This Story Will Break Your Heart! No Movie Can Match This Tragedy! True Crime Documentary That Reveals the Human Cost Behind the Headlines

I know many of you use these episodes to fall asleep, so before you drift off, I'd love it if you could leave a comment letting me know where you're listening from around the world. Also, don't forget to like and subscribe if you're enjoying the episodes. On Monday afternoon, January 23rd, 2017, a young girl arrived back at her family's house in the hills of Woodland Hills, on the western outskirts of Los Angeles, and went into the backyard. The discovery awaiting her on the patio would set in motion one of California's most divisive murder investigations in recent years. Inside the residence, several things pointed toward a break-in. Someone had disturbed a bedroom. The family's Porsche had disappeared. The digital recording unit attached to the property's security cameras was also gone. Yet one conspicuous detail challenged that explanation. A Rolex worth approximately $8,000 had been left at the scene. An item of that value is rarely something burglars ignore. Before long, detectives would question whether the house had truly been robbed or whether someone had arranged the evidence to create that impression. The resulting investigation would span more than eight years. Its trail would pass through a racquetball court, a visit to Las Vegas, a journey by air from Alaska, a jail cell, and eventually a courtroom in Los Angeles. There would be encrypted communications whose contents were never retrieved, concealed messages exchanged between prisoners, and two men who admitted killing Fabio, but offered sharply different accounts. At the heart of the case lay a question that would split a family apart. Who else knew what was going to happen that afternoon? This is Fabio Sementilli's story. Fabio was born in Toronto, Canada, on July 13, 1967. His mother and father, Maria and Luigi, belonged to the city's substantial Italian-Canadian community. He grew up alongside two sisters, Laura Dana, who most people called Lori, and Mela. His stepfather, David V, would later become another member of the family. His mother wanted him to pursue a legal education. He entered university, but the lectures did not appeal to him, and he ultimately abandoned his studies. Rather than resume his education, he went traveling in Italy. There, he spent time with cousins employed as hairdressers, and their work sparked his interest. Back in Toronto, Fabio joined his sister, Mela, in opening a salon, using financial support from their mother. Initially, customers were scarce. To attract business, he personally publicized the salon. The salon had restaurants and clubs throughout the city. Gradually, more clients began occupying the chairs. Working in a salon was only part of what he wanted to do. Fabio started competing in hairdressing contests and won a young talent category at New York's Kaiser Beauty Show. That achievement brought further opportunities. Manufacturers recruited him to demonstrate their products on stage to audiences of fellow stylists. He realized that his abilities extended beyond cutting hair. He could also show other people how to do it. During the 1990s, while living in Toronto, Fabio met Monica Crescentini, who also worked in the beauty industry. Born on January 10, 1972, Monica was the daughter of Orio and Filomena Crescentini. Like Fabio, she came from an Italian-Canadian background, with a large family whose members maintained close ties. Her work as both a makeup artist and a hair model brought her into the same professional circles he frequented. They married in 1997. For Fabio, this was his second marriage. His first had produced a son named Luigi. He and Monica subsequently had two daughters, Jessica and Isabella. Fabio's professional standing continued to grow. In 2007, Wella, among the world's largest companies supplying professional hair care products, recruited him. Three years later, in 2010, the company transferred him to the United States to direct its creative work. He and his family moved to Los Angeles. Monica was hesitant to leave her relatives in Canada, although she supported the relocation. In 2013, he became Wella, North America's vice president of education. His responsibilities covered an extensive network of artist educators, training in salons and studios, trade shows and professional competitions involving several brands. He created an educational philosophy called ICANN. He also contributed to the creation of Hairdressers At Heart, a program offering people in the profession scholarships, mentorship, child care assistance, and charitable grants. Much of his working life revolved around educating other stylists rather than serving celebrity customers. Outside his career, Fabio enjoyed the music of blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa, played drums and spent time writing. He also worked in the music industry. He identified his sister Mirella as his mentor professionally and his father as his mentor personally. Friends, relatives, and co-workers knew him by the nickname Big Daddy. The family made its home in Woodland Hills, in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. Their house included a backyard patio that served as a setting for much of their family life. To anyone looking from the outside, it appeared to be the residence of a thriving executive, his wife, and their two daughters. Monica played racquetball, and her coach was Robert Louis Baker, born on May 2, 1962. He was almost a decade older than she was. He had formerly worked in adult entertainment and was a registered sex offender with an earlier conviction. Because of that conviction, law enforcement databases already contained a sample of his DNA. By 2016, Baker and Monica had begun a sexual affair. Their involvement went beyond infrequent meetings. They sent each other images and communicated regularly, often through applications that encrypted their exchanges. The relationship was kept