Cut, Color, Kill | 2. The Stranger at the Wake

Summary

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The Binge Crimes: Cut, Color, Kill

Episode 2: The Stranger at the Wake
Date: May 8, 2026
Host: Jonathan Hirsch (Sony Music Entertainment)

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Episode Overview

This episode continues the riveting investigation into the murder of famed hair executive Fabio Sementilli. After his shocking death in early 2017, friends, family, and colleagues are left reeling and searching for answers. The episode delves into the immediate aftermath—through the eyes of those who loved him most, the collective grief, the swirl of rumors, and the first key developments in the police investigation. Central to this installment is the mysterious stranger who appears at Fabio’s wake, and the break that finally puts detectives on the trail of a suspect.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Fabio Sementilli: The Man Behind the Legend

• Fabio (“Big Daddy,” also “Papa Bear”) was a superstar in the world of hairdressing, described by colleagues as warm, charismatic, and larger-than-life.
  • [02:12] Fabio Sementilli (archival): “I want to thank you for all your love, for all your support and number one, for all your passion.”
• Former show director Melanie Garabe recounts the last time she saw Fabio, reminiscing about friendly banter over their new cars—a memory that haunts her after his murder.
  • [04:36] Melanie Garabe: “He got the good parking space, like, right at the front. ... That was the last thing … the last thing that I remember, Fabio said.”
• The news of his murder sends shockwaves through the close-knit Wella community; disbelief and numbness prevail in those early days.
  • [06:36] Carol Portat: “I just. I had no words. I could not believe it.”

Grief and Shock at Wella

• Wella’s leadership and employees gather in mourning, struggling to process Fabio’s violent death.
  • [08:13] Melanie Garabe: “Just numb in shock, crying, like, this isn’t happening. But it is happening.”
• Carol Portat (senior director, Fabio’s close friend and mentee) describes the grieving process, a shot of tequila for Fabio, and colleagues’ immediate speculation about who could have been behind the crime.

The Crime Scene and Rumors

• Fabio was murdered in his favorite patio chair; the scene was gruesome and left colleagues wondering about the motive and method.
• Speculation abounds—burglary crews are mentioned, but friends insist that the personal, violent act doesn’t fit random crime patterns.
  • [09:59] Melanie Garabe: “Like, stabbing is just so personal and so brutal.”
  • [10:15] Carol Portat: “I called him Papa Bear... I preferred Papa Bear … he was a big man and big heart, big voice, big laugh, and of course, a big success story too.”
• Fabio’s home life is highlighted as warm and inviting, making the brutality all the more shocking.

Support for the Sementilli Family

• Fabio’s inner circle rallies around Monica (his wife) and their daughters, helping with logistics and emotional support.
  • [12:28] Alicia Truesdale: “I’m immediately on the phone, I’m getting lists from Monica … making arrangements for his family ...”

The First Break in the Case

• Detective Ryan Verna combs through leads, most of which are dead ends, until a breakthrough: the neighborhood’s extensive camera network.
  • [13:34] Det. Verna: “It was very, very evident there was going to be a lot of video … I’ve never seen a homeowner’s association with cameras that are this good.”
• Surveillance footage reveals two hooded men entering the property at 4:18 pm, followed by Fabio’s black Porsche leaving at 4:53 pm, a green hoodie glimpsed through the window.
  • [14:17] Det. Verna: “We knew right away those are our guys.”

Visiting the Family Home in the Aftermath

• Melanie and Carol visit Monica after the murder—finding her in a state of denial, wearing Fabio’s sweater and watch, steadfastly refusing to leave the house.
  • [18:31] Carol Portat: “There was a little shrine for Fabio … his hat that said Big Daddy on it, a cigar, a bottle of tequila, a glass… She just kept rocking in the chair in denial...”
  • [19:12] Carol Portat: “She kept saying, no, no, Fabio’s going to be here soon. ... This is what he … what he would want.”
• The unease is palpable, especially as the security DVR is still out of action and the suspects are still at large.

