Cut, Color, Kill | 6. Betrayal

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Binge Crimes – Cut, Color, Kill

Episode 6: Betrayal (June 5, 2026)

Host: Jonathan Hirsch
Producer: Sony Music Entertainment

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Overview

This gripping episode, "Betrayal," brings listeners into the courtroom drama of Monica Sementilli's murder trial, almost a decade after the shocking murder of famed hairdresser Fabio Sementilli. With the world watching, the episode explores crucial witness testimonies, the unraveling of family bonds, and the hunt for justice—while digging deep into issues of trust, deception, and the enduring impact of betrayal.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Christopher Austin’s Confession and Testimony

• Opening Scene (01:01–04:20):

  • Christopher Austin, in interrogation, confesses to stabbing Fabio, showing deep remorse and concern for his family.
  • Austin agrees to talk directly to Deputy DA Heather Steggle, seeking anything that could allow him to see his daughters.
    • Quote (03:09, Austin): “At the end of the day, I only care about seeing my girls. What do you need from me so I can go see my girls?”

• Prosecutorial Strategy (04:10–04:51):

  • Austin is seen as a potential key witness to directly tie Monica Sementilli to the murder plot.

2. The Sementilli Murder Trial: Family and Fault Lines

• Trial Begins (05:53–07:16):

  • Monica’s trial opens eight years after Fabio’s murder, drawing media attention and dividing the once-close family.
  • Anna Crescentini's Testimony (Monica’s sister, 06:49):
    • Anna describes Monica’s grief, painting her as devastated and incapable of orchestrating the murder.

• Cross-Examination of Anna Crescentini (07:32–09:49):

  • Heather Steggle challenges Anna’s certainty about her sister’s character by exposing Monica’s deceit, including her affair and misleading actions after Fabio’s death.
    • Quote (07:43, Steggle): “You love her, you trust her?”
    • Quote (09:41, Anna): “Doesn’t mean that she had anything to do with his murder.”

• Theme: The core of the trial becomes whether love or trust truly reveals a person’s capacity for betrayal.

3. Motives and the Nature of Deceit

• Defense Arguments (10:31–11:31):
  • Monica’s defense insists that while she was unfaithful, there’s no evidence she benefited financially from Fabio’s death—his life insurance was split.
    • Quote (11:06, Leonard Levine): “Why kill him? She had everything she wanted, moral or not... Why kill him?”

4. Crucial Testimonies: Austin and Baker

• Austin’s Full Testimony (14:24–24:39):

  • Austin, after a plea deal, testifies about the murder plot in detail, revealing how Robert Baker recruited him and involved Monica indirectly.
    • Quote (16:31, Beth Silverman): “[Austin] came across as not particularly bright, but somebody who trusts people who are older than him...”
  • Reveals a failed murder attempt the night before Fabio was killed, uncovering new details unknown to prosecutors.
    • Quote (22:40, Steggle): "This wasn't a fluke that happened the day of the murder. This was as premeditated... as you get."
  • Strong corroboration with phone and text records; Monica and Baker exchanged 180 messages the night before.

• Robert Baker’s Conflicting Testimony (25:04–28:34):

  • Baker, the other confessed killer, waffles on his story repeatedly, sometimes claiming Monica was uninvolved and at other times admitting his own motives were personal.
    • Quote (25:46, Baker): "I murdered him because I wanted her. I wanted easier access."
    • Quote (26:39, Silverman): “He couldn't keep his story straight from years ago, let alone from moment to moment.”
  • Damning evidence—Monica's involvement with the house security system—is presented, including emails and digital forensics.

5. Closing Arguments and the Jury’s Choice

• Defense Closing (29:01–29:36):

  • Focuses on the credibility of Austin’s plea deal and lack of direct evidence.
    • Quote (29:36, Levine): “Monica, you're not a murderer, and they have not proven you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”

• Prosecution Closing (29:48–32:03):

  • Asserts the circumstantial case is overwhelming, focusing on Monica’s manipulation, lies, and the interconnected evidence.
    • Quote (30:32, Silverman): “The first thing the defendant is telling Baker is no deals. None. I’m denying everything except our affair. Well, what else is there if it's only an affair?”
    • Quote (31:40, Steggle via Luigi): “Once you go back and start recollecting, it becomes very clear, the puzzle pieces fit together easily... the puzzle is complete.”

6. Verdict and Aftermath

• The Verdict Delivered (34:21–35:37):

  • Monica Sementilli found guilty on all charges: first-degree murder, conspiracy, with special circumstances.
    • Quote (35:37, Luigi): “Just endless tears streaming down my face. That it was over, it was done...”

• Victim Impact Statements (36:26–39:17):

  • Emotional statements from family, particularly Luigi, focusing on not holding on to hate:
    • Quote (38:05, Luigi): “I have no poison to give back to the adder, because I've come to believe that you become what you behold... I refuse to be made worse from this experience.”
  • Monica receives life without parole; her daughters Bella and Jessica express their painful loyalty and grief at losing both parents.

7. Reflections and Legacy

• Aftermath and Healing (40:32–41:54):

  • The Sementilli family tries to rebuild and remember Fabio for his warmth and impact.
    • Quote (41:28, Steggle): “Talent is one thing...but how you make people feel... I think that's what his legacy is.”
    • Quote (42:04, Luigi): “He always believed that people may not remember what you say, but they'll remember how you made them feel.”

• Fabio’s Own Words (42:44–43:40):

  • Archival interview with Fabio, reinforcing his desire to be remembered for kindness and connection:
    • Quote (43:13, Fabio): “I want to be remembered for the relationships I've built...for how maybe I've made people feel in a positive light.”

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Memorable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• Austin in Interrogation:
  “Do you see me never seeing girls again?” — Christopher Austin (01:50)

• Steggle on Family Division:
  “We’ve got families sitting on two sides of the courtroom not speaking to each other who used to be, you know, having lunches and barbecues...” — Heather Steggle (05:53)

• Anna’s stance on Monica:
  “Doesn't mean that she had anything to do with his murder.” — Anna Crescentini (09:41)

• Leonard Levine's defense:
  “She had everything she wanted, moral or not... Why kill him?” — Leonard Levine (11:06)

• Beth Silverman on Austin’s Credibility:
  “He never would have admitted to being an actual stabber.” — Beth Silverman (18:47)

• Heather Steggle on the failed first attempt:
  “This wasn't a fluke...this was as premeditated, deliberate and willful as you get.” — Heather Steggle (22:40)

• Robert Baker’s shifting story:
  “I murdered him because I wanted her... I wanted easier access.” — Robert Baker (25:46)

• Prosecution's closing focus:
  “There's never one piece of evidence.” — Heather Steggle (29:48)

• Luigi's emotional closure:
  “That it was finally finished was like closing the book on the hardest chapter of my life.” — Luigi Sementilli (35:37)

• Luigi’s sentencing statement:
  “I have no poison to give back to the adder, because I've come to believe that you become what you behold...” — Luigi Sementilli (38:05)

• Fabio’s reflection on legacy:
  “I want to be remembered for the relationships I've built. I want to be remembered for how maybe I've made people feel in a positive light.” — Fabio Sementilli (43:13)

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Important Timestamps

• Interrogation & confession: 01:01–04:20
• Monica’s trial, Anna’s testimony: 05:53–09:49
• Defense and prosecution strategy: 10:31–11:31
• Austin & Baker testimonies: 14:24–28:34
• Closing arguments: 29:01–32:03
• Verdict and aftermath: 34:21–38:46
• Reflections & legacy: 40:32–43:40

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Tone and Language

The episode is investigative, emotional, and empathetic, blending true-crime rigor with the heartbreak and complexity of family betrayal. The voices of both prosecutors and the Sementilli family members are woven together to underscore the devastation of Fabio’s murder—and the enduring legacy of the love he inspired.

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For those who haven’t listened, this episode offers an unmissable window into a high-profile murder trial, the unraveling of family bonds, and a moving meditation on truth, healing, and the human desire to be remembered for kindness—rather than cruelty.

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

[Luigi Samantilli]

the Binge.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

So you told us kind of what you did, but we'd like to put the whole picture together from Chris's perspective. In an interrogation room in Vancouver, Washington, Christopher Austin is sitting opposite two detectives with his head in his hands. He's just confessed to stabbing Fabio Simon Tilli.

[Heather Steggle]

His world had just been turned upside down. He knew that going forward, he was forever changed.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Deputy DA Heather Steggle is in another room in the police station, watching the interview on a screen.

[Heather Steggle]

He'd been living this other life now, trying to put this murder behind him. His concern was he had a small daughter and a wife. He repeatedly, repeatedly said, can I see them? Can I talk to them? Can I talk to my wife? Can I see her? That was high priority in him do

[Christopher Austin]

you see me never seen girls again?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

You mean as a guy walking freely out the door right now or long term?

[Christopher Austin]

Just in general?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

I'll be honest with you. I don't see you walking out of the door today. The detectives tell him he's not going to be leaving the police station today. He's under arrest and the DA will most likely charge him.

[Christopher Austin]

Can I meet the DA Today?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

We'll ask.

[Heather Steggle]

And that's when he started asking to talk to the da. The detectives came back and told me that he wants to talk to you. I said, okay, sounds good. Let's do this. I was ready to go.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Steggle strides down the hall and into the interrogation room. She's polished in a smart suit and black stilettos. Austin is leaning forward in his chair, looking defeated.

[Heather Steggle]

Hi, I'm the da. You have to talk to me.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The prosecutor shakes his hand and takes a seat. She makes it clear that he can ask for an attorney if he wants one.

[Heather Steggle]

So do you want to talk to me now without an attorney? Is that accurate?

[Christopher Austin]

That is accurate. I asked to speak to you.

[Heather Steggle]

Okay. He seemed like he wanted to get it all off his chest and just tell everything that he could about his involvement in it.

[Christopher Austin]

I mean, what can you do as a DA for me to see my girls? At the end of the day, I only care about seeing my girls. What do you need from me so I can go see my girls?

[Heather Steggle]

We just want the truth because we know we've got one other person to try, and that's Monica.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Monica Savantilli is going to trial in January. She's being charged with conspiring with Robert Baker to murder her husband Fabio. Deputy DA Steggle and her fellow prosecutor Beth Silverman already have a lot of circumstantial evidence against Monica. The lies she told to the detectives and all the sneaking around with Robert Baker, their secret whisperings in the lockup. But they need it to be ironclad. If Christopher Austin is willing to testify that Monica was the mastermind coordinating Fabio's death, that would be some of the clearest evidence yet.

[Heather Steggle]

Just solidifying that link. Any extra evidence that she's the lead of the conspiracy? Every piece was a great new piece of evidence.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

But the defense also has a star witness of their own. Robert Baker is going to testify that he's murdered Fabio without Monica's knowledge. She had nothing to do with it.

[Heather Steggle]

We've got two people taking the stand saying, I killed Fabio. Two killers, a Baker and an Austin, and they're both gonna testify. So now it comes down to which killer are you gonna believe?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

From Sony Music Entertainment and novel. This is Cut Color Kill. I'm Jonathan Hirsch. Episode 6 Betrayal. It's January 2025. Eight years since Fabio Simmentilli was murdered in his home in Woodland Hills. Eight years of his loved ones waiting for justice. And in a wood paneled courtroom in downtown Los Angeles, Monica Sementilli's trial is beginning. Cameras are rolling. Journalists from outlets including abc, NBC, CBS are covering the case. And Court TV is streaming live courtroom coverage. This case has captured the attention of people around the world, not least because of the family drama playing out here in the courtroom.

[Heather Steggle]

We've got families sitting on two sides of the courtroom not speaking to each other who used to be, you know, having lunches and barbecues and parties together. They did not acknowledge each other.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Prosecutors Beth Silverman and Heather Stegel have a huge task ahead of them. This trial will last 10 weeks, and there are hundreds of witnesses prepped and a huge amount of evidence to cover. I can't take you through every single detail of the evidence and some of it, like the secret police recordings, you. You've already heard. But I do want you to hear this one piece of testimony that I think really cuts to the heart of what's at stake here in this courtroom. Anna Crescentini is called as a witness on day 28 of the trial. She's Monica's older sister by two and a half years, an eighth grade science and math teacher, and she's flown all the way from Canada to testify. Anna says she spoke to Monica on the phone only a couple of hours before Fabio was killed, and she seemed completely herself. And in the aftermath, she says her sister was devastated by grief.

[Anna Crescentini]

We found my sister on the couch hugging a grace letter that belonged to Fabio and rocking, tears pouring down her face. She had toilet paper and Kleenex all around her. And when we tried to talk to her, she wasn't even making eye contact with us.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

For the defense, the point of all this is to try and humanize Monica, to show that her shock and grief at Fabio's death was genuine because she wasn't involved in planning it. By the time prosecutor Steggle stands up to cross examine Anna, she's feeling frustrated

[Heather Steggle]

on and on and on. What a great person she is, and that she was grieving. And I witnessed her grieving so bad.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Steggle wants to put to the test how well Anna really knew her sister.

[Heather Steggle]

You love her, you trust her?

[Anna Crescentini]

I love her. I trust her. One of my closest friends, yes.

[Heather Steggle]

Did you talk about everything?

[Anna Crescentini]

I did.

[Heather Steggle]

Okay. Obviously, you know you didn't know about the affair this entire time, correct?

[Anna Crescentini]

Correct.

[Heather Steggle]

I started with the affair. All the text messages, the sneaking out, the leaving her kids, the lies.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

One time after Fabio's death, Anna says Monica flew from Canada to LA because she wanted time alone to grieve with her daughters.

[Heather Steggle]

Did you know that when she landed, she immediately went out with Baker but didn't go home to grieve with her girls?

[Anna Crescentini]

I did not know.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Another time, when the family was in Canada for Fabio's cremation, Ana says Monica was so emotionally drained, she had to take her home to their mom's house.

[Heather Steggle]

Did you know that those three days, February 3rd, 4th and 6th, that she was sending sexually explicit photos of herself naked to her boyfriend?

[Anna Crescentini]

No. Obviously, I did not know.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The prosecutor hands over a stack of photographs. They are printouts of photos that Monica sent to Robert Baker. Steggle asks Anna to look at them.

[Heather Steggle]

I mean, not my proudest moment, but the point being, you don't know your sister. I don't fault her for taking the stand for her sister. I mean, that's what Family does. And it was not meant to embarrass Anna or do anything like that. It was just she was digging in so hard about how she knew her sister and her sister would never do this. So I'm going through all the examples of what you didn't know about your sister, and the list was endless.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

At the end of the cross examination, Steckel asks Anna whether, knowing all of this, she still trusts Monica to tell the truth.

[Anna Crescentini]

I believe my sister. I know she was lying because she was hiding an affair. Do I trust her?

[Beth Silverman]

Yes.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Ana accepts her sister lied about an affair, but she's absolutely clear on this point.