hidden within Fabio's household. Baker had a long-time associate, Christopher Austin, who was substantially younger and living in Anchorage, Alaska. In the period leading up to January 2017, Baker started making plans to murder Fabio. As Baker later explained it, he wanted additional time with the Monica and regarded her husband, as the person preventing that. He bought a knife from Walmart. While visiting Las Vegas, he showed Austin a knife. He fitted Fabio's Porsche with a GPS tracking device so he could monitor where the vehicle went. He also knew where the cameras around the family's home were positioned, having obtained log-in credentials for the security system. Baker said Monica had supplied those credentials. In January 2017, he covered the cost of Austin's crime. He said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He said, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Fabio was 49, and he and Monica were nearing their 20th wedding anniversary. Monica went shopping, leaving Fabio at the house. During an interval of approximately two and a half hours that day, 69 encrypted messages were exchanged. Investigators never recovered what those messages said. Their timing and total number were all that remained available. Austin said Baker received a message and told him they had only a restricted window in which to act because one of Fabio's children might come home. According to Austin, he spent part of the journey hidden inside the trunk of a rented Nissan. Baker gave him a knife and both men ran up the hill toward the house. Their descriptions of entering the residence were different. Baker maintained that he had parked some distance from the property and entered by a door at the rear. Austin said the front door had been left unlocked. When they reached Fabio, he was on the patio. The assault came from behind. Austin described Baker putting a hand over Fabio's mouth and stabbing him, while Austin covered his eyes and inflicted a single stab wound himself. In total, Fabio sustained seven knife wounds to the neck and upper body. One cut through his jugular vein. During the assault, Baker injured his own finger with the knife. Afterward, the men worked to change what investigators would find. The kitchen was cleaned up, and a bedroom was disturbed to make the crime look like a burglary. Baker came back with a pillowcase holding items taken from the residence. They removed the digital recorder connected to the security cameras and drove away in Fabio's Porsche. His Rolex was still on his wrist. Later, Isabella arrived home, walked into the backyard, and discovered her father on the patio. Emergency responders came to the residence, but they were unable to save him. Monica had remained away on her shopping trip throughout that time. For Fabio's children, the questions emerging in the investigation came amid an abrupt and brutal bereavement. The Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery Homicide Division took responsibility for the case. Investigators doubted the burglary explanation from the outset. Detective Ryan Vera concentrated on the Rolex. Although a thief might miss something valuable, the combination of the untouched watch, the targeted assault, and the missing recording unit suggested that theft had not been the real objective. Another issue attracted attention during the hours and days following Fabio's death. His son Luigi said Monica brought up life insurance very shortly after hearing that Fabio had been killed. A security officer employed by Fabio's company likewise said her earliest questions concerned the insurance money. Austin, meanwhile, said Baker got rid of clothes and other objects after the killing. He also said Baker subsequently gave him gold coins valued at roughly $10,000. Early in February, Fabio's relatives arranged a visitation in Toronto, followed by a funeral mass on February 4th. They requested contributions to a charity. The funeral was held in Los Angeles. A memorial gathering was also held in Los Angeles. One attendee was a man the other guests could not connect to the family. His finger was wrapped in a bandage. That man was Robert Baker. Investigators had found blood at the house that was not Fabio's. Baker's earlier conviction meant his DNA profile was already available to compare with that evidence. The blood was identified as his, but not as Fabio's. For almost five months following the murder, Monica stayed in the family residence with her daughters. On June 14th, 2017, officers arrested her and Baker together. Two days afterward, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office charged them both with murder, alleging the special circumstances of murder for financial gain and lying in wait. Baker additionally faced an allegation that he had used a knife. A conspiracy charge and an indictment by a grand jury came later in 2017. The indictment alleged that Monica passed along instructions for entering the home surveillance system, notified Baker when Fabio would be by himself, and went shopping to create an alibi. These remained allegations at that point rather than established findings. Austin was not charged then because investigators had not yet identified him. Being jailed did not sever Monica and Baker's relationship. They exchanged letters containing shorthand expressions. "O.M." meant "on my mind," "L." stood for "love of my life," and "R." or "D." represented "ride or die." A deputy intercepted a hidden jail message, commonly called a kite. Recorded calls also captured the pair talking about the evidence against them and expressing their love for each other. Deputies recovered a tube of toothpaste from Baker as well. Later, DNA testimony indicated that it contained his sperm cells. The evidence never established what he intended to do with it. Monica continued to assert that she was innocent. She stayed in custody while the proceedings slowly advanced toward trial, with years of postponements that included delays during the COVID-19 pandemic. When the