Key Discovery: Fabio's Porsche

• Fabio’s prized Porsche is found abandoned and open, with bloodstains—crucial evidence for detectives.
  • [21:07] Det. Verna: “We could see that there was what appeared to be blood stains inside the vehicle ... We knew that that was going to be of the ultimate importance.”

The Viewing and Wake—A Stranger Appears

• Six days after the murder, family and friends gather for the viewing; the mood is “like zombies,” with palpable grief.
  • [24:13] Luigi Sammentilli: “Countless names and faces coming up to me, shaking my hand, giving me their condolences.”
  • [25:32] Melanie Garabe: “Just that life was gone. ... that huge light that he just shined on everyone ... was just gone.”
• At the wake, hosted at the Sementilli home, guests notice a man they don’t recognize—“the Stranger,” memorable for his leather jacket and unfamiliarity with the broader group.
  • [27:53] Carol Portat: “He kind of stuck out, you know, nobody knew who he was … just didn’t fit.”
  • The man is eventually identified as Monica’s racquetball coach, Rob Baker, who had a bandage on his hand.
  • [28:27] Melanie Garabe: “He stood out like a sore thumb.”

Heightened Suspicion and Relentless Grief

• Friends increasingly question the official “burglary gone wrong” narrative, noting the brutality and the presence of the stranger.
  • [28:56] Carol Portat: “All these burglars, like, they don’t … kill. ... It felt very personal.”
  • [29:12] Melanie Garabe: “Did Fabio ... really? Somebody really must hate him or something … this was like a mafia hit.”
• Fabio’s son, Luigi, describes trying to stay rational and not jump to conclusions amid the swirl of theories.
  • [29:59] Luigi Sammentilli: “No, the last to weigh in, if I weigh in at all. … I was just doing my best not to jump to conclusions …”

The Breakthrough: DNA Evidence and the Stranger's Identity

• Detective Verna receives a photograph from a family friend showing Monica and the “Stranger” at the wake—with a bandaged finger.
  • [30:27] Det. Verna: “Maybe a bandage on one of his fingers. ... It’s interesting.”
• The turning point comes when forensic analysis matches the blood from the car to Rob (Robert) Baker, the racquetball coach, confirming his involvement.
  • [32:15] Det. Verna: “We are told that Rob Baker matches the, the DNA profile of the blood that’s been recovered.”
  • [33:05] Jonathan Hirsch: “And we’ve met him before. … The blood staining Fabio’s stolen Porsche belongs to the strange guy in the leather jacket at the wake.”
• The motive and connection remain unclear, setting up the next episode’s deep dive into Baker and his ties to the Sementilli family.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [05:05] Melanie Garabe:
  “You can’t rationalize it. You can’t figure it out ... I was in disbelief.”
• [10:43] Alicia Truesdale:
  “The way the Sementillis were, was welcoming like that.”
• [24:00] Jonathan Hirsch (describing viewing):
  “Fabio is lying in a casket at one end. Smartly dressed mourners all in black file into the room.”
• [25:09] Carol Portat (on being pushed to say goodbye):
  “I just can't. ... That’s not how I want to remember him.”
• [26:29] Luigi Sammentilli (on being at the house):
  “His absence was very loud too, that he was the only one who wasn’t there.”
• [28:27] Melanie Garabe (on the stranger):
  “He stood out like a sore thumb.”
• [32:15] Det. Verna:
  “We are told that Rob Baker matches the, the DNA profile of the blood that’s been recovered.”
• [33:05] Jonathan Hirsch:
  “The blood staining Fabio’s stolen Porsche belongs to the strange guy in the leather jacket at the wake.”

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Fabio’s last show and colleague memories: [01:01–05:02]
• News of murder and colleagues’ reactions: [06:36–08:45]
• Speculation and mourning at work: [08:45–12:12]
• Detective Verna’s investigation, camera footage: [13:16–14:38]
• Visiting Monica at home after murder: [17:55–20:26]
• Abandoned Porsche discovery: [20:48–21:33]
• Wake and introduction of the stranger: [23:00–28:27]
• Friends’ suspicions and family’s grief: [29:07–30:16]
• DNA results and identification of Rob Baker: [32:00–33:05]

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Tone and Style

Throughout, the tone is somber, reflective, and intensely personal, balancing the procedural with intimate recollections and emotional candor. The storytelling is immersive, with contributors speaking in candid, raw language—stunned by the violence, suspicious of official narratives, and desperate for closure.

