Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini will spend the rest of his life in prison for a calculated attack on his in-laws that left one dead and the other gravely injured.
Serafini, 51, was sentenced Feb. 27 to life without the possibility of parole in a California courtroom after prosecutors argued that “heated disputes” