What happened to Fabio Sementilli? Details explored ahead of 48 Hours on CBS

Fabio Sementilli, a globally known hair-industry educator and vice-president of Education at Wella, was found stabbed on the patio of his Woodland Hills, California, home on January 23, 2017. Tonight, 48 Hours revisits his shocking death in an encore titled The Monica Sementilli Affair, airing in the US at 10 pm ET/PT (9 pm CT) Saturday, July 5, and streaming in India at 7:30 am IST, Sunday, July 6.

The broadcast updates viewers on the long-running case, including the 2025 conviction of Sementilli’s wife, Monica, and the life-without-parole sentences that followed. Fabio Sementilli’s brutal killing, the swift focus on an alleged insurance motive and the sensational jailhouse romance between Monica and racquetball coach Robert Baker have kept the story in headlines for eight years.

By the end of the hour, 48 Hours promises to show how detectives pieced together phone data, love letters, and eyewitness testimony to argue that Monica masterminded the plot. Fabio Sementilli’s family, still devastated, says the program is a chance to keep his memory alive.

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What happened to Fabio Sementilli?

On the evening of January 23, 2017, 49-year-old Fabio Sementilli was relaxing near his backyard pool when two intruders attacked. Police later said he suffered more than seven stab wounds. His Porsche 911 was stolen and dumped five miles away to stage a robbery.

Investigators quickly looked at financial records and learned Monica Sementilli held $1.6 million in life insurance on her husband. Five months later, officers arrested Monica and her reported lover, Robert Baker. Former parole officer Christopher Austin was charged in 2024 as an accomplice, as cited in the ABC 7 report dated June 24, 2025

According to prosecutors, Monica left the front door unlocked so Baker and Austin could strike while she collected take-out food, giving herself an alibi. A subsequent grand jury indictment alleged the trio had scouted the house the night before.

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Trial, verdict, and key courtroom moments

Jury selection began in March 2025. As per a Los Angeles Times report dated March 16, 2025, during testimony, Baker told jurors:

“I murdered him because I wanted her.”

Baker insisted Monica was uninvolved, an assertion prosecutors called a self-serving lie. As per the ABC7 report dated June 24, 2025, Deputy District Attorney Beth Silverman countered that the attack was:

“Completely senseless murder driven by the defendant's greed and her lust.”

As per the ABC7 report, at Monica Sementilli's sentencing on June 23, 2025, Judge Ronald S. Coen imposed life without parole.

“Defendant was the prime mover in this execution of a human being and consequently I am utilizing my discretion to impose the more serious of the sentences,” Cohen said.

Baker had already received life without parole after a no-contest plea in July 2023, while Austin accepted a 16-years-to-life deal in May 2025.

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Where the case stands now and what 48 Hours will show

Monica Sementilli has filed a notice of appeal, a process that could take two years. Fabio Sementilli’s sisters say the verdict brought “some justice,” yet civil litigation over the insurance payout remains on hold until appeals conclude.

Tonight’s 48 Hours episode compiles previously sealed jail recordings, police sting operations, and fresh interviews with Robert Baker to examine whether the so-called secrecy pact between the lovers proves murder for money or if Baker alone orchestrated the killing.

Viewers in the US can watch on CBS at 10 pm ET/PT or stream on Paramount+. Fabio Sementilli’s family hopes renewed attention will highlight domestic betrayal and financial-gain homicides, ensuring Fabio Sementilli is remembered for his creativity and kindness, not the conspiracy that ended his life.

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Stay tuned for more updates.