Wife who masterminded Canadian-born hairdresser husband's murder sentenced to life
LOS ANGELES — A woman who masterminded the killing of her husband, an internationally known Canadian-born hairdresser and beauty company executive, at their Los Angeles home eight years ago was sentenced Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Monica Sementilli, 53, was convicted in April of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the 2017 stabbing death of Fabio Sementilli in their backyard in the upscale Woodlands Hills neighbourhood. He was found by their daughter in a pool of blood with multiple wounds to his face, jawline, neck, chest and thigh.
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Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Rival anti-migrant and anti-racism protests face off outside a hotel housing migrants in London
LONDON (AP) — Anti-immigrant and anti-racism demonstrators faced off in London on Saturday in the latest in a series of protests outside hotels housing asylum-seekers. Several hundred protesters waving Union Jacks gathered outside the Thistle City Barbican Hotel in central London, calling for it to be closed as housing for migrants. Chants including 'Scum' and 'Britain is full' were directed at the hotel. Police separated the demonstrators from a larger group of counter-protesters chanting 'refugees are welcome here,' as people inside the hotel watched from windows. Protests against migrants have taken place in recent weeks in Epping, a town on the outskirts of London where an asylum-seeker was accused of sexual assault, and in a smattering of other towns in England. Protesters say they are concerned about the safety risk posed by the migrants, many of them young men who have recently arrived in Britain in dinghies across the English Channel. The demonstrations have drawn local people, but have also been attended, and in some cases organized, by far-right groups. The protests come a year after several days of anti-immigrant rioting across England and Northern Ireland. Crowds in more than two dozen towns attacked hotels housing migrants, as well as mosques, police stations and a library. Some rioters targeted non-white people and threw bricks and fireworks at police. The summer 2024 violence was sparked when three girls were stabbed to death at a summer dance class in the town of Southport, and online misinformation identified the attacker as a recently arrived migrant. In fact, killer Axel Rudakubana was a British-born 17-year-old. Experts and community groups warn that the mix of anger, fear, misinformation and political agitating that fueled that violence could erupt again, though protests this summer have been small and largely peaceful.
Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Gone girl
It's just an ordinary day for Bryden, doing more than her share of parenting, taking her three-year-old Clara to daycare while husband Sam goes to the office, she working from home in their upscale condo until it's time to do the daycare pickup while hubby works late — except… Except Bryden doesn't show up at the daycare, because she's vanished without a trace. Oh dear. Tristan Ostler photo Shari Lapena, who was a lawyer and English teacher before turning to writing, is the Canadian author of 11 books including nine thrillers. And we're off again on another devilish mystery from Toronto lawyer turned bestseller Shari Lapena, a book full of nasty people all hiding scurrilous secrets in one of the most dangerous and depraved places on Earth: idyllic, affluent suburbia. Panic soon sets in, because this is so out of character for Bryden, who's altogether perfect and loved by all. Her car is in the underground garage, her keys and purse and cell phone all sitting in their condo, nary a sign of any kind of a struggle. The cameras show she didn't leave, and no psychotic strangers signed in at the concierge's desk. Golly, what could have happened? Lapena has made a fine career out of similar folks finding themselves in a real pickle, though she hasn't yet received the elbows-up memo, again setting She Didn't See it Coming in upstate New York, this time in Albany. The plot details revealed so far are all you're getting. Brace yourselves. There's no way adorable Bryden could be having an affair with another character, right? Same for Sam — nothing on the side for the faithful fellow? Oh, and that broken rib Bryden had a while back, everyone knows how dangerous doors can be, how they'll spring out of nowhere and have at you… Characters… we've got characters. Bryden's parents show up after she vanishes; in the in-law tradition, they don't like Sam all that much. If they have secrets, Lapena doesn't further muddy the waters with them. Bryden's sister Lizzie lives nearby. She's the sister who's not as good as Bryden at anything, but don't jump to conclusions that she resents that in any way — nope, don't start going there… Lizzie also has a thing about going on the internet under a pseudonym to talk true crime with a bunch of whackjobs who think they're better sleuths than the police; she'd never disclose any clues, surely… Paige is Bryden's BFF and Clara's godmother. Paige and Lizzie vie for Clara's attention and adulation, though assuredly, they're both adults about it. Sam and Paige, as you'd expect, just good friends, right? Just down the hall live Henry and Tracy. Their marriage had a rough turn a couple of years back when a woman accused Henry of abducting and raping her, but police couldn't make the charges stick. Always handy to have someone like that living down the hall when a woman disappears. She Didn't See it Coming Then there's Derek, whose car Bryden rear-ended recently when she was late getting to daycare. Derek runs a cybersecurity firm and he's given his piece-of-work wife Alice a lot to be suspicious about. What would the chances be that sparks flew when Derek and Bryden exchanged licence particulars? A sad backstory for Derek and Alice: only-child Alice's exceptionally rich mother was killed in a hit-and-run for which no one was ever charged. She inherited everything. Throw into the mix that at least one character has murdered and gotten away with it — maybe more than once. People are bed-hopping at a frantic pace. One person is cheating on the person with whom they're cheating on their spouse. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Members of your book club may be forgiven if they wonder if everyone else is casually walking out of the office in the early afternoon of a workday to experience astounding canoodling with a married person married to someone else. This is Lapena's ninth thriller, and regular readers will see patterns emerging. How can so many scoundrels end up in one tiny corner of the suburbs and outwardly do so well? She Didn't See It Coming may feel a tad familiar, but Lapena does this so well. Just hope she hasn't based this tale on real life, or on anyone you know. Or on you. Retired Free Press reporter Nick Martin lived in River Heights, and has always favoured older neighbourhoods, where debauchery is unknown.