[Anna Crescentini]

Of course she's gonna lie. She wants to cover the affair. Doesn't mean that she had anything to do with his murder.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

That's what I wanted you to hear. Anna's testimony in the courtroom exposes one of the main fault lines of this entire trial. The question of how well we really know the people we love. The narrative the prosecution is building is that Monica is a liar and a manipulator. They can lay out the exact timeline of the deception because Monica documented so much of it herself in the hundreds of photos and videos she sent to Robert Baker taken from iCloud and Dropbox accounts, in the text messages lying about her whereabouts from before and after the murder. But Anna's view of her sister's marriage is more complicated.

[Anna Crescentini]

It is possible to love someone and cheat on them at the same time.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

When Monica's defense attorneys stand in front of the jury, they keep coming back to the same point. Yes, Monica had an affair. She lied and deceived her family and friends. She made choices that hurt people. None of that makes her guilty of murder. The financial motive doesn't make sense, they argue, because Monica wasn't the sole beneficiary of Fabio's $1.6 million life insurance payout. It was split between her and his children, too. Their point being, Fabio was worth more to Monica alive than dead.

[Leonard Levine]

Why kill him? Why kill him? She had everything she wanted, moral or not. She had a loving husband making a good living, living the good life, two beautiful kids. And whatever Mr. Baker offered in bed or otherwise, she had that, too.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The charge is not whether Monica had an affair. It's whether she intentionally entered into an agreement to kill her husband. And that, the defense say, depends on the testimony of one person.

[Heather Steggle]

Thank you. Do people call Christopher Austin?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

After more than five weeks of laying out the circumstantial evidence against Monica, on March 4, the prosecution finally call one of the killers to the witness stand and Christopher Austin is about to tell the jury something that for nearly eight years before his arrest, nobody knew. Something that will throw everything we thought we knew about this murder plot up in the air. A thoughtfully built wardrobe really comes down to the pieces that mix well and that are going to last and make your life easier. And that's what I love about Quince. Premium fabrics, thoughtful design and everyday essentials that are effortless to wear. Recently I picked up their 100% organic cotton stitch crewnet sweater in navy. It's the perfect all season layer, especially here in California where it's warm in the day and then at night the temperatures drop. It's the kind of thing that you keep by the door, throw over a tee and end up wearing all the time. And that's a lot of the things from Quince how they end up working for me. They're versatile staples that work in real life. Organic cotton sweaters, lightweight layers, polos, tees, you know, all the things that are designed to mix and match and they also just make your wardrobe simpler. Quince works directly with top factories and cuts out the middlemen so you're not paying the brand markup or expensive storefronts, just quality clothing. Their organic cotton is premium soft and built to hold up regular wear and tear while still looking great season after season. Stop overcomplicating your wardrobe. You don't need a closet full of options. You need a few pieces that actually work right now. Go to quince.com crimes for free shipping and 365 day returns. That's a full year to build out your wardrobe and love it and you will now available in Canada as well. Don't keep settling for clothes that don't last. Go to Q U I n c e.com Crimes for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com Crimes

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[Jonathan Hirsch]

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[Heather Steggle]

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[Heather Steggle]

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[Jonathan Hirsch]

Christopher Austin is sitting in the witness stand. He's wearing a blue shirt and glasses and he looks subdued. In January, he accepted a deal from the prosecution. He pled guilty to second degree murder. He was sentenced to 16 years to life in prison on the condition that he cooperates with the prosecution and and testifies truthfully in Monica's trial.

[Beth Silverman]

We told him that if we found anything out that he had told us that was not truthful, that all bets were off and we would prosecute him anyway.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Deputy DA Stegl says she and her colleague Beth Silverman talked to the Cementilli family about the deal they were offering to Austin. Luigi has mixed feelings knowing that one of the men who killed his father has agreed to testify.

[Luigi Samantilli]

I felt a sense of relief that one of his assailants was going to be going to prison. I also felt a sense of pity, and there was even a little tiny sense of feeling grateful that this person was cooperating to the extent that he was and was going to testify against Monica. The fact that there was anything other than negative feelings toward Austin kind of speaks to how badly I wanted there to be justice in the greater trial.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Steggle takes her place at the front of the courtroom, ready to examine Austin. She's focused on the task at hand, but she knows her witness also comes with significant baggage.

[Heather Steggle]

You're putting a man who says, I murdered somebody in cold blood, which is not a common thing that people walk around saying, and you're asking the jury to now believe everything that he says. Have you known Robert Baker a long time?

[Christopher Austin]

Yes.

[Heather Steggle]

And is Rob older than you then?

[Robert Baker]

Yes.

[Heather Steggle]

How much older?

[Christopher Austin]

Same age as my dad. Not math guy. 30 plus years older than me.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Austin tells the jury how he got to know Baker as a friend of his father's in North Carolina. Beth Silverman watches her, her trial partner, fire questions at Austin and weighs up how he's coming across to the jury.

[Beth Silverman]

He seemed very humble. He came across as not particularly bright, but somebody who trusts people who are older than him, like Baker, especially given that Baker was one of his father's close friends growing up.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

In July of 2016, the two of them met up in Las Vegas. On that trip, Austin says he heard a conversation between Baker and another friend. They were talking about the woman Baker was seeing.

[Christopher Austin]

He started asking me, like, how much I weigh.

[Heather Steggle]

Who?

