Christopher Austin pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Fabio Sementilli, a well-known hairdresser. Austin admitted to his role in the crime and will testify against Monica Sementilli, Fabio's wife, who is awaiting trial.
A man involved in the 2017 murder of a prominent hairdresser at his Woodland Hills home pleaded guilty on Friday to second-degree murder. Christopher Austin, 38, admitted to using a knife during the crime and agreed to testify against the remaining co-defendant in the case. Prosecutors allege that Austin conspired with Sementilli's wife, Monica, and Robert Louis Baker to kill the victim.
According to the criminal complaint, Monica Sementilli informed Baker that her husband was alone at their home on the afternoon of the killing, and Baker and Austin attacked him while he was sitting on the back patio. The complaint further alleges that Austin restrained Sementilli and covered his eyes as Baker stabbed him multiple times with a knife. Austin is also accused of stabbing Sementilli in the neck. Both men allegedly attempted to clean up the crime scene and destroy evidence. Baker reportedly told Austin that Sementilli's wife wanted to collect her husband's life insurance money. Austin allegedly received money from Baker to purchase airline tickets from Anchorage, Alaska, to Los Angeles in January 2017, and subsequently received a roll of gold coins from Baker after the murder, according to the complaint.Monica Sementilli, 52, is awaiting trial on murder and conspiracy charges related to her husband's death. Jury selection in her case is scheduled to begin Tuesday. Deputy District Attorney Heather Steggell stated that Austin was arrested in Washington state and extradited to Los Angeles County. Leonard Levine, one of Monica Sementilli's attorneys, expressed confidence that Baker's plea and testimony will prove her innocence in the planning and execution of the murder. He emphasized that they look forward to the trial, believing it will definitively establish her lack of involvement. Michael Simmrin, Austin's defense lawyer, acknowledged his client's constitutional right to plead no contest and stated that this decision was not made lightly.Fabio Sementilli was a well-respected hairdresser who served as vice president of education for Wella, the salon professional division of Procter and Gamble, according to Salon Today magazine. The prosecution alleges that Monica Sementilli and Baker communicated via cell phones and encrypted applications regarding their plan to kill Sementilli. Baker is also accused of soliciting an unknown co-conspirator to help him carry out the murder. According to the August 2017 indictment, Monica Sementilli forwarded an email to Baker about accessing their home video surveillance system, informed him that her husband would be alone that afternoon, and then left to shop, creating an alibi. Baker and the co-conspirator, later identified as Austin, allegedly encountered Sementilli sitting on the patio and attacked him from behind. Baker reportedly cut himself on his left index finger during the attack. He then allegedly went into the kitchen to wash off the victim's blood and destroy evidence, leaving his own blood behind. He also attempted to stage a robbery and burglary in the master bedroom, the indictment alleges.Monica Sementilli allegedly waited for her youngest daughter to return home and find her father's body before going back inside. She subsequently called a Los Angeles Police Department detective several times to inquire about the delay in receiving her husband's life insurance policy proceeds. Paramedics responded to Sementilli's home on the 5000 block of Queen Victoria Road around 5 p.m. and found the Canadian-born stylist in a pool of blood on the patio. He had been stabbed multiple times in the neck and upper body. Police believe that Baker and Monica Sementilli had an affair for about a year and a half, and she would have received a substantial benefit from his death, around $1 million from his life insurance policy
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