Winnipeg Free Press
14 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
A Tunisian musician was detained in LA after living in US for a decade. His doctor wife speaks out
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dr. Wafaa Alrashid noticed fewer of her patients were showing up for their appointments at the Los Angeles area hospital where she works as immigration raids spread fear among the Latino population she serves. The Utah-born chief medical officer at Huntington Hospital understood their fear on a personal level. Her husband Rami Othmane, a Tunisian singer and classical musician, began carrying a receipt of his pending green card application around with him. Over the past few months, immigration agents have arrested hundreds of people in Southern California, prompting protests against the federal raids and the subsequent deployment of the National Guard and Marines. Despite living in the U.S. for a decade as one of thousands of residents married to U.S. citizens, he was swept up in the crackdown. On July 13, Othmane was stopped while driving to a grocery store in Pasadena. He quickly pulled out his paperwork to show federal immigration agents. 'They didn't care, they said, 'Please step out of the car,'' Alrashid recalled hearing the officers say as she watched her husband's arrest in horror over FaceTime. Alrashid immediately jumped in her car and followed her phone to his location. She arrived just in time to see the outline of his head in the back of a vehicle driving away. 'That was probably the worst day of my life,' she said. The Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration has ensnared not only immigrants without legal status but legal permanent residents like Othmane who has green cards. Some U.S. citizens have even been arrested. Meanwhile, many asylum-seekers who have regular check-in appointments are being arrested in the hallways outside courtrooms as the White House works toward its promise of mass deportations. Alrashid said her husband has been in the U.S. since 2015 and overstayed his visa, but his deportation order was dismissed in 2020. They wed in March 2025 and immediately filed for a green card. After his arrest, he was taken to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in downtown Los Angeles where he was held in a freezing cold room with 'no beds, no pillows, no blankets, no soap, no toothbrushes and toothpaste, and when you're in a room with people, the bathroom's open,' she said. The Department of Homeland Security in an emailed statement noted the expiration of his tourist visa but did not address the dismissal of the deportation order in 2020 nor his pending green card application. The agency denied any allegations of mistreatment, and said 'ensuring the safety, security, and well-being of individuals in our custody is a top priority at ICE.' Alrashid said for years her husband has performed classical Arabic music across Southern California. They first met when he was singing at a restaurant. 'He's the kindest person,' Alrashid said, adding that he gave a sweater she brought him to a fellow detainee and to give others privacy, he built a makeshift barrier around the open toilet using trash bags. 'He's brought a lot to the community, a lot of people love his music,' she said. More than a week after his arrest, fellow musicians, immigration advocates and activists joined Alrashid in a rally outside the facility. A few of his colleagues performed classical Arabic music, drumming loud enough that they hoped the detainees inside could hear them. Los Jornaleros del Norte musicians, who often play Spanish-language music at rallies, also were there. 'In Latin American culture, the serenade — to bring music to people — is an act of love and kindness. But in this moment, bringing music to people who are in captivity is also an act of resistance,' said Pablo Alvarado, co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network. Leading up to the rally, Alrashid was worried because she hadn't received her daily call from her husband and was told she couldn't visit him that day at the detention facility. She finally heard from him that evening. Othmane told her over the phone he was now at an immigration detention facility in Arizona, and that his left leg was swollen. 'They should ultrasound your leg, don't take a risk,' she said. Alrashid hopes to get her husband out on bail while his case is being processed. They had a procedural hearing on Thursday where the judge verified his immigration status, and have a bail bond hearing scheduled for Tuesday. Until then, she'll continue waiting for his next phone call.