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Next Episode Tease

The episode closes with the reveal of the suspect’s identity, promising a focus on surveillance of Rob Baker, his connections to the family, and, perhaps, the motive for the crime.

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“But why would a racquetball coach want to kill Fabio? Next time on Cut, Color, Kill. The cops find out.”
– Jonathan Hirsch [33:07]

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Transcript

[Jonathan Hirsch]

If you want a deeper look behind Cut Color Kill, now is the time. Join our free [e-mail] thebinge and you will get exclusive story details you can't get anywhere else. Again, join [e-mail] thebinge listen to every episode of Cut Color Kill ad free right now when you subscribe and to the binge, you'll hear the entire series before anyone else. Get exclusive bonus episodes and unlock more than 60 other true crime podcasts. Just head to the Binge channel on Apple Podcasts and tap subscribe or visit getthebinge.com to listen wherever you are. The Binge Feed your true crime obsession

[Alicia Truesdale]

the Binge.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

In a ballroom in Las Vegas, the stage is lit with purple neon lights. There's a glittering backdrop and a long catwalk that extends out into the audience. Thousands of spectators fill row upon row of seats, all dressed to the nines. It's clearly a high end Runway crowd. This is the grand finale of the North American Wella Trend Vision Awards. It's like the super bowl of hairdressing. The best stylists from across North America come to compete for gold. A line of models strut down the catwalk. This is high fashion. Their hair is teased, tousled and sculpted into wild shapes. One model looks like a dragon, another like some kind of glamorous alien empress. Another galaxy. Then center stage, a spotlight. A big bear of a man with a well trimmed beard and an enormous smile bursts onto the stage. Welcome to the North American trekvision Awards.

[Carol Portat]

Can I hear some noise?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The crowd erupts as he whips them into a frenzy. My name's Fabio Cimittilli or a.k.a. big Daddy. I want to thank you for all your love, for all your support and number one, for all your passion. Fabio Simmentilli, the big Daddy of hairdressing. The superstar hairstylist from Canada turned executive at one of the largest hair corporations in the world. He's living up to his name and the crowd loves him. Watching him, it's clear he's approachable, warm, charismatic. The kind of person where you'd see their glow up and say it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. At Wella, we're all hairdressers at heart.

[Luigi Sammentilli]

Love you guys.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

So cool. So yeah, what a buoyant person. Always smiling. Seems very warm to the people around him.

[Melanie Garabe]

Yeah, that was just like that was Fabio.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

And Melanie Garabe and I watched this video together. I catch glimpses of her as it plays her eyes well up, but she's also smiling. We're watching a major milestone for her. Melanie put on this event back when she was the national show director for Wella, back when Fabio was still alive.

[Melanie Garabe]

My job at the time was producing big, huge hair fashion shows, if you will. These are million dollar presentations for 4,000 people, 5,000 people.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Melanie's life is very different now. She runs a wine business in Simi Valley, about an hour and a half north of la, depending on the traffic. Melanie is a small business owner, but she stays cool with magenta streaks in her hair. We're sitting in her tasting room and I'm here to talk with her about her boss, Fabio. She remembers the last time she saw him. It was one of those small moments, you know, the kind you replay in your mind later. A snapshot that doesn't tell the whole story of a person, but takes on new meaning after everything that happened. It was January of 2017. She'd arrived at work, parked her car. She was walking in when she ran into Fabio.

[Melanie Garabe]

I had gotten a new car, got my, you know, new Corvette, and Fabio had, you know, just gotten his Porsche.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

A shiny black Porsche 911 convertible. A dream car.

