain of circumstantial evidence. When you have one piece of it, you can disregard it really easy. When you have hundreds of pieces of circumstantial evidence that point to the direction of a person, then you really got to take a look at it. On June 14, 2017, police officially arrest both Rob Baker and Monica Simantilly for the murder. They were putting a police car that was monitored by a video and audio. There was an operation that was conducted by robbery homicide division, so it wasn't just simply, you know, we're going to arrest them and take them to jail. A fictitious warrant was read over communications so that Monica and Rob Baker could hear that she had an active warrant for the arrest with the murder of Fabio Simantilly, and it was all used as kind of theater to put this into, you know, their brains to see what they were going to say once they were in this car together. Number two, Monica Sonia Simantilly, one for 187, 186, first degree, murder for the murder of Fabio Simantilly. What the f***? Get me out of this car! What they do say is someone incriminating. They talk about someone talked, and normal person when they're arrested for the murder of their husband doesn't say that someone talked. They go, I didn't do this. This is crazy. I didn't do this. What is going on? Fam? Yes, I've heard everything. What is this? There's a warrant for your arrest for murder. Oh my gosh, my husband was murdered. I want to go. Listen, I'm very sorry to the loss. How can this be? All I can tell you is you've got a warrant for your arrest, and I'm going to make a phone call right now. Oh my gosh. The f***. The discussions they were having indicated that there was an intimacy between the two of them and that they should keep quiet. They're going to f***. Rob Baker and Monica Simantilly were both charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder. After Robert Baker and Monica Simantilly are brought in, investigators interview Monica at the Van Nies police station. I can't believe that I don't believe that Rob did that. Monica is telling us that she doesn't believe Rob Baker is involved in the murder. The only other thing I can think of that, his DNA would be in my house. It's probably when I cracked him in the hand and we played rock ball. And I brought the towel home and I even showed it to my husband and he said, don't bother washing it. I will get rid of it. She makes up a story that oh yeah, his blood got in the house because they were playing rack up all that day and she hit Rob Baker with a rack up all racket which caused him to bleed and blood was transferred onto a towel and then probably transferred into the house by the towel. It sounded like the story had been concocted long before they were arrested. Even with Monica and Baker and custody, investigators still come up with clever ways to get them together and get them talking. When Monica Simantilly and Robert Baker were in custody and they were transported for their court appearances, they were put in small jail cells near each other. They were monitored by audio equipment. Just hang in there, baby. Just be strong. I need you. It's like you need me. Hopefully they give you bad luck. Nothing's okay about this. Not for me. Not for you. We cannot be in here. Huh? I know. I don't know, babe. So, you know, if we stick with the program, okay? Conversations were picked up as far as sticking with the program. Rob Baker at one point talks about if he needs to, he will, you know, take the fall. He'll lie for her. Don't let anybody lie to you, babe. Stick it to what I said I would. And that is be with you and support you. And be your best friend. You hear me? Yeah. All right. I'm never going to drop the ball. I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. I got you. There was a conversation talking about how during count one night in jail a custody officer had come by and had said, hey, uh, Mr. Matelli asking for count. And that she was upset at that person because they needed to refer her as Miss Baker now. They also do a lot of planning of their wedding. Like, there's a fantasy aspect of this kind of going on, especially given the situation that they're in currently. They do some kind of mutual sexual stimulation. They declare they're loved for each other and said the recordings that are captured in some of these conversations between the two of them is really damning. And it really does go to show the conspiracy part of it from the legal standpoint. At one point, there was a toothpaste tube that was left behind during a jail appearance. The toothpaste tube was recovered by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. And the toothpaste tube was discovered to contain Rob Baker's semen. All along the way in this relationship, there's such a sense of immaturity to some extent. That's good. You want to see mine? Sure. Okay. I can't see anything. I can't see it. I can't see it at all. What does it say? Monica is having a conversation with one of her daughters and she actually pulls her hair up and shows on the back of her neck this kind of tattoo that says, right or die. And she's proud of it. You couldn't see it. This says, right or die. I'm kidding. It's just a pen. I wanted to grow with you. It's like she's showing off to her daughter. What it shows is Monica's relationship with Robert Baker has really eclipsed everything else in her life, including her concern for her daughters. So due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pretrial hearings, Monica Baker's trial is delayed for six years. And then Baker does something that changes everything. In July of 2023, Robert Baker pledged open to the court