Former MLB pitcher found guilty of murdering father-in-law

Published On: July 16, 2025

Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini has been found guilty in connection with the double shooting that killed his father-in-law and injured his mother-in-law in 2021.

A jury in Placer County, California, convicted Serafini, 51, on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and burglary at the couple’s home in North Lake Tahoe.

The fatal incident occurred June 5, 2021, when Robert Gary Spohr, 70, was found dead at home from a single gunshot. His wife, Wendy Wood, then 68, was shot twice in the head by Serafini, but survived. She died by suicide in 2023, with her family saying the trauma from the shooting led to her death.

The case centered on a dispute over a $1.3 million ranch renovation project, and included text message evidence of Serafini’s intentions to murder Spohr and Wood, prosecutors said.

“I’m going to kill them one day,” Serafini wrote in a text prior to the attack, according to prosecutors.

Serafini will be held without bail until his sentencing on Aug. 18 in Placer County, California. He was first

arrested by authorities

in October 2023.

A second defendant, Samantha Scott, 33, who was described as a friend of Serafini’s wife and his lover, pleaded guilty to being an accessory in February,

ABC News

reports.

Authorities obtained video surveillance from neighboring homes that showed a hooded man wearing a face covering and backpack walking to the victims’ residence hours before the homicide, according to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office. Information and evidence gathered by PCSO detectives over the past two years led authorities to identify Serafini and Scott, according to the statement.

Serafini was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 1992 MLB Draft out of Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo, California. He pitched seven seasons in MLB from 1996 to 2007, including his first three seasons with the Twins. Serafini also pitched for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Colorado Rockies, as well as Team Italy in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. He finished his MLB career with a 15-16 record and 6.04 ERA across 263.2 innings in 104 games pitched.