[Melanie Garabe]

He got the good parking space, like, right at the front. And I remember the last thing he said to me in the parking lot, wow, you know, nice car. And he's like, don't think you're going to get away without letting me have a ride in there. And I was like, yeah, you know, like, you're not going to fit in here, Fob. But. But, yeah, that was the last time. And the last thing that I remember, Fabio said.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Six days later, Fabio was dead.

[Melanie Garabe]

You can't rationalize it. You can't figure it out. It's happening, but you're still so close to it that you're like. I still was, like, in denial. I was in disbelief.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

In disbelief because this was her friend. Still, the people at work don't always know what's actually happening in our lives. What darkness could have crept in unannounced. Melanie couldn't imagine who could have had it out for Fabio. But it turns out his killer had a very particular reason for wanting him out of the picture. And the clue that would send cops in the right direction would have something to do with Fabio's beloved Portia. From Sony Music Entertainment and Novel this is Cut, Color, Kill. I'm Jonathan Hirsch. Episode 2 the Stranger at the Wake. Fabio is dead. The leadership at Wella calls an emergency meeting. Carol Portat is there. Her jet black hair is styled in a spiky pixie cut. She's the senior director of education at Wella and Fabio Simentilli's right hand woman. The night before, she got a call from Sal, their CEO, telling her that Fabio had been murdered.

[Carol Portat]

I just. I had no words. I could not believe it. What are you talking about? It was just like someone had just punched me. Like, that must be a mistake. He's gonna be okay, you know?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Carol hung up the phone. She went into the living room and turned on the tv. CBS LA had the story tonight as police search for his killer. Celebrity friends are fondly remembering icon Fabio Sementilli. The media is all over this story, repeating every gruesome detail. A murder in LA is not unusual, but this one is. Fabio's glamorous lifestyle and sleepy suburban setting in Woodland Hills have an allure that news editors could not resist.

[Carol Portat]

He was found dead on the back

[Melanie Garabe]

porch of his Woodland Hills estate Monday evening.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Sure enough, her ears had not deceived her. It was true. Horrible and unimaginable, but true.

[Carol Portat]

There was, you know, helicopter over his house and then showing. And talk about this, this celebrity hairdresser who had been murdered on his patio.

[Alicia Truesdale]

I'm going like, wait, what?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Alicia Truesdale is Fabio's executive assistant.

[Alicia Truesdale]

I had just spoken to him that Monday.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

She got the call from Sal last night too. He told her to assemble the team.

[Alicia Truesdale]

First thing, we all meet in Fabio's conference room. When the head of HR and Sal come in and talk to us, there's tears crying. People are dumbfounded. Can't even put it together. What's going on.

[Melanie Garabe]

Just numb in shock, crying like, this isn't happening. But it is happening.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Melanie was there too.

[Melanie Garabe]

We were grieving. We were trying to process. There was just so much, like, so much.

[Carol Portat]

I took my immediate team in my office. Fabio was a fan of tequila. So we opened the bottle of tequila and we all had a shot. For Fabio. That's how we kind of somehow made it, you know, through the day.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

No work is getting done today. Just quiet conversations punctuated by long stretches of grief. And it didn't take long for colleagues to wonder who had taken his life.

[Melanie Garabe]

Like, stabbing is just so personal and so brutal. And, you know, you're thinking, like, how can this even be happening?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Someone's heard that the police are looking into the knock, knock burglary crews operating in la.

[Alicia Truesdale]

What we're thinking is that Fabio had been sitting out at his pool, taking calls, smoking a cigar. We're thinking he probably didn't hear if somebody knocked at the Door. They came in.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Right from the beginning, the people who knew and loved Fabio have questions. Rumors and speculation began to swirl.

[Melanie Garabe]

We kind of all started to think, this is just not right. Who did Fabio piss off?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Fabio didn't just light up the stage, he lit up the office too. He made work bearable, dare I say, fun for his colleagues.

[Alicia Truesdale]

When he came in the morning, you knew he was there. That passion, that love of the art of what you're doing and the showmanship of it. He just brought all of himself when he came.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Carol and Fabio were kindred spirits. They worked together on mentoring a new generation of hairstylists, and they gave them a platform at big hair shows and competitions. They even had nicknames for each other.

