A star defense witness takes the stand. The Zizians' leader in court. And a new scam called pig butchering.
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What updates does Dateline True Crime Weekly provide?
Good morning. You're listening in to Dateline's morning meeting.
How are things on the West Coast?
Early.
Our editorial team is catching up on breaking crime news around the country. We know that we have this person of interest, but we don't know what the connection is at all.
He'll almost certainly be in Alabama in custody. They have 72 hours to arrest him.
He says, I did it. I murdered him. I wanted her.
Who is Robert Baker and what is his role in the Monica Sementilli trial?
Welcome to Dateline True Crime Weekly. I'm Andrea Canning. It's March 20th, and here's what's on our docket. The Zizians have surfaced again. According to law enforcement, the group of radical vegans is connected to violent deaths in multiple states. Their leader was in court last month.
I haven't done anything wrong. I shouldn't be here.
In Dateline Roundup this week, we'll tell you all about an important ruling in the Karen Reid case. Lori Vallow Daybell has some decisions to make about her upcoming trial. And we've got a major development from the Dominican Republic on a missing college student.
They've asked the police to declare her dead, even though no body has been found.
Plus, tens of thousands of Americans have fallen for a new scam known as pig butchering. Our NBC News justice and intelligence correspondent Ken Delanian has the details.
It goes on so long that often people think they're making money, but then eventually they find that they don't have access to their funds anymore and they've lost everything.
But before all that, we're heading back to a Los Angeles courtroom and the trial of the woman accused of conspiring to murder her hairstylist husband. The defense's star witness has finally taken the stand. We've heard the name Robert Baker countless times over the course of the Monica Cementilli trial. For six weeks, the prosecution built a case that put him squarely at the center of the murder. They told the jury Baker was Monica's lover and the person she conspired with to kill her husband Fabio. In 2023, he pleaded no contest to the murder and is serving a sentence of life without parole. But Baker has consistently denied that Monica had anything to do with the crime. Last week, the defense finally called him to the stand.
Did she have anything to do with the planning or the execution of the plan to kill Fabio Cimentilli?
No.
You're sure?
I'm positive.
Over the course of several days, Robert Baker told the jury his side of the story, often offering explicit details and frequently clashing with the prosecution. Dateline producer Chetna Joshi is here to tell us about what Baker had to say and where the rest of the trial goes from here. Chetna, thanks so much for coming back on. Good to be with you. So we've heard a lot about Robert Baker in this case so far, and now we've finally seen the man himself.
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.
So keep the cuffs on during testimony?
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...
How did the defense start with him? I know that they wanted to introduce his background.
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? He starred in X-rated movies and also managed the careers of other performers. It's a really diverse resume.
That's quite the background. And so then they also – this is – key here, he started working at LA Fitness, which is, of course, where he met Monica.
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.
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