trial finally opened, she had been imprisoned for more than seven and a half years without a verdict. In July 2023, over six years after Fabio's death, Baker pleaded no contest to first-degree murder and conspiracy. He admitted the special circumstances of the murder and conspiracy and received a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. In October 2024, investigators arrested Austin in Washington state. During the intervening years, he had worked in Oregon as a parole and probation officer responsible for supervising young people considered at risk. He was extradited to Los Angeles County. Coming only months before Monica's planned trial, his arrest supplied prosecutors with something previously absent from their case. A testimony from someone who had participated in the attack itself. On January 17, 2025, Austin entered a plea to second-degree murder, acknowledged that he had personally used a knife, and agreed to appear as a prosecution witness. Monica's trial started in January 2025, with the Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Cohen presiding. Deputy District Attorneys Beth Silverman and Heather Stiegel represented the prosecution. Monica's trial ended in January 2025, with the Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Ronald S. Cohen presiding. Leonard Levine and Blair Burke were among the lawyers on Monica's defense team. Her attorneys did not challenge the existence of the affair. They argued that her dishonesty had been intended to hide adultery, rather than conceal involvement in a murder. Prosecutors presented their argument for a financial motive. Financial witness Marie Eerspacher told the jury how Monica's circumstances following a divorce would have differed from her position after Fabio's death. The prosecution highlighted approximately $1.6 million in life insurance coverage. Defense attorneys responded that the children were the beneficiaries, and had received payments after their mother's arrest. Luigi recounted the discussion about insurance. The company's security officer testified about Monica's questions. Detective Vera explained the significance of the Rolex to the supposed burglary. A deputy described finding the concealed jail note, and relatives spoke about the family's life before Fabio was killed. Detectives and forensic experts guided the jury through the physical evidence, financial information, and digital records. Austin took the witness stand on March 4th, 2025. He described hiding in the rental car's trunk, receiving the knife, and participating in the patio assault. He said Baker had portrayed the murder as something Monica desired. Baker had also characterized the marriage as abusive, an assertion that was not established by any evidence. Cross-examination exposed the boundaries of Austin's knowledge. He had never discussed murdering Fabio with Monica. He had not seen the messages he believed came from her. Everything he knew about her supposed involvement had been communicated to him by Baker. In the middle of March, the defense brought Baker to the stand. He was already serving life without the possibility of parole and testified that he had murdered Fabio. He acknowledged his earlier work in adult entertainment and his conviction for a sexual offense. His description of Austin's participation was more limited. He portrayed Austin as a lookout. That account conflicted with Austin's own admission that he had stabbed Fabio. Baker also acknowledged purchasing the knife, attaching the GPS device, and using the security camera log-in details. He maintained that Monica had neither helped plan the killing nor participated in carrying it out. According to his testimony, he acted because he wanted more time with her and saw Fabio as an impediment to that desire. During closing arguments, the prosecution drew particular attention to the abandoned attack on January 22nd. An ordinary burglary that unexpectedly becomes a killing, they argued, does not require another attempt the next day. In their account, the affair, access to the cameras, Monica's shopping trip, and the messages all belonged to one coordinated scheme. The defense offered a different explanation. Baker had used the access afforded by the affair to execute a murder plan he had developed independently. The proceedings lasted about ten weeks. Jurors spent approximately eight hours and forty-five minutes deliberating a case, and the defense did not accept any explanation. The defense did not accept any explanation. Jurors spent approximately eight hours and forty-five minutes deliberating across three days. On April 11, 2025, they convicted Monica of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. They also found the financial gain in lying in wait special circumstances true. Her conviction came from the jury's decision. She never acknowledged participating in Fabio's death. On May 6, 2025, Austin received a prison term of 16 years to life. This was an indeterminate sentence, meaning that completion of the minimum period would not automatically secure his release. On June 23, 2025, Judge Cohen rejected the defense's request for a reduced sentence and ordered Monica to spend the rest of her life in prison without the possibility of parole. In explaining his decision, he characterized her as the participant who directed the plan. Viewed through the forensic evidence, the cases against Baker and Monica rested on substantially different foundations. The physical case against Baker was decisive. His injured finger deposited blood at the property, and his previous conviction had already supplied investigators with a reference DNA profile. Confirmation of the match established that he had been at the crime scene. DNA can demonstrate someone's presence, however, without proving that two people reached an agreement. Nobody testified to hearing Monica order the murder, nor did the prosecution present a readable message in which he instructed anyone to commit it. The 69 encrypted exchanges demonstrated how much