[Carol Portat]

I called him Papa Bear. A lot of people called him Papa Bear, but he also had a nickname in the industry that was Big Daddy. I never really liked Big Daddy. I thought he was a little, eh. I preferred Papa Bear and then I was. Mama Bear was a big man and big heart, big voice, big laugh, and

[Jonathan Hirsch]

of course, a big success story too. Fabio would frequently host parties at his home in Woodland Hills and invite his co workers to come over.

[Alicia Truesdale]

There was this caterer that he loved, this Nana's. She did tacos like nobody's business. And she'd set up around the pool, and he'd have a fire pit going and blankets all over for the girls to stay warm and music playing and everything, and we just would have a really good time having dinner. That's the way the Cementilles were, was welcoming like that.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Fabio's wife Monica often joined in at these gatherings too. The two of them would dance together and joke around. Even after 20 years of marriage, they seem smitten. Makes Fabio's death all the more tragic.

[Alicia Truesdale]

Looking back, he worshiped the ground she walked on.

[Carol Portat]

I was like, I wish my marriage was like that, you know, sometimes, because they look like the perfect family.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Carol got to know Monica pretty well,

[Carol Portat]

bonded very quickly, hung out a lot. We'd call each other on a regular basis, so, yeah, we became friends. Monica felt really lonely moving to LA because, you know, obviously Fabio was working a lot, the girls were in school, she missed home a lot. She talked about missing home a lot and eventually moving back to Canada. So that's why I think she really appreciated when there were people around coming to the house, because it gave her obviously, you know, the sense of family that she was missing from, moving away from Toronto where the rest of her family was.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

In the days after Fabio's death, some of his co workers quickly turned their attention to supporting his family, his wife Monica and his daughters. They were, as expected, in impossible emotional pain and turmoil.

[Alicia Truesdale]

I'm immediately on the phone, I'm getting lists from Monica who should come, and I'm making arrangements for his family, his immediate family to come in and some close friends.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

In a few days, friends and family will arrive in la. Ordinarily, there's a kind of expectation of finality about these events, the chance to say goodbye. Paul, your respects. But there is nothing resolved about this case. Everyone is searching for answers. And aside from the knock, knock theory, there's very little to hold onto. At the offices of the Valley Bureau, Homicide Department, Detective Ryan Verna is making calls, sifting through different theories about what had happened to Fabio. Since the news about the murder went public, he's been inundated with, with tips

[Detective Ryan Verna]

like, oh, it was a guy named blue something who from South Central that, you know, claimed responsibility for this and, you know, just all sorts of stuff. None of it was panning out. It was all leading to dead ends.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

But there's one thing detectives have on their side.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

It was very, very evident there was going to be a lot of video based on the neighborhood. It's an amazing array of cameras. I mean, I personally never seen a homeowner's association with cameras that are this good.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

An officer was trawling through the footage from the day of the murder and they found something.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

2 what we believe to be men dressed in oversized clothing, kind of pants, sweats, with sweatshirts that were over their head. The hoodies were cinched tight so they were looking through a tiny hole. And they had the sleeves of their hoodies pull down over their hands. You could tell in the video that they were running with a purpose.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The hooded men run up to the simitilli house at 4:18pm Then at 4:53, Fabio's black Porsche appears going in the opposite direction. Through the window of the car, there's a glimpse of a green hoodie. In that time, just over a half hour, Fabio was stabbed.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

We knew right away those are our guys.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

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[Carol Portat]

We brought white wine for Monica. She liked that Pinot Grigio at the time. Cigarettes. She was smoking like a chimney at the time, obviously. So we made sure that she didn't have to go anywhere. We took care of them the best we could.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Monica invites them into the house. They take a seat on the back patio.

[Carol Portat]

He had his favorite chair in the patio where he would always sit. Everybody knew that was his chair in the patio outside.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

A chair that now was empty except for some carefully chosen items placed in the seat by Monica.