for the murder of Fabio Simantilli. Cleaning open to the court is essentially walking into the courtroom without a deal in place between the prosecution of defense and changing your play to guilty. For about six years, Robert Baker denies that he has had anything to do with Fabio's murder. And then really on the eve of his trial, he does a complete about face. And he pleads guilty to first degree murder. So he decides not to go to trial. I think that must have floored prosecutors of a huge surprise. It threw a giant monkey wrench into this case. At this point, Robert Baker and Monica Simantilli were being prosecuted together in the same case. So you would have Rob Baker and Monica Simantilli sitting next to each other at a defendant stable. Once Rob Baker pleads guilty, open to the court, that takes that away. Now it's just Monica Simantilli sitting by herself. It becomes a much more difficult case because we have direct evidence showing that Rob Baker is involved in the murder of Fabio Simantilli. We don't have that with her. We have circumstantial evidence. Robert Baker is full of surprises because in an unorthodox move, he decides to write a letter to attorneys on Monica's behalf. If you put this in context with the jail recording that we have, of him telling Monica that I will take the fall, I will lie for you, I will do whatever it takes to get you out of here. I think it's really important because what happens next is you get this letter that's sent off to Monica's attorneys, where Rob Baker writes and says that he is fully responsible for what happened, Monica knew nothing. Rob Baker says he goes to the Simmonsle House, he's going to leave a love letter for Monica on a windshield of a car, at that time he's confronted by Fabio Simmons-Tilly, and in defense of his own life, he has to stab Fabio Simmons-Tilly. It didn't fit with the facts of the case, but it gave a plausible way for Monica to say that she had no idea that this was going to happen. It really did force them, I think, to take a broader approach to gathering evidence. Now there was one aspect to the crime that authorities couldn't figure out at first. Remember the surveillance footage? Remember who was in it? That is when detectives get a huge break in the case. Throughout the investigation of Fabio Simmons-Tilly's death, they were able to track down Rob Baker pretty quickly. They did not, however, initially have the name of the unidentified person that was with Robert Baker when the murder happened. But prior to Monica's Simmons-Tilly's trial, they did find that individual. There was a money trail showing some payments to Christopher Austin. Christopher Austin was discovered to be the second individual scene running up to the house and involved with murder himself. There was flight data of him flying from Alaska to California. He was there at the date of the murder. He actually flew in the day before the murder and flew out the night of the murder back to Alaska. I'm really sad that I'm here. I understand, and to be honest with you, it's not the favorite part of our jobs. Sometimes things happen, but, you know, we're all human. You seem like a good guy. Christopher Austin's father and Rob Baker were friends. He was the big uncle to Christopher Austin. At the time of the murder and prior to that, Christopher Austin looked up to Rob Baker. And so he would do odd jobs. He would send Christopher Austin out to go pick up food and go do things and whatever need be done, Christopher Austin would do so. John is the detective. I've always tried to do good in this one day. I was a part of a horrible thing. And I have cried. So, it goes the show that no matter what good you do, you do a super bad thing. It doesn't matter. He talks about the fact that his friend, Robert Baker, had approached him, said he needed help, had told him initially that Monica was an abusive relationship, and he does help. He wanted him to be the lookout person. He implied there would be some financial benefit to him as well. And so Christopher agrees to essentially help Robert Baker with this murder. He said we're gonna go get this. Okay, so one, two, three, we go. And then where does that mean go though? You did what? You went and I heard him. Well, it wasn't just heard. Yeah, I know. Did you stop him at all? I know this has been way not even long time. But it's important for us to know. But from here, this way, we want to ask him. How many times did you stop him? Was that one? Where? Christopher Austin says that when they got to the Simmons Holy Residence that the front door was unlocked, Robert Baker knew this information. That the front door would be unlocked. They came into the house. It was a one, two, three go is what he said. And they rushed into the back yard. Christopher Austin held down Fabio Simontelli while Rob Baker did the majority of the stabbing. Christopher Austin admits to stabbing Fabio Simontelli once. Then they ransacked the house and got in the car and they took off. I'm a horrible person. He told me I wasn't. He said it's not your fault. You're a good person. I know I'm so mad. I'm hurt. I'm hurt that I'm here. He was arrested, convicted, and he agreed to cooperate against Monica Simontelli. This is a homicide case. That's like total awful lot like a Hollywood movie except that it's reality. You're going to learn a lot about the defendant Monica Simontelli. You're going to learn about her lies and deception. And ultimately the murder of Fabio Simontelli her devoted husband of almost 20 years. The prosecution's case was pretty straightforward. They argued that Monica Simontelli had a motive to kill her husband i.e. the life