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Former Major League Baseball pitcher Dan Serafini, the Minnesota Twins’ first round pick in 1992, was convicted of murdering his father-in-law and attempted murder of his mother-in-law. The murder was reportedly related to a $1.3 million investment dispute over a ranch renovation project. He was also convicted of first-degree burglary.
Key evidence
The 51-year-old Serafini was found guilty in the 2021 shooting of 70-year-old Robert Gary Spohr and the attempted murder of Spohr’s wife, Wendy Wood. The motive was presented as being a decade-long family feud about money. Serafini at one point allegedly referred to the couple as “wealthy pieces of s—” and offered $20,000 to have his in-laws murdered in 2012.
Prosecutors also claimed the former pitcher waited with a gun for three hours before attacking the couple on June 5, 2021. That same month, prosecutors claimed, he was allegedly overheard saying he wanted to kill them. It was also revealed during court proceedings that Serafini wrote the couple threatening messages, including one that read, “I will be coming after you.”
The accomplice
Letters found in Serafini’s jail cell between the former pitcher and his alleged accomplice, 33-year-old Samantha Scott, who pleaded guilty to an accessory charge in February, were also key to the prosecution’s victory. Scott was reportedly a close friend of Dan Serafini’s wife and the family’s nanny.
Scott, who was having an affair with Serafini at the time of the murder, admitted driving Serafini to his in-laws’ home on the day of the shooting after spending the night with him at a casino. Serafini’s wife Erin Spohr testified during the trial that the couple had an open marriage.
Caught on camera?
Surveillance footage from the crime scene, shell casings, and a blood drop found in the garage were other key pieces of evidence that led to Dan Serafini’s convictions. The footage showed a masked man was seen entering the couple’s home around 5 p.m., five gunshots being fired inside the house, the the perpetrator leaving the property around 9 p.m. Two children aged 3 years and 8 months were reportedly in the house during the murder.
June 5th, deputies responded to a 911 call from a home in Homewood. They arrived and located 70 yo Robert Gary Spohr, who was found deceased as a result of a single gun shot wound. Info on this homicide/any surveillance systems along W Lake Boulevard, call tip line (530) 889-7853 pic.twitter.com/MlsBgvOi3G
— Placer Sheriff (@PlacerSheriff) June 10, 2021
Responses to the verdict
“In 2021, first responders received a call from a home in Tahoe City, where they found Gary Spohr deceased and Wendy Wood gravely injured from gunshot wounds,” the Placer County District Attorney’s Office wrote in a press release. “During the investigation, detectives determined that Serafini was responsible for the horrific attack on his in-laws.”
Wendy Wood, was shot twice in the head, would later commit suicide. Her family blamed the shooting as a reason for her taking her own life.
Adrienne Spohr, the sister of Dan Serafini’s wife, said after the verdict, “It’s been four years since my mom and dad were shot, and it’s been four years of just hell. The Placer County District Attorney’s Office and the sheriff’s office never gave up.”
Dan Serafini pitched for seven seasons in the Major Leagues with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Colorado Rockies. He was suspended for 50 games for performance-enhancing drugs in the offseason following his final season. He would return to pitch for Italy in the 2009 World Baseball Classic.