[Carol Portat]

There was a little shrine for Fabio. There was his hat that said Big Daddy on it. There was a cigar, a bottle of tequila, a glass. And then Monica was wearing. He had, like, one favorite kind of off white sweater. I would remember always when he was wearing it. He felt great in it. She was wearing his sweater. She was wearing his watch. And she just kept rocking in the chair in denial of what had happened. Right? So we didn't quite know what to say.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

It was a little chilly that night. Someone offered to light the fire pit,

[Carol Portat]

and she kept saying, no, no, Fabio is going to be here soon. He always starts it when he gets home from work. Just, fabio's gonna do it. Fabio's gonna do it. And we're, like, heartbroken, you know, like, yeah, that will always stay in my mind.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Carol and Melanie try to comfort Monica. It was a surreal moment, all gathered there together, just feet from the spot where Fabio had been brutally murdered.

[Carol Portat]

Try to be as normal as you can, but at the same time, there's obviously a, you know, drama unfolding. And knowing that he had been murdered where we were sitting was another thing that was extremely uncomfortable.

[Melanie Garabe]

My thought was, like, why are you in this house? Because if my husband was brutally murdered, I wouldn't feel safe.

[Carol Portat]

I kept asking, well, why? Why are you staying here? Just go away. Go in a hotel, you know, come to my house, whatever. Like, do something different. Don't stay in this house where this happened. But she kept saying, no, that was his dream house. He would want us to stay. This is what he. What he would want.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Carol and Melanie leave the house in Woodland Hills. They both said they felt uneasy, worried for Monica and her girls. Were they safe there at the Cementilli house? The DVR system, which had been taken offline during the murder, is still out of action. And the murderers are still on the loose. That same day, Detective Ryan Verna gets a call.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

A homeowner had noticed that a black Porsche had been parked in his neighborhood for several nights.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Fabio's prized Porsche 911, the car that was a symbol of his success. It had been abandoned about 10 minutes away from the cemetery house with the

[Detective Ryan Verna]

windows left rolled down as it was being impounded. We were able to open the doors up, gloves on, of course, and, you know, kind of use our flashlights to look around inside the car. We could see that there was what appeared to be blood stains inside the vehicle. I believe it was on the driver's side door panel near the seat. We knew that that was going to be of the ultimate importance.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The detectives send the blood swabs to the DNA lab. They already had suspected that one of the attackers might have been injured at the scene of the crime. If this blood belongs to one of them and not Fabio, it could be the key to cracking this case.

[Alicia Truesdale]

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[Melanie Garabe]

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[Jonathan Hirsch]

It's January 29, six days since Fabio's death. The viewing is about to begin. You know how in movies, cops always go to these memorials to see who shows up to try to get a read on the room and which people choose to attend. Cops didn't come that day, but the people who loved Fabio noticed something that just didn't fit. At a mortuary in the Valley, Luigi Sammentilli is sitting in the waiting room. Music is playing faintly in the background. Luigi's waiting to see his father's body.

[Luigi Sammentilli]

Walking into that viewing room, I remember my knees Buckling and my dad's best friend having to kind of help me back up. And I had been to many funerals before and didn't expect it to hit me as hard as it did, but I remember it did hit me really hard seeing him in the casket.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The viewing room is simple and modern. There are rows of wooden pews and a round stained glass window. Fabio is lying in a casket at one end. Smartly dressed mourners all in black file into the room.

[Luigi Sammentilli]

Countless names and faces coming up to me, shaking my hand, giving me their condolences.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Alicia Truesdale has organized everything according to the family's wishes. There is going to be a separate funeral in Canada a few days later. But for everyone who knew Fabio in California, this is their chance to say goodbye.

[Alicia Truesdale]

Everyone. It's just such a. Like zombies almost. People brought their husbands and wives and things, you know, because they. We all knew Fabio.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

A lot of folks from the LA beauty industry are here to pay their respects. Monica is sitting in the front with the two girls, and Fabio's Canadian family's there too.

[Alicia Truesdale]

And she has a thing over her, like a. A blanket or something like that. And crying. But the sobbing was so loud.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

When Carol approaches, Monica tries to usher her towards the body.

