Dateline NBC
The 911 call in the Hollywood hairdresser murder. And investigators explore links between six violent deaths and a group called the Zizians.
Thu, 6 Feb 2025
In a Los Angeles courtroom, prosecutors play police interviews with a woman accused of conspiring to kill her celebrity hairstylist husband. NBC News investigative reporter Rich Schapiro shares his reporting on a Bay Area-based group that investigators believe may be tied to deaths starting back in 2022. And JonBenét Ramsey's father talks to the new Boulder police chief. Find out more about the cases covered each week here: www.datelinetruecrimeweekly.com
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
Hey, good morning.
Good morning. It's another day at Dateline headquarters in 30 Rockefeller Center.
OK, so let's jump in and get started on your day.
You're listening in as our producers swap tips about breaking crime news, trial updates and stories that could become the next Dateline episode.
Still trying to get to the police chief today.
The actual defendant completely proclaims his innocence.
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Chapter 2: Who are the Zizians and why are they linked to multiple violent deaths?
I'm Andrea Canning, and this is Dateline True Crime Weekly. It's February 6th, and here's what's on our docket. In Vermont, a group of young people called the Zizians is in the spotlight after two of them get in a deadly shootout with border guards. Investigators say the deaths aren't the only ones allegedly tied to the group.
Teresa and the young woman who bought her the guns were in frequent contact with a third person, who is a person of interest in another murder, this one in California.
In Dateline Roundup, prosecutors beef up their indictment against rap mogul Sean Combs. And emotions run high at the sentencing hearing for Natalie Cochran, the West Virginia pharmacist convicted of murdering her husband.
To this day, this vile being has showed no remorse, none whatsoever.
Plus, the 1996 murder of six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey is making headlines again. We'll get you up to speed on what you might have missed. But first, we're heading to a Los Angeles courtroom where the trial of a woman accused of conspiring to murder her celebrity hairstylist husband is finally underway.
Monica Sementilli's trial began last week with a gripping two-day opening statement by the prosecution. She told the jury the case was a story of lust, greed, and betrayal right out of a Hollywood movie with Monica at the center.
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Chapter 3: What are the latest developments in the Monica Sementilli trial?
You're going to learn about her lies and deception. You're going to hear about her extreme selfishness. And ultimately, the murder of Fabio Cementele, her devoted husband of almost 20 years.
The prosecution alleged that Monica and her lover, Robert Baker, plotted to kill Fabio so she could collect $1.6 million in life insurance money. The defense countered in their opening statement that it was Baker alone who was the mastermind.
Robert Baker decided that he was going to kill her husband. no reason that Monica would have wanted, no motive and no interest, and that it was Robert Baker who made that choice for her.
Baker has already pleaded no contest to the killing and is serving a sentence of life without parole. And this week, the prosecution started to present its evidence against Monica, playing audio for the jury pulled straight from investigators' case files. Dateline producer Chetna Joshi has been in the courtroom, and she is with us now to tell us what she saw and what she heard.
Chetna, thanks so much for coming back. Hi. So let's start where the prosecution did, with the 911 call from the couple's teenage daughter who found her father stabbed to death on the patio. It's tough to listen to, Chetna. What was the reaction like in court as it played?
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Chapter 4: Was Monica Sementilli's daughter used as part of her alibi?
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...
has almost deeper meaning to it because the prosecution is alleging that it was actually part of Monica's plan for her daughter, Isabella, to arrive home first and discover the body.
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.
And so Monica knew that Isabella would have been the one to find her dad dead.
Yeah, which the prosecution believes is Monica establishing an alibi. Right. Yes. In court, prosecutors also played audio from Monica's first interview with police.
Yeah.
Chetna, what stood out to you listening to this audio?
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.
There was sobbing. There was visual cues of her being upset. But I did notice there were no tears.
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Chapter 5: What evidence links Teresa Youngblood to the Zizians and violent crimes?
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?
And during that period of time, Robert Baker, who you had every reason to believe was a cold-blooded killer, was left on the street, correct?
Yes.
The focus was on Monica Cimentilli at that time.
The focus was on building a case, sir.
Against Monica Cimentilli.
We wanted to find the truth of what happened, and I believe we did.
Chetna, wow, this is such a fascinating case all around. Thank you so much. I can't wait to have you back on and hear how this plays out going forward. Definitely. Good being with you. Up next, investigators link the murders of an elderly man in California, a husband and wife in Pennsylvania, and the fatal shooting of a Vermont border guard to a group of young people called Zizians.
Who exactly are they and what do they believe in? Last May, 21-year-old Teresa Youngblood disappeared. She'd graduated from the same private high school in Seattle where Bill Gates and Paul Allen went, then started working on a computer science degree. Her parents reported her missing to the police. Then, two weeks ago, Teresa suddenly reappeared in a Vermont courtroom.
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Chapter 6: Who is Jack Lasoda and why is she a key figure in the investigation?
Let's start with what happened in Vermont in the middle of January.
Yeah, so what we know from the criminal complaint filed against Teresa Youngblood is that on January 14th, a hotel employee calls law enforcement to say that two people... wearing black tactical gear and masks have checked in, one of them has a, quote, apparent firearm in an exposed carry holster. That's Teresa. Then law enforcement begins to surveil them.
Days later, investigators are watching Teresa and the person with her, who we now know as Ophelia Bockholt. And they see Ophelia go into a Walmart while Teresa waits in the car. Ophelia comes out with aluminum foil and while sitting in the passenger seat, wraps objects in the foil. That's something people do to prevent their cell phones from being tracked by law enforcement. A couple hours later,
three Border Patrol cars with lights on pull over the Prius. Teresa gets out of the car and stands by the driver's side door. And then, according to the federal prosecutors in Vermont, Teresa drew her Glock and fired at least twice. Ophelia tried to draw her weapon, but didn't fire. And at least one Border Patrol agent fired at least seven bullets.
One of those agents was shot and died at the hospital. Ophelia was shot and pronounced dead at the scene. And Teresa was also shot, but not killed.
Do we know then if Teresa is the one who killed the Border Patrol agent?
We do not. At this point, Teresa is facing two counts. One is assault with a deadly weapon while resisting or interfering with federal law enforcement. And the other is a weapons charge.
What did they find when they searched
They found quite a large collection of tactical gear. That included two full-face respirators, gas masks essentially, 48 rounds of hollow-point ammunition. They also found Youngblood's journal.
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