communication occurred and when, rather than revealing what was said. As a result, prosecutors assembled a chain of circumstantial evidence: the surveillance login details attributed to Monica, her departure during a limited interval, the concentrated encrypted communications, the staging that implied knowledge of the residents, her early questions about insurance, and the relationship that continued after incarceration. Taken separately, several of those circumstances could be explained in other ways, with most alternative explanations arising from the affair. Jurors had to decide whether those explanations remained coherent when all the evidence was considered together. The arrangement of the scene made the burglary account less persuasive. Taking the recorder suggested familiarity with the security equipment while failing to take the Rolex weekend theft as an explanation the unsuccessful attempt on the previous evening also ran against the idea of a confrontation that had arisen without planning there were boundaries to what the digital material could establish the ability to connect to the cameras remotely showed that access was available it did not demonstrate that someone had watched the assault while it occurred the GPS device showed that Fabio's car had been tracked but Baker was the person who installed it even the disagreement between the two killers about how they entered the house illustrated how much investigators reconstruction relied on testimony instead of footage precisely because the recording unit had been removed ultimately two participants whose credibility raised concerns were central to the case Austin gave evidence under a plea arrangement and possessed only information passed to him about Monica's role Baker was already serving a sentence of life without parole leaving him little to lose by taking all the responsibility and an evident motive to shield her no participant in this case had been publicly diagnosed with a psychological disorder any discussion of their psychology must therefore stay within what their documented actions support Baker's explanation of his motive reflected possessiveness he said he wanted more time with Monica and regarded Fabio as an obstruction Baker's explanation of his motive reflected possessiveness he said he wanted more time with Monica and regarded Fabio as an obstruction his subsequent choice to testify for her despite already serving life in prison was consistent with an attachment that persisted depending on how it is interpreted that decision could indicate loyalty an effort to retain influence over her or a combination of the two their repeated use of ride-or-die and correspondence suggested that they understood their relationship as a united front against forces outside it Austin's actions revealed another pattern after withdrawing from the initial attempt he took part in the murder the next day he later established a professional identity working with vulnerable young people all while keeping his participation in a homicide hidden those behaviors together suggest a substantial ability to compartmentalize his actions and the identity he presented publicly Monica was presented in two contrasting versions prosecutors described someone who projected the appearance of a dedicated wife and mother while secretly maintaining an affair and joining a scheme to murder her husband her defense described someone whose lies concerned only infidelity and who had become involved with a manipulative man pursuing his own plan her conduct following arrest carried significance under either account she continued warm intimate communication with the man responsible for killing her daughter's father the prosecution treated that contact as a sign of shared intent in the process of the prosecution treated that contact as a sign of shared intent in the process of defense attorneys interpreted it as emotional a sign of shared intent in the process of defense attorneys interpreted it as emotional dependency defense attorneys interpreted it as emotional dependency rather than evidence of guilt dependency rather than evidence of guilt dependency rather than evidence of guilt the two sides likewise drew different the two sides likewise drew different the two sides likewise drew different conclusions from her immediate interest conclusions from her immediate interest conclusions from her immediate interest in life insurance in life insurance in life insurance people do not all experience grief in the people do not all experience grief in the people do not all experience grief in the same manner in life insurance people do not all experience grief in the same manner and concern about money after an and concern about money after an and concern about money after an unexpected death is not inherently unexpected death is not inherently unexpected death is not inherently unusual unusual unusual having an affair by itself does not prove having an affair by itself does not prove having an affair by itself does not prove involvement in murder involvement in murder involvement in murder the verdict reflected the jury's the verdict reflected the jury's the verdict reflected the jury's assessment of her conduct taken together assessment of her conduct taken together assessment of her conduct taken together across the periods before during and across the periods before during and across the periods before during and after the crime after the crime after the crime the family afterward fabio's murder and his the family afterward fabio's murder and his the family afterward fabio's murder and his wife's subsequent conviction created a wife's subsequent conviction created a wife's subsequent conviction created a murder murder murder both daughters have continued to stand by both daughters have continued to stand by both daughters have continued to stand by monica and insist that she is innocent monica and insist that she is innocent monica and insist that she is innocent they do not deny that baker and austin they do not deny that