The local hairdressing community is mourning the death of internationally known Toronto hairdresser and beauty company executive Fabio Sementilli, after he was found beaten and stabbed at his Los Angeles home Monday night.
Toronto salon owner Paul Sanchez said Sementilli was a mentor to him and many hairdressers in Toronto.
“On a personal level, he gave me so much advice, from being a stylist to opening up my shop. We would talk weekly,” Sanchez said.
“He was a mentor, a showman, a family guy.”
Detectives did not immediately provide a possible motive, but said his black 2008 Porsche 911 Carrera was missing from the home.
Paramedics found the 49-year-old Sementilli on Monday on the patio of a gated house in the upscale Woodland Hills neighbourhood. He was bleeding profusely and died at the scene.
“When I found out I was completely shocked,” Sanchez said.
“Such a nice guy. Something like this — it’s a terrible thing that happened to him — I couldn’t believe it.”
The Canadian-born Sementilli worked for decades as a trendsetting hair stylist and served as vice-president of education for beauty products giant Coty Inc.
The company said in a statement that he was an icon in the industry.
Sementilli had established himself as a “mentor and positive role model to so many,” said Alison Alhamed, editor in chief of the journal Modern Salon.
“He could barely walk a few feet on a trade show floor without someone stopping him to take a selfie with him and share how much he impacted their career,” Alhamed said.
On Friday, Sementilli posted a photograph on Facebook of his 1987 hairstylist certification and reminisced about how his 30-year career was aided by a strong work ethic and support from colleagues.
“I’m optimistic, I’m driven and I don’t accept the habit of negativity around me,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, Sanchez wants the LAPD to find those responsible for his death.
“I just want the situation to get clarified,” he said. “It’s not going to bring him back I know, but for his family.”
With files from The Associated Press
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