Former Talent Manager Robert Baker Charged With Capital Murder

CHATSWORTH, Calif.—Known in adult industry circles as the onetime manager of retired porn luminaries Dee and Carmen Luvana—the latter of whom held exclusive contracts during her tenure with both New Sensations and Adam & Eve Pictures—55-year-old Robert Baker was arrested and charged last week with the January murder of high-profile hairstylist Fabio Sementilli in his Woodland Hills home. The Los Angeles Times reports that Baker was arrested Wednesday along with the victim's wife, 45-year-old Monica Sementilli, who according to LAPD Robbery Homicide Capt. William Hayes was "involved in an intimate relationship for a year and a half" with Baker. The pair was charged Friday with capital murder with a special circumstance of murder for financial gain, the Times detailed, as resulting from a months-long investigation that led detectives to determine the murder was carried out with the motive of collecting a $1.6 million life insurance payout. Fabio Sementilli, who was also 45, was found stabbed to death January 23 on the patio of his home. The murder was initially thought to have been committed as part of a home-invasion robbery. Two men were seen jogging up to the house prior to the killing, and were captured afterward by a surveillance camera five miles away getting out of and abandoning the victim's Porsche. DNA matching Baker's was found at the crime scene and in the vehicle, turning up in the database due to a 1993 conviction against him for "lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor," which placed him permanently on the books as a registered sex offender. The second man suspected in the crime has not yet been identified and remains at large. Monica Sementilli is not thought to have been present during her husband's actual killing; however, she faces the charge of taking direct part in plotting it. She and Baker, who reportedly met at LA Fitness in Woodland Hills, are being held without bail. If convicted, they would be eligible for the death penalty.