insurance policies because she was having an affair and wanted to leave her husband and that that affair continued on. We have not from the start of this case seven and a half years ago. Ever once contested that Monica Simontelli probably made the most fatal mistake of her life when she entered into an affair with Robert Baker. But that has nothing to do with Monica wanting Fabio dead or conspiring to kill him. The defense argued that any time you have an affair doesn't mean you are committing murder. They argued that Robert Baker acted alone, that there was no evidence that established beyond a reasonable doubt that Monica Simontelli was involved. The prosecution calls their star witness Christopher Austin to the stand and asks him about Monica Simontelli's alleged role in this murder. What was the plan? The plan was to have him kill. Baker told me she's loaded, she wants some gone, she's going to get paid. Did he specifically state insurance money? He did. He said once we get this insurance money we're going to be good and we're going to be planning money where that came from. Did he tell you how he knew Fabio was going to be home alone? He said he was a text, he kind of jolted, he said he's home alone. He said she's going to leave the door open. And when he said she, did he tell you she was? The defendant. When you got to the front door was it unlocked? It wasn't unlocked. Christopher Austin testified that he had been to the Simontelli home before. In fact, on one occasion he had gone there with Robert Baker. And Monica Simontelli was in the home, she showed them around so that they knew what the home looked like and she even fed them pizza so that they had a good familiarity with the home. And that she, Robert Baker and himself were part and parcel of this crime. What happened when you came through that door? Baker had covered his mouth. It started stabbing and it covered his eyes. And I stabbed him once. So you were holding you stab in one time? Where was that at? On the neck. Was he still seated in the chair? Yes. Christopher Austin says that he never talked to Monica directly in terms of her giving him instructions. About the video surveillance or about the door being open. But he did say that Robert Baker had told him that Monica was giving him all these things. And that he had observed Robert Baker texting with her on the day of the murder. But on cross, the defense challenges Austin's account, trying to poke holes wherever they can. You knew already that Mr. Baker had been sentenced to life without parole, correct? Yes sir. And you knew you were facing that as well, correct? Yes. And you knew the only way you could save yourself was to testify on behalf of the prosecution, correct? To tell the truth, yes. To testify also, correct? Yes. So it was the bad time with the first time that you ever said, "Oh Mr. Baker told me that Monica Smentilly wanted him dead for insurance money, right?" After I spoke with my attorney, yes. Right. And your attorney told you, if you stick to this **** you've been telling, you're getting no deal. Objection here sir. I'll withdraw the question here. I apologize. To counter Austin's testimony, the defense calls Robert Baker himself to the stand. Did you plan and execute the plan to murder Fabio Smentilly? Yes. and did you and- fact do so. I did. You've seen the defendant seek it over here, Monica Simantilli? Yes. You knew her well at the time of the murder, is that right? Yes. You're in a romantic or sexual relationship with her? Yes. You could say that. Is that true? Yes. Did she have anything to do with the planning or the execution of the plan to kill Fabio Simantilli? No. You're sure. I'm positive. Is that remain your testimony under oath today? It is. Prior to Monica Simantilli's trial, nobody knew whether Robert Baker was going to come in and testify, but lo and behold, he did. And what he testified to was that he had done this crime without Monica Simantilli's knowledge, that he had done it because he wanted her to himself and that he was going to get rid of Fabio Simantilli for him, not for her. This is obviously key testimony for Monica. And yes, when he was questioned by the defense, he was calm, he was cooperative, but his demeanor completely changes when the prosecution gets their chance. You have repeatedly changed your story in this case to fit the evidence, correct? Officially no. When you say officially, I don't know what that means. I'm just asking you, repeatedly changed your story to fit the evidence in this case, correct? Are you asking me or are you telling me what to say? You honor? On an official statement. I've been honest with you, on everything else is nothing. So if you were to have a conversation with Defense Council, were they are asking you to tell the truth and you lie to them, you would consider that to be unofficial? True. So it's okay that they asked you to tell the truth and that you repeatedly lie to them. I did lie to them. He had told many, many different stories before that. So he was not credible. He had a hard time on the stand, remembering the lies he told. And in fact, on cross, it was clear he had lied when his testimony undirect. The prosecution pulls out all the stops to prove Monica's involvement in this homicide. And as an example, they played the jury recordings of some of the conversations she had with Robert Baker while they were in custody. I don't know how to do this. I can't have that. I don't lie. I don't think you should lie to this. I have what I've found actual. Believe me. It's a shocking lie and a jury that they can't take it back. We take the blood out of it. It's got a very, very similar