[Christopher Austin]

Baker. I remember hearing he could probably do it. I was like, do what? I'll tell you later.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

It sounds like Baker was already sizing Austin up, seeing if he was strong enough to kill someone. Eventually, Austin says, Baker stopped being cryptic, got more direct. He told Austin his girlfriend wanted her husband out of the way.

[Christopher Austin]

Baker said she wants him gone. She wants him dead.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Monica Sementilli. Austin says the first time he remembers meeting Monica was when Baker paid for him to fly to LA from Vegas. Later that July, the three of them played racquetball together at LA Fitness. Afterwards, they all went back to the Cementilli home in Woodland Hills. Fabio was away.

[Christopher Austin]

She took me out to the patio, and Baker was there.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Austin says when they left the house, Baker turned to him, said, it's a nice house, right?

[Christopher Austin]

And then I was like, yeah. He's like, remember that layout? I was like, layout? I said, okay.

[Heather Steggle]

He said, remember that layout?

[Christopher Austin]

I remember him saying that.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Austin says there were more calls with Baker over the following months where they talked about killing Fabio.

[Heather Steggle]

Did you ever speak directly with the defendant at any time? Directly with her about killing her husband?

[Christopher Austin]

No.

[Heather Steggle]

So was your communication with and through Baker?

[Luigi Samantilli]

Yes.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

You might be thinking that this makes Austin's testimony seem pretty weak. After all, the defense could argue it's just hearsay. He didn't actually ever hear Monica conspiring to murder Fabio. But prosecutor Beth Silverman isn't fazed by this at all. In fact, she thinks it actually makes him look more credible as a witness.

[Beth Silverman]

If he was somebody who was trying to buy himself a deal to get out of what had happened, number one, he would have said he was the lookout. He never would have admitted to being an actual stabber. And number two, he would have also exaggerated in terms of the conversations he had had with Monica and made her more involved in what was told to him about the plan and the conspiracy to kill her husband.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

From December onward, Austin says, things got more serious. Baker tried to arrange a date for the murder. Austin says he made excuses because he didn't want to go through with it, but his friend was insistent. On January 12, Baker bought Christopher Austin a plane ticket to Los Angeles. Austin says Baker promised him 30 to $50,000 for the murder, money that was to come from Monica.

[Christopher Austin]

He would always say, she's loaded. So once she gets this insurance money, we're gonna.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

On 22 January, the day before Fabio was killed, Austin flew out to California. They had to move quickly, he said, because Baker had information from Monica, that Fabio would be out of town again soon. Austin says Baker picked him up from the airport and gave him a burner phone. They waited at Baker's apartment all day. Then they went to Walmart so Baker could buy a knife. Then Christopher Austin tells the jury something new, something it took the investigators on this case eight years to discover.

[Christopher Austin]

As the night fell, he let me know. He said, she's gonna send them to the store so we can catch him.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Then I want to be really clear. Austin is talking about the evening of 22 January, 2017, the day before Fabio was killed. At 5.11pm on 22 January, Fabio searched pho near me and sent Monica the address of a restaurant. Monica then googled the restaurant. It was, of course, a Vietnamese place. She then texted her daughter Bella to ask if she wanted some fried rice. During the same 30 minute window when Monica was texting with Fabio about this restaurant, she exchanged 17 messages on the encrypted messaging app Viber with Robert Baker. By the end of the day, she and Baker had messaged each other 180 times. Austin says that Monica told Baker where Fabia would be that night.

[Christopher Austin]

Before we left the apartment, he got a text message from his girlfriend at the time. She was going to send him to the store. So we went directly there.

[Heather Steggle]

So him and Baker got in the car, went over to this strip mall, and waited for Fabio to get there. He walked through this breezeway by these pillars, and he was told what kind of car Fabio was driving. He saw the car. He saw Fabio coming out carrying a bag of what was probably food. He started walking towards Fabio and then he said, I chickened out. I just. I couldn't do it.

[Christopher Austin]

I was like, I'm not doing this.

[Luigi Samantilli]

I can't do this.

[Christopher Austin]

And I went back to the car. He's like, what happened? I told him. I was like, I couldn't get him. Can't do it.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Austin says Baker texted Monica when they left the strip mall to update her about the failed attempt.

[Heather Steggle]

The plan's off. It didn't happen. And Austin was a witness to that.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The text messages, the restaurant address, it all corroborates the story. Christopher Austin has just given them evidence that Monica didn't just try to have Fabio killed once, she did it twice.

[Heather Steggle]

This wasn't a fluke that happened the day of the murder. This was as premeditated, deliberate and willful as you get.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Before Austin was arrested, nobody had a clue that anything remarkable had happened the night before Fabio's death, let alone an attempted murder.

[Heather Steggle]

All of us in the room just kind of froze for a second. We're like, the night?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

What are you talking about?

