Chetna Joshi
Appearances
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
Yeah, so we learned that Christopher Austin was about in middle school when he met Robert Baker and that his dad and Robert Baker were very good friends.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
As the years went on, Christopher Austin and Baker developed a friendship. Christopher Austin even worked for him almost as an assistant. And, you know, kind of the way he put it, doing whatever Baker needed him to do.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
This is when Austin testifies that, yeah, he understands, like, he knows why he's there. And so when detectives finally bring him in for an interview, Christopher Austin admits to them that, yes, he was there and that, yes, he stabbed Fabio.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
Yeah. Who knows if it's because now that he's confessed to detectives or for what reason, but Austin now starts opening up more to his cellmate. He tells him that his unk, his uncle, who we know is Robert Baker, and the woman that, and these are the words he uses, the woman that he was messing with, were both involved.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
And at this point, the prosecutor in court asks him if he sees that woman, does he see her in court? Yes.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
That's right. He mentions to the undercover agent that Monica was supposed to be coming into a large sum of money, which he said was insurance money.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
Yeah, when he got emotional, and it usually happened during times when there was direct questioning about the murder itself, and he would kind of hang his head low and get quiet and emotional. And regarding the day of the murder, he testified that they were at Baker's apartment, and Baker gets a text. And Baker says the text is from Monica.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
And that she is telling him that there is basically a small window. And so Baker's like, okay, this is the time. We got to go now. Does he talk about the actual murder and how it was carried out? Yeah, I would say that this was probably one of the most... Chalking things. I mean, it's not very often that we get to hear from a killer directly from his own mouth how a murder went down.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
And that's exactly what we heard in Christopher Austin's testimony. He described once they got into the house how Baker sort of took the lead.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
A lot of Austin's testimony focused on conversations he had with Baker. And so that's something that the defense really wanted to highlight in their cross-examination is that Christopher Austin never spoke to Monica about a murder plan. He never saw a text that showed that Monica wanted Fabio dead. This is all coming through Robert Baker.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
The other thing that they really wanted to highlight for the jury was that Austin did whatever was necessary in order to get himself the best deal that he could. And in his discussions with the prosecutor after the arrest—
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
The defense attorney quoted the transcript and said that Austin is basically telling the prosecutor, hey, I got to get home to my girls, his girls being his wife and his young daughter.
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
What the defense wants the jury to realize is that in exchange for getting the deal that Austin did, that's why his testimony is coming out the way it's playing out in court now. He ended up pleading guilty to second-degree murder, which carries a sentence of 16 years to life. Now, he won't be sentenced until after this trial is over, and his deal is...
Dateline NBC
Emotional testimony from a killer. A murder defendant's unusual defense. And travel scam safety tips.
is based on the truthful testimony that he gives in court. And whether it's truthful or not, I think what the defense wants the jury to hear is that, again, Christopher Austin had no direct knowledge that Monica wanted Fabio dead or had any part in this planning.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
Did Monica show any emotion? Yeah, I would say she's... This is the most emotional we've seen her since trial began. She was crying, dabbing her eyes. And this audio...
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
The actual defendant completely proclaims his innocence.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
Right. The state has alleged that Monica, um, who had been shopping at the time when the murder happened, that Monica knew that Fabio was home alone at that time and that she had passed that information along to her lover, Robert Baker. The prosecution also said that during this time, she knew that Isabella was on her way home.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
And so Monica knew that Isabella would have been the one to find her dad dead.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
Monica sounds very emotional. She sounds shocked. She sounds like she's hyperventilating and she sounds like she's sobbing. But on the stand, the original detective on the case testified that both him and his partner noticed that while she sounded like she was sobbing.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
Now, on cross-examination, that detective said it wasn't something that he had documented in his police report at the time. And so I think the defense was trying to point out that perhaps Monica was in such shock, so upset. So maybe she didn't cry and, you know, and people grieve differently.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
You'll recall that after the murder, the killers drive away in Fabio's Porsche, Christopher Austin and Robert Baker. Those are the two murderers involved in this case. And the Porsche is found a couple days later, and detectives find blood in the Porsche. And the DNA comes back to Robert Baker. They have this information probably a couple weeks into their investigation, but they don't tell Monica.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
But meanwhile, they're having these phone calls with Monica, and she is asking about the DNA results.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
If you're looking at it through the prosecution lens, that could be suspicious that, you know, does she seem overly concerned about these results? But if you look at it through the defense lens, of course, Monica would want to know because she wanted investigators to catch the killer. Right. But it was a very interesting point that the calls highlighted.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
Yeah, you can hear Monica raising to investigators that there's issues with her being able to get this insurance, life insurance payout.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
And as the calls go on, it seems as if she's getting increasingly agitated that she can't get the payout.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
Yeah. And I think that's a big point for the defense is that Monica had two teenage daughters to support. She didn't work herself. Naturally, you would be worried about how you're going to provide for your children.
Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
Yeah, so... The defense was saying that they knew that Robert Baker was the killer as early as February of 2017. Yet they didn't arrest him, and they let him walk around for another four months before he was arrested in June. And why would you do that?
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
Right. So what's really interesting is they use this ruse on Monica and Baker. They are in Monica's new Mustang and they get pulled over. And initially the detectives say that they're driving a stolen vehicle and they get them back in the patrol car. Detectives have rigged up this car. They've put microphones in, really sensitive microphones to pick up whispers.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
They have a camera in the car so that they can sort of be monitoring from a different area and be watching them live. And so we see them in the car together. So what are they saying to each other? Monica sounds really upset. She's breathing heavy. She sounds very emotional.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
Robert Baker starts talking to Monica. He wants to tell her something, and you can kind of hear her. She's aware that they might be being recorded, so she's like, no, shh, you know, don't talk, don't talk. But Robert Baker continues to talk.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
Because at some point during this time when they're in the car, they find out they're actually being arrested for murder. One of the things that the prosecutors wanted to highlight in that audio is that it's very faint. But Monica apparently says somebody must have talked.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
Yeah, according to the defense, when Monica says that somebody must have talked, that's about the affair. And so, yeah, the defense does not believe that that has any evidence pointing to her guilt.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
Yeah, so this was some really interesting audio to listen to. It was quite long, but the detectives here are basically using an investigative strategy by which they come to Monica's cell, they give her a little piece of information, and then they walk away. And inside the cell, her cellmate's another woman that's there, but unbeknownst to Monica, that cellmate is actually an undercover agent.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
And so she gets Monica talking, and they seem to be having girl talk at some point. They start talking about her marriage, and Monica's telling her that she was married to the greatest man of all time. At one point, you know, she's asking Monica, is Robert Baker attractive? Is he sexy?
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
Even to a certain point, there was a lull in the conversation. And then the undercover agent brings up like asking her about rules for racquetball because she mentions that Robert Baker was the racquetball coach. So she's bringing up like, oh, can you, you know, can you do this in racquetball?
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
And it's sort of interesting to see, you know, how an undercover agent actually works. Yeah. And Monica's just obviously letting her guard down. She is. And, you know, at one point, Monica actually admits her affair with Robert. And she says, he's not just my lover. He's my confidant. He's my everything. Right.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
Another interesting moment happens when the detectives, they come back at a later point and they basically tell her that, look, you and Rob were arrested today. We know that there is a third person. There was another guy there with Robert when Fabio was killed and he's not here anymore. So I want you to think about that.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
And what it seems to be is that detectives are sort of suggesting to Monica that that third suspect is not here because he's talking to us. He's cooperating. And of course, we know now that that was a ruse.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
For a long time, they didn't know who the second man was. But police were later able to identify him as Christopher Austin, and they arrested him in October of last year. But inside the cell, the detectives use this ruse on Monica, and the undercover agent totally picks that up and runs with it.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
She's sort of telling Monica, like, look, the first person to talk is usually the one that gets the best deal.
Dateline NBC
Audio of a jailhouse sting. A woman's third murder trial in three decades. And the latest on a new texting scam.
Yes, he is going to testify. We don't know when that is yet, but we are all awaiting for that moment and to see what he's going to say.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Yeah, so we have been sort of building to this moment, and it was fascinating to finally see Robert Baker in person. He was wearing a collared shirt and a blazer, and if it weren't for the handcuffs on his wrists, he would look like... Any other normal witness.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Yes, he had the cuffs on on his hand. And, you know, even just the very first question from the court clerk when he had to raise his right hand to be sworn in, you can see his cuffs. Okay, so...
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Right. He tells us that he served in the military for over a decade and said that his highest rank was a staff sergeant. And it was sort of an interesting moment when the defense attorney asked if he considered himself a good soldier. Robert Baker replied that he considered himself to be one of the best soldiers. Yeah, and is it true Robert Baker was at one point a porn star?
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
He starred in X-rated movies and also managed the careers of other performers. It's a really diverse resume.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Correct. Yes. And that's when the defense really launches into the heart of this case, which is his time at LA Fitness. He says that he started there in 2015, and then he met Monica.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Yeah. He was asked when their relationship started and how often he would see Monica. Robert Baker responded that it was very sporadic. Yeah.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Naturally, in the defense's eyes, of course she would be calling the shots on that. She's the one with a husband, with a family. But that phrase that Robert Baker used in his testimony, that she called the shots, When I heard that, I thought, oh, my gosh, the prosecutors must be, like, hoping that the jury keys into that phrase.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
If she called the shots about when she's meeting with him, she also called the shots on this entire murder operation. is what the prosecution would want the jury to see.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
According to Robert Baker's testimony, it got to a point where he said at the end of 2016, he said he was not seeing her as much as he wanted to. And as he described it, it sort of did a number on him. And he couldn't handle it.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Yes. You know, it's rare. Again, this has happened now twice in this trial. We, you know, it's rare to hear an admitted killer talk about how a murder has gone down. And this time, we've heard it through Christopher Austin, the other man that was with Robert Baker at the time of the murder. And now we heard it through Robert Baker.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Yeah. When someone who has done something like this is now telling the jury what they've done, how do you believe him? And what Robert Baker was telling the jury is, look, I have nothing to lose here.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
How are things on the West Coast?
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
That was really something that the defense attorney wanted the jury to hone in on, is that unlike Christopher Austin, who had something to gain because of his testimony, Robert Baker doesn't.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Yes. As soon as the prosecutor got up, who was cross-examining him, I mean, she pounced on him and over several days has been chipping away at... Almost everything that he said on direct exam, she had a response for. She wanted to, no matter how seemingly small a fact might be, she wanted to show the jury that this is not a witness that should be trusted.
Dateline NBC
A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
Oh, really good being with you, Andrea. Thank you.