A former adult film actress has been sentenced to nearly three decades behind bars for a murder so brutal it has sent shockwaves from Las Vegas to Toronto.
A Grisly Crime in the Desert
On January 9, 2026, Devyn Michaels, 47, was sentenced in a Las Vegas courtroom to serve at least 28 years in prison for the first-degree murder of her ex-husband, Johnathan Willette. The 46-year-old victim was found beheaded in his home on August 6, 2023, in a crime described as exceptionally gory even by the city's standards.
Court proceedings revealed that Michaels, who performed under the name Nikki Fairchild, first beat Willette with a blunt object she described as a candlestick before dismembering him. Investigators discovered chemicals had been poured over his headless body. Police believe Michaels disposed of the victim's head in the trash, but it was never recovered.
A Tangled Web of Relationships
The case involved a deeply complex and disturbing personal history. Michaels married Willette in 2012, but the couple divorced in 2018. Following the split, Michaels began a sexual relationship with, and later married, Willette's son, Deviere Willette. Testimony indicated this affair had been ongoing for years behind the father's back.
Complicating matters further, Michaels was also allegedly involved with Willette's other son, who was 19 years old at the time. The situation escalated when plans were made for Johnathan Willette to move back into the family home, a prospect Michaels opposed, fearing it would complicate her relationship with the younger man.
During her trial, Michaels claimed both marriages were "of convenience," a statement undermined by the fact she had two young children with Johnathan Willette.
The Shocking Toronto Connection
This Las Vegas tragedy is unexpectedly linked to a notorious Toronto-connected homicide from years prior. Before her relationship with Willette, Devyn Michaels was married to another adult film performer, Robert Louis Baker.
After leaving the adult industry, Baker became a racquetball coach in Los Angeles. There, he began an affair with Monica Sementilli, a client originally from Toronto. Monica was married to famed hairstylist and beauty executive Fabio Sementilli.
In January 2017, Baker and an accomplice stabbed Fabio Sementilli to death on the patio of his Woodland Hills, California, mansion. Both Baker and Monica Sementilli were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder-for-hire plot.
This means Devyn Michaels, now convicted of a horrific murder herself, was once married to the killer in a separate, high-profile case that victimized a prominent figure from Toronto's beauty industry.
A Failed Legal Gambit
Michaels's path to a 28-year sentence was not straightforward. In 2024, she had initially pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder, which would have made her eligible for parole after 15 years. However, she later attempted to revoke that plea.
Her case proceeded to trial in the fall, where she was found guilty on all counts. At a sentencing hearing in July, she had unexpectedly declared her innocence, a move that ultimately did not sway the jury or the judge.
With her sentence now imposed, Devyn Michaels will be at least 75 years old before she is eligible for release from a Nevada prison, closing a chapter on a life marked by notoriety in adult entertainment and ending in conviction for an act of extreme violence.