[Heather Steggle]

We had no idea this was planned or had even happened. I mean, we like to think that we had every corner of this case nailed down and for the most part, all the blanks filled in. But we did not know that the

[Jonathan Hirsch]

original plan was for Fabio to be killed in the car park of the strip mall, alone in a seemingly random attack. By a stranger not at home in a location that could easily be linked to Monica. After the failed murder Attempt on the 22nd, Christopher Austin was only in town for two more days and Fabio was about to leave town. The window of opportunity was closing. And so the next day, on the 23rd of January, everything happened in a rush. Around noon, surveillance footage captured Monica and Robert Baker both arriving at LA Fitness 10 minutes apart. Later that afternoon, Monica and Baker were both seen in the parking lot of a Target in Woodland Hills. Around 3:29, surveillance footage captured a grainy figure getting into Monica's truck. The prosecutors say that was Baker meeting up with Monica to coordinate their plan. When Baker got back to his apartment, Austin says he got a text.

[Christopher Austin]

He kind of jolted. He said, yo, he's home alone. Said, she's gonna go to the store. We have a small window because somebody might come to the house while she's gone.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

According to Austin, this is it. The moment Monica gave Baker the green light to murder Fabio, it was rushed.

[Heather Steggle]

Like, Baker got the call from Monica, like, now go, we gotta go, we gotta go. Get in the car, let's go. She wanted him killed. That plan didn't work. They're still in town the next day. It's going to happen. It just really puts the nail in the coffin on the level of Monica's involvement in the premeditation and her never ending desire to get Fabio out of the way.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The prosecution have made their case, but the defense still have their own star witness. Another confessed killer with his own version of what went down in January 2017. Robert Baker takes the stand. He's wearing a button down shirt and a suit jacket for the occasion. In 2023, when Baker pled no contest, he wrote a letter to Monica's defense team confessing to the murder. In the letter, Baker wrote that he went to the Semantily house to deliver a gift to Monica where he ran into Fabio by mistake. He killed Fabio in self defense, he said. But now his story has totally changed. He tells the jury this was a planned attack.

[Robert Baker]

I murdered him because I wanted her. I wanted to have easier access. I wanted her to be around me and with me more like all the time.

[Beth Silverman]

He couldn't keep his story straight from years ago, let alone from moment to moment.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

When it's Deputy DA Beth Silverman's turn to cross examine Baker, she is ready to go to town on all his inconsistencies.

[Beth Silverman]

You agreed last week that everything you wrote in the letter was a lie.

[Robert Baker]

Not everything, but which part was true? I gotta look at the letter.

[Beth Silverman]

Approximately how many lies would you say you told in that letter? Give me an estimate.

[Robert Baker]

I don't have. I'm not giving an estimate because I don't know.

[Beth Silverman]

10?

[Anna Crescentini]

50?

[Robert Baker]

I don't know.

[Beth Silverman]

How about 360? He was on the stand, I think, for like, three days or four days, and he couldn't remember what he had said the day before. And so the lies just kept changing and becoming more and more outrageous.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

At one point, Silverman starts asking Baker about the security camera systems at the Samantilli house. When police arrived at the scene after Fabio's murder, they found the DVR was missing.

[Beth Silverman]

Did you stop to take the dvr?

[Robert Baker]

Yes.

[Beth Silverman]

So where was that?

[Robert Baker]

That was in the garage.

[Beth Silverman]

Okay. And who showed you where that was?

[Luigi Samantilli]

Let's follow the wires.

[Beth Silverman]

Okay, so there were wires that led you there.

[Luigi Samantilli]

Can't miss it.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Baker is playing dumb, acting like he just happened upon the dvr, but the prosecutor knows he's lying.

[Beth Silverman]

You hadn't had a prior conversation with Monica about the dvr, had you?

[Robert Baker]

I hadn't had a conversation with her about it.

[Heather Steggle]

Never.

[Robert Baker]

I noticed she was getting a new system. She said it was getting upgraded and said that he wanted to get it done.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

The he is Fabio. When detectives ask Monica about the security system after Fabio was killed, she told them she didn't know anything about it. Fabio had it installed. Fabio knew all about it. She didn't even know how to access it. So the investigators tracked down the guy who put the cameras in the summer of 2016. The guy said it was Monica, not Fabio, who was there. When the digital forensics team went through all the files, they found another damning piece of evidence. Monica had received an email with the IP address, the password, and the instruction manual for the security System. And on 28 June, shortly before Austin first heard Baker talk about the plot to kill Fabio, Monica forwarded the email to, you guessed it, Robert Baker. Beth Silverman knows that all of these shifting stories, tying himself up in knots is not helping Baker's case with the jury.

[Beth Silverman]

This was a person who just came across as completely incredible because he wasn't smart enough to find his way out of a paper bag. You know, she was really the brains behind the operation.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

When Leonard Levine, Monica's defense attorney, makes the closing statement, he tries to make it all about this battle between the two killers on the witness stand. Other than Christopher Austin's testimony, he argues the prosecution doesn't really have a case.

[Leonard Levine]

All they had was circumstantial evidence, meaning she was having an affair.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

And Christopher Austin isn't to be trusted because he got a plea deal.

[Leonard Levine]

They can offer Mr. Austin his life back in exchange for his testimony.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Levine strides down the full length of the courtroom and points his finger at the jury. He says he's not asking them to find that Monica was a good wife. He's not even asking them to find that she was a good person. But he does hope they'll decide one thing.

[Leonard Levine]

Monica, you're not a murderer, and they have not proven you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

But when the prosecutors make their final statements, they take a different approach.