[Carol Portat]

I couldn't go to the casket. I cannot do that. And she kept saying, go say goodbye. Go say goodbye. I'm like, I can't. I just. I just can't.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

That's not how I want to remember him.

[Carol Portat]

Sorry.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

As Melanie looks at Fabio lying there, the enormity of what has happened dawns on her.

[Melanie Garabe]

Just that life was gone. And it was not only like his physical being, but just that ray, that huge light that he just shined on, everyone that he interacted with, it was just gone. And it was really sad.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

After the viewing at the mortuary, everybody heads to the wake. Over at the Cementille house in Woodland Hills, Alicia has made all the arrangements and brought in Fabio's favorite caterers from the taco place he loved.

[Alicia Truesdale]

People are coming up. People are kind of eating. People are mingling around. I've done this whole week of bringing food up to the family, arranging shuttles for them to go places and that type of thing, arranging things for them, just taking care of them.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Alicia has set the Canadian relatives up in a hotel. Luigi didn't want to stay at the house in Woodland Hills. Being here for the wake was bad enough.

[Luigi Sammentilli]

I didn't want to be there and just very weird, especially being out in the backyard precisely where he was killed, because that was where he spent most of his time when he was at home. His absence was very loud too, that he was the only one who wasn't there. And the whole family was there, but not him.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Normally, a party in the backyard would be full of music and laughter. Fabio might burst into songs spontaneously or take Monica by the hand and whirl her around. Tonight the atmosphere is muted.

[Carol Portat]

People talking to each other in little groups and exchanging memories that they've had personally with Fabio and getting together. I think it felt good to be together in a moment like that, to not feel like you're alone in that grief.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Some of Fabio's relatives are sitting here on the sofa. Monica's there too.

[Alicia Truesdale]

She was in a separate chair or something on the side. And there was a man there.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

One of Fabio's work friends points the guy out to Alicia. He has short brown hair. He looks in shape. He's wearing a leather jacket.

[Alicia Truesdale]

She said something to me about, who is this guy? And it kind of went over my head. Like, I'm going like, you know, a friend, a neighbor. I don't know.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

They aren't the only ones who notice him. He catches Carol's eye too.

[Carol Portat]

He kind of stuck out, you know, nobody knew who he was. And then a lot of people that were there, they were people from Wella, right? So everybody had a certain look. When you're part of the industry, you have a certain look to you. You know, the way you dressed, you know, put together, you know, fashion forward, and you just didn't fit. And we were very protective of Monica. Like, who's this guy? Who does he want from her? You know? And someone said, that's her coach from the racquetball club is a friend from the gym.

[Melanie Garabe]

And I was like, okay, well, you know, Monica has a life outside of here too, but just he stood out like sore thumb.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The air is thick with questions. That night.

[Melanie Garabe]

There were definitely hushed conversations. You know, who could do this? And, you know, why is she still in this house? And you're trying to just wrap your head around the brutality of this. And this whole knock, knock, burglary thing made no sense to anybody.

[Carol Portat]

All these burglars, like, they don't. They don't kill. You know, if they get surprised, they beat you up and they run away. It felt very personal the way he was stabbed.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Melanie finds herself wondering how well she really knew Fabio's life.

[Alicia Truesdale]

Wow.

[Melanie Garabe]

Did Fabio, like, somebody, hand know, really? Somebody really must hate him or something. Or, like, did he cross? And, you know, Fabio's Italian. I'm not Throwing anything out there, but it's like, you know, this was like a mafia hit. I mean, you know, you just don't want to think it, but it's just like that is somebody who is pissed off.

[Luigi Sammentilli]

Of course, there was rampant speculation about everything.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Luigi is trying his best to keep out of it, but lots of his family members have questions too. Are you like the more sensible, let's not rush to judgment person, or are you usually the one who would be like, you know, the first one to weigh in?