baker and austin they do not deny that baker and austin killed their father killed their father killed their father what they reject is the allegation that what they reject is the allegation that what they reject is the allegation that their mother was involved their mother was involved their mother was involved when austin was sentenced in may 2025 when austin was sentenced in may 2025 when austin was sentenced in may 2025 the sisters expressed anger about his the sisters expressed anger about his the sisters expressed anger about his participation in the killing participation in the killing participation in the killing and the advantages he received through and the advantages he received through and the advantages he received through his plea agreement his plea agreement his plea agreement he did not speak directly to the family he did not speak directly to the family he did not speak directly to the family in court in court in court a handwritten message was supplied a handwritten message was supplied a handwritten message was supplied afterward afterward afterward at monica's sentencing jessica called her at monica's sentencing jessica called her at monica's sentencing jessica called her father the family's source of strength father the family's source of strength father the family's source of strength and described how difficult it had been and described how difficult it had been and described how difficult it had been for her and isabella to keep going for her and isabella to keep going for her and isabella to keep going through years of disruption through years of disruption through years of disruption isabella who had discovered him on the isabella who had discovered him on the isabella who had discovered him on the patio patio patio said she intended to live by his example said she intended to live by his example said she intended to live by his example and would refuse to let the tragedies and would refuse to let the tragedies and would refuse to let the tragedies within the family determine who she within the family determine who she within the family determine who she became became became fabio's sisters and other relatives fabio's sisters and other relatives fabio's sisters and other relatives from his side of the family expressed from his side of the family expressed from his side of the family expressed the opposing view during sentencing the opposing view during sentencing the opposing view during sentencing their statements conveyed anger at their statements conveyed anger at their statements conveyed anger at monica and described betrayal by a woman monica and described betrayal by a woman monica and described betrayal by a woman who had belonged to the family and who had belonged to the family and who had belonged to the family and mourned beside them mourned beside them mourned beside them stephanie avola a niece through marriage stephanie avola a niece through marriage stephanie avola a niece through marriage was among those who spoke was among those who spoke was among those who spoke their remarks included some of the most their remarks included some of the most their remarks included some of the most severe hurt in the courtroom severe hurt in the courtroom severe hurt in the courtroom following sentencing monica's family following sentencing monica's family following sentencing monica's family issued a statement repeating their issued a statement repeating their issued a statement repeating their conviction that she was innocent conviction that she was innocent conviction that she was innocent as of january 2026 she was incarcerated as of january 2026 she was incarcerated as of january 2026 she was incarcerated at the central california women's at the central california women's at the central california women's facility in shiloh facility in shiloh facility in shiloh she continued to deny guilt and was she continued to deny guilt and was she continued to deny guilt and was expected to seek an appeal expected to seek an appeal expected to seek an appeal fabio's contributions to his profession fabio's contributions to his profession fabio's contributions to his profession live on in the stylus he taught and in live on in the stylus he taught and in live on in the stylus he taught and in hairdressers at heart hairdressers at heart hairdressers at heart the initiative he helped establish to the initiative he helped establish to the initiative he helped establish to assist others working in the industry assist others working in the industry assist others working in the industry the two causes identified in his the two causes identified in his the two causes identified in his obituary his daughter's education and obituary his daughter's education and obituary his daughter's education and hairdressers at heart hairdressers at heart hairdressers at heart represent the aspects of his life most represent the aspects of his life most represent the aspects of his life most often emphasized by those who knew him often emphasized by those who knew him often emphasized by those who knew him his children and the profession he had his children and the profession he had his children and the profession he had spent decades helping develop spent decades helping develop spent decades helping develop his case continues to demonstrate that his case continues to demonstrate that his case continues to demonstrate that physical evidence alone does not always physical evidence alone does not always physical evidence alone does not always resolve the central questions in a resolve the central questions in a resolve the central questions in a murder investigation murder investigation murder investigation if this case held your interest if this case held your interest if this case held your interest subscribe to the channel and enable subscribe to the channel and enable subscribe to the channel and enable notifications so you can follow the next notifications so you can follow the next notifications so you can follow the next investigation