[Heather Steggle]

Every detail in this case matters. Every single detail matters. There's never one piece of evidence.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

This isn't a case with a single smoking gun, they say. This isn't just one killer's word against another. This is about looking at the pieces of the puzzle and seeing how they fit together. Deputy DA Beth Silverman speaks for two and a half days until her voice gets hoarse. She takes the jury back through the entire case, back through all the ways Monica deceived and manipulated her friends and family. The lies she told to the police, like not knowing anything about the DVR system or the things she said to Baker in the cop car after the two of them were arrested.

[Beth Silverman]

The first thing the defendant is telling Baker is no deals. None. I'm denying everything except our affair. Well, what else is there if it's only an affair?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Silverman reminds the jury that in 60 hours of conversation between Monica and Baker in the courthouse lockup, she never even once asked her lover to explain why his DNA was all over the crime scene.

[Beth Silverman]

Never confronts him with the fact that he's the actual killer. Instead, what you hear is the two of them acting together to explain it away.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

When Heather Stegl makes the final rebuttal statement for the prosecution, she asks the jury to use their common sense. What is the only possible explanation for all of this evidence? As her statement comes to an end, it's not the surveillance or the digital forensics or Monica's behavior she reminds the court of. Instead, she chooses the words of one of Fabio's family members to make a final impression on the jury. His son, Luigi Samantilli.

[Heather Steggle]

Luigi trusted the defendant, and he gave her the benefit of the doubt, Much like you started here with the presumption of innocence. But as Luigi said, once you go back and start recollecting, it becomes very clear the puzzle pieces fit together very easily. My co counsel and I have presented you those pieces, and the puzzle is complete. Thank you.

[Luigi Samantilli]

I hardly watched any of the trial. I just couldn't stand to.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Back at home in Canada, Luigi Samantilli hasn't been following all the drama in the courtroom.

[Luigi Samantilli]

I don't need any more bad news right now. I don't want to be strung along with, what does this mean? Could this be bad? I don't want to hear it. I really just want to get to the verdict and. And get the final word. Because that's really the final word that matters.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

After 10 weeks, dozens of witnesses, and thousands of pieces of evidence, that day finally comes the moment Luigi has been waiting over eight years for. The jury is about to deliver their verdict.

[Luigi Samantilli]

This is it. It's going to go down. It's time.

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[Luigi Samantilli]

Where is Daredevil?

[Heather Steggle]

I'm right here.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Don't miss the return of Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again.

[Heather Steggle]

So what's next?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

I feel liberated.

[Christopher Austin]

We're going to take this city back over.

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[Heather Steggle]

They're hunting us.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

It's time we started hunting them.

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I can work with them.

[Heather Steggle]

This should be tons of fun.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Marvel Television's Daredevil Born Again now streaming only on Disney Plus. On April 11, 2025, in in the LA County Court in downtown Los Angeles, the prosecution and defense teams are assembled to hear the verdict in Monica Semantilli's trial. There are TV cameras rolling and journalists with pens poised over their notepads. The media have been following every word of this trial. Luigi Semitilli is at home in Niagara Falls. Today. Even he is watching online,

[Luigi Samantilli]

constantly refreshing the livestream, watching the livestream, waiting for them to announce that they had come to their verdict. Staring at that seal of California that's above the judge's desk for what felt like forever.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Finally, the judge takes a seat. Monica is sat with her defense attorney, Leonard Levine. She's wearing a gray blazer. Her expression is neutral, but you can see the tension in her brow. The judge opens the envelope containing the verdicts. He peers down at the papers over his Half moon glasses. Then hands it back to one of the court clerks, who begins to read. We, the jury, find the defendant Monica Sementilli guilty of the crime of murder in violation of Penal Code 187A. The clerk runs through the charges. First degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, plus the additional special circumstances that make the crime even more serious. Lying in weight and financial gain. Guilty on all counts. Back in Canada, Luigi is overcome.

[Luigi Samantilli]

Just endless tears streaming down my face. That it was over, it was done. After over eight years, that it was finally finished was like closing the book on the hardest chapter of my life. And to get the verdict that I wanted was just an unbelievable feeling, an unbelievable rush of emotion. I called my three best friends. I called my mom, of course, I called my aunt and my aunt Mirella and I on the phone. We were just. We were hysterical. And we kept saying, it's done, it's done, it's done.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

In June, Luigi returns to Los Angeles for Monica's sentencing. He and some of his family are giving victim impact statements. It's a final opportunity to stand face to face with the woman who murdered the man that they all adored and let the world know how her actions have affected them.

[Heather Steggle]

You had it all, Monica, and you threw it away. There's a darkness living inside of you that no mortal can understand. Your evil treason.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

When Fabio's sisters, Loretta and Morella, stand before the court, the emotion in the room is palpable.

[Heather Steggle]

You didn't just kill Fabio. You humiliated him. You betrayed him in the most despicable way. Then you held my grieving mother and you pretended to mourn Fabio when you were the killer.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

When it's Luigi's turn to speak, he wants to say something different.

[Luigi Samantilli (Sentencing Statement)]

I always thought that when this moment came, I'd have a holster full of the nastiest, most vengeful and vitriolic words I could possibly muster to do my part in speaking truth to power and run righteousness to evil. But that's not what I'm going to do here today.

[Luigi Samantilli]

I knew I didn't want to go up there and pour my anger out because I didn't want to hold on to it anymore. And being that I studied philosophy, one of the books I remember studying and enjoying a lot was Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Nietzsche. And there's a great chapter in there on the bite of the adder, where he's bitten by the snake, and he says, you can't give me your poison. And he forces the snake to lick the poison out of his Wound.

[Luigi Samantilli (Sentencing Statement)]

I have no poison to give back to the adder, because I've come to believe that you become what you behold. And if I hold on to cruel, hateful, and vindictive thoughts, then I too, will become a cruelty, cruel, hateful, and vindictive person. And I refuse to be made worse from this experience.

[Luigi Samantilli]

I didn't want the poison of this situation to infect me and infect my life. I wanted to let go of the anger. I wanted to let go of the grief. And now this moment was the beginning of the rest of my life.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Monica Simintilli is sentenced to life without parole. But there are two members of the Sementilli family who see this verdict very differently. Luigi's sisters, Bella and Jessica. For years, they've stood by their mother, refusing to believe that she was responsible for their father's murder. They spoke at the sentencing hearing, too, describing their pain at losing not just one parent, but now two. Their happy memories of time spent with their mom and their dad, and their desire to not be defined by this devastating chapter of their lives.

[Luigi Samantilli]

After we got the verdict, I reached out and I said, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss. And since then, we've still been talking more than we have been in many years. But I imagine it's going to take time to navigate the new normal in our relationship.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Everyone leaves the courtroom after the sentencing hearing. Fabio's side of the family go out for lunch. They sit around a table at a restaurant. The two prosecutors come, too.

[Beth Silverman]

One of the cousins said something about, like, it would have killed us had, you know, the verdict not come back that way. And I said, no, it really wouldn't have, because you know what the truth is, you know what the evidence is, and you guys all still have. And I think they all have some recognition that from here on, it's their responsibility to live as wonderful and big a life as they each can. Because they're living, not just now for themselves and their families, but for Fabio.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

As of this recording, Monica Simentilli is appealing her conviction. She still maintains her innocence. We reached out to her attorney, who did not respond, but Luigi and the rest of the Simatilli family are trying to move on.

[Luigi Samantilli]

It really feels like after the sentencing, everyone started to allow themselves to heal. It's not as dark as it was. We're starting to reminisce in new ways, in lighter ways, instead of the gravity of the situation infecting every conversation and every utterance of him.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

I've listened to a lot of People talk about Fabio Samantili while I've been making the show. And across the board, there has been such an outpouring of love for this guy, whether it's family and friends, colleagues, or just people who cross paths with him in the beauty industry. At some point, someone he might have mentored, someone he inspired. There are hundreds we could have spoken to. Fabio was the kind of guy that left an impression on people, and people really wanted to share that. He had a rare quality about him. Lots of people described the same way. It was how he made them feel.

[Heather Steggle]

Talent is one thing, right? Talent, yes. You can be talented and you can do great hair, but a lot of people can do that. How you make people feel and how they remember you, it's a warm feeling in your heart. And I think that's what his legacy is. He made everybody feel as if they were important and they contributed something, because that's all people want. Just be seen, you know, I hope

[Beth Silverman]

that everybody has a chance to encounter somebody like Fabio in their lives. His ray of light just radiated and

[Jonathan Hirsch]

affected so many people.

[Luigi Samantilli]

He always believed that people may not remember what you say, but they'll remember how you made them feel. He was in the business of making people feel good, and people remembered that.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

In a story with so much darkness and cruelty, it would be easy to feel that the lesson here is about deception. Betrayal. But for me, what stands out above all is the love that Fabio inspired in so many people. And maybe that's because Fabio himself was. Was so clear about what he wanted his legacy to be.

[Fabio Samantilli]

You kind of sit in the backyard, and I say to myself, you know, what do I want to be remembered for?

[Jonathan Hirsch]

In June of 2015, Fabio was interviewed by American Salon magazine. He was asked what had mattered most to him over his life. We know Fabio was wildly successful. He won awards. He went from rags to riches as the son of immigrants. But as he sits back in his chair and pauses before speaks, I think you can see on his face that this is what truly matters.

[Fabio Samantilli]

I always say to myself, I want to be remembered for the relationships I've built. I want to be remembered for how maybe I've made people feel in a positive light. And if it was negative for any reason, it's because I was honest. I hope that's what I'm remembered for.

[Jonathan Hirsch]

Unlock all episodes of Cut Color Kill ad free right now by subscribing to the binge podcast channel. Not only will you immediately unlock all episodes of this show, but you'll get binge access to an entire network of over 60 true crime and investigative podcasts, shows like Doctor's Orders and watching you all ad free. Plus on the first of every month, subscribers get a binge drop of a brand new series that's all episodes all at once. 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. 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 Kathryn St. Louis and me, Jonathan Hirsch. Production management from Sheree Houston Joe Savage and Charlotte Wolfe Fact checking by Fendel Fulton Research by Myron Kaplan 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.

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