to that. I think it's the best time. I know what you're saying. That's extremely damning, especially in light of the letter that's written after Rob Baker pleads guilty in this case. After more than two months of dramatic testimony, the trial of Monica Semintelli heads into closing arguments. We're not here because she's a cheater or a liar or any of the other words that you could use. We're here because she's a killer. She's the mastermind. The defendant wasn't going to do the dirty work herself, right? She's not going to kill Fabio, but she knew that Baker would because Baker is a stone called killer. We're not here to decide whether or not Monica Semintelli was a bad wife and adulterist. You are here to decide if she's been proven guilty of first-degree murder. Robert Baker and Christopher Austin committed first-degree murder conspired to do that. Boy, did she make a stupid mistake? A mistake that brought a man into the lives of her family that she will have to live for the rest of her life, and she is guilty of a lot of things. It's stupidity, duplicity, lying, adultery, but she is not guilty of murder. The jury goes to deliberate and they have a tough job ahead of them. They have to weigh the competing testimonies of two confessed murderers. So where are they going to believe? Christopher Austin for the prosecution or Robert Baker for the defense? We the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant Monica Semintelli guilty of the crime of murder of the first degree. In the same case, we the jury in the above entitled action find the defendant Monica Semintelli guilty of the crime of conspiracy to commit murder. After being convicted on all charges, Monica then heads to sentencing and this is where Fabio's sister, Loretta and Morella, delivered just absolutely powerful victim impact statements. On January 23rd, 2017, my brother Fabio was ambushed in his own backyard, stabbed multiple times. One of those wounds pierced straight through his heart and the person responsible was in a stranger. It was the woman we had welcomed into our family for over 20 years, his wife Monica. You can go ahead and call yourself Mrs. Baker now because you lost the right to the Semintelli name. The world sees you now for what you are, a whore and a murderer. You shattered your daughter's futures, stole their innocence and destroyed the safety of their world. Let this stand like a punch to your face, to your body, to your rotten soul. Since the day I met Monica over 25 years ago, I respected her like a sister because my brother wanted to build a life with her. Reminacy is too painful and it deepens the wounds. She is a complete and utter stupid (bleep) Watching her dress like a slut for Baker, living six months off of blood money, only a devil could manipulate a reality to suit her comforts. In all my worst nightmares, I could never have fathom this calculated plan. Monica, you are a demon. She can't even look at me. Today, a life sentence will set us free for the wretched pain she put us through. To my beloved brother Fabio, you can finally rest now. Let your love and our words rest your soul. Justice has been served here on earth. Go now. Go to the arms of those who went before you. Our father, our mother, our uncles and cousins. They're waiting to welcome you into God's eternal embrace. You are safe now. No more suffering. No more fear. Only light, love and peace. And then Monica and Fabio's daughters deliver their victim impact statements. And you have to imagine how conflicted they must be considering they're the children of both the victim and the perpetrator. In spirit of trying to heal from this very horrible situation, I'd like to speak about my parents how I remember them. I often watch old home videos just to hear his voice. To hear his laugh. I want to remember what it felt like to have a dad to be wrapped in that kind of love and the protection. And then there's my mom, my rug. Now that we're grieving both our parents. I won't have my dad to walk me down the aisle one day. I won't have my mom to help me when I become a mother myself. And yet I will keep going. I'll keep fighting for justice, for the truth and for my mom. My name is Isabella. I'm the youngest daughter of Monica and Fabio Simitili. My mother was the best. She did everything for me. She gave up her career, left her family, all to support my dad and give us a good life. Many people think because I stand by my mother that I don't miss my father. That is false. I think about my dad every single day. My dad was the biggest loss of my life. And it pains me that you will never know this version of me. To my mom and dad, I love you. I miss you. And I will forever remember you dancing in the kitchen. After the victim impact statements from both sides, this is when the judge hands down his sentence. That kind of was the mastermind in this conspiracy that could have murdered a baker, did not have the intelligence to plan such a brutal well-thought-out slaughter. That kind of was the prime mover in this execution of a human being. It's been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of the role. Yes. It's a lust, right? I mean, it's one of the deadly sins, and you know, she fell into it. It's so easy in this world to be a good person, and she could have, if she had these feelings that she wanted to do something outside of her marriage, just go to Fabio and say, "Look, I think I'm done here." And now it's been the easy and the correct thing to do, but she chose to do this instead. And so now you have a family that's destroyed, and so she's absolutely deserving of being in prison for the rest of her life. [BLANK_AUDIO]