Daniel Serafini, the former Major League Baseball pitcher charged with shooting his in-laws at their Lake Tahoe home in 2021 has been found guilty of first-degree murder and other charges.
On Monday, a Placer County jury convicted Serafini of murdering his father-in law — 70-year-old Robert Spohr — in what investigators described as an execution-style killing.
Spohr's wife, Wendy Wood, survived two gunshots to the head from Serafini, but required extensive rehabilitation and struggled to perform basic functions. She took her own life in March 2023.
Spohr was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and burglary, CBS News reported.
Prosecutors said Serafini carried out the attack in June 2021, aided by his then-lover, 33-year-old Samantha Scott, who served as the family's nanny. Scott admitted earlier this year to driving Serafini to the couple's Tahoe home on the day of the shooting. She pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was released from custody while awaiting sentencing.
The conviction follows a lengthy investigation that led to Serafini and Scott's arrests in late 2023. Serafini's conviction centered on a financial dispute with his in-laws regarding a $1.3 million renovation.
Serafini's wife, Erin Spohr — daughter of the victims — testified during the trial that she shared an open marriage with her husband, whom she continued to consider her best friend.
@kcra3news The wife of Ex-MLB pitcher Dan Serafini took the stand in the Tahoe home ambush murder trial. Erin Spohr was questioned on topics that included her open marriage with Serafini to an often testy relationship with her parents, the victims in the case.
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"It's been four years since my mom and dad were shot, and it's been four years of just hell," Erin's sister, Adrienne Spohr, said outside the courthouse Monday, crediting the district attorney's office and sheriff's office for their diligence in the case.
A San Francisco native, Serafini was drafted in 1992 and played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Cincinatti Reds and Colorado Rockies during his MLB career. In 2007, he was suspended for 50 games for using performance-enhancing drugs and retired from baseball.
In 2014, he was featured in an episode of Bar Rescue, where he confessed he was deeply in debt and losing money on his bar, The Bullpen.