[Luigi Sammentilli]

No, the last to weigh in, if I weigh in at all. When I studied philosophy in school and my area of competence was skepticism, I was just doing my best not to jump to conclusions, to listen to what the detectives and other people were telling us about what had happened.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

But the whispers from the wake travel quickly. That night, Detective Ryan Verna's phone pings. Deborah Obad, a family friend, has sent Verna a photo.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

Basically what it shows is Monica and this male, he was there, he was kind of weird and taking up a lot of her time. And we noticed that on, in one of the pictures, it appeared that there was, you know, maybe a bandage on one of his fingers. So. Interesting. Okay. You kind of put in your back pocket. There's not, there's not a ton there. It's interesting.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The officers take it on board, but they're inundated with speculative leads that go nowhere. Detective Verna has his mind on the Porsche and the blood found at the scene in Fabio's car. The investigators have to remain objective, clear headed. But understandably, Fabio's friends and family are emotional. They want answers and fast.

[Carol Portat]

Nobody knew what was going on and we were all getting a little frustrated, like, why is it taking so long? You know, I mean, our friend is gone. Get your act together. You know what I mean?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Did you start to get frustrated at all with lack of answers?

[Luigi Sammentilli]

I wouldn't say I was frustrated, but I was definitely feeling hopeless. Feeling hopeless that this was just another nameless, faceless criminal among the horde of criminals in the world. And the not knowing, not being able to wrap your mind around this crazy event was, was really adding to the pain, adding to the suffering, adding to the grieving.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

We get our DNA hit back on the 14th of February.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Detective Ryan Verna has been waiting for the blood samples to come back for three weeks. Finally, something concrete.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

We are told that Rob Baker matches the, the DNA profile of the blood that's been recovered.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Robert Baker, he's 54 years old, short brown hair, an athletic build, which makes sense because he's a coach at a racquetball club. The racquetball club where the Cementilles go. A man they've taken lessons from. And now his DNA could place him at the scene of the crime, I believe.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

Not only from the house, but also the Porsche.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

And we've met him before. The blood staining Fabio's stolen Porsche belongs to the strange guy in the leather jacket at the wake.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

So that's our guy. Rob Baker.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

But why would a racquetball coach want to kill Fabio? Next time on Cut Color Kill. The cops find out.

[Detective Ryan Verna]

We need to get surveillance up on this guy. We need to find out, you know, who he is, where he is, what he's doing, what he drives, everything.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Don't want to wait for that next episode. You don't have to unlock all episodes of Cut Color Kill ad free right now by subscribing to the binge podcast channel. Search for the binge on Apple podcasts and hit subscribe at the top of the page. Not on apple. Head to getthebinge.com to get access wherever you listen. As a subscriber, you'll get binge access to new stories on the 1st of every month. Check out the binge channel page on apple podcasts or getthebinge.com to learn more. This is Cut Color Kill, an original production of Sony Music Entertainment and Novel, hosted by me, Jonathan Hirsch. Caroline Thornham is our senior producer. Kathryn Godfrey is our editor. Mohamed Ahmed is our assistant producer. Mark Pittam is our engineer. Additional engineering by Daniel Kempson for novel. Our executive producer is Max o' Brien from Sony Music Entertainment. Our executive producers are Catherine St. Louis and me, Jonathan Hirsch, Production management. From Cherie Houston. Joe Savage and Charlotte Wolf. Fact checking by Fendel Fulton. Research by Myron Caplan. Story development by Nell Gray Andrews. Novel's director of development is Selena Mehta. Special thanks to Carolyn Schur Levin at Miller, Korsnick Raymond. And a big thanks to the whole Sony Music Entertainment team. And Doug, there's nowhere I wouldn't go to help someone customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Even if it means sitting front row at a comedy show.

[Alicia Truesdale]

Hey, everyone.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Check out this guy and his bird.

[Carol Portat]

What is this, your first date?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Oh, no. We help people customize and save on car insurance with Liberty Mutual. Together. We're married. Me to a human, him to a bird. Yeah, the bird looks out of your league. Anyways, get a [e-mail] or with your local agent. Liberty, Liberty. Liberty. Liberty.