Beauty company executive stabbed to death in Woodland Hills

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Beauty company executive stabbed to death in Woodland Hills
Fabio Sementilli, right, seen in an undated photo, was stabbed to death outside his Woodland Hills home on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017.

WOODLAND HILLS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Homicide detectives were investigating the brutal stabbing death of an internationally known hairdresser and beauty company executive in Woodland Hills.

Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics received a "hemorrhaging" radio call from a residence in the 5000 block of Queen Victoria Road shortly after 5 p.m. on Monday.

Responding paramedics found the victim, later identified by Los Angeles police as Fabio Sementilli, on the outdoor patio of the gated home. Sementilli, a Canadian-born resident of Woodland Hills, was bleeding profusely and died at the scene.

Police said Sementilli was stabbed several times in his neck and upper torso. Sementilli's car was also missing from the home, according to detectives.

Investigators described Sementilli's vehicle as a black 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera with paper plates.

Police have not named a motive or released a suspect description, but pointed out that burglaries in the area have been on the rise recently.

"The area here within Topanga, south of Ventura Boulevard, the burglaries have gone up 50 percent in the last year," Capt. Paul Vernon with the Los Angeles Police Department said.

Authorities confirmed they were looking into neighborhood surveillance cameras for more evidence.

Sementilli, 49, worked for decades as a trendsetting hair stylist and served as vice president of education for the beauty products giant Coty Inc.

The company said in a statement that Sementilli was an icon in the hairdressing industry.

If you have any relevant information about this case, you're urged to contact LAPD Detective Steve Castro at (818) 374-1925. You can submit anonymous tips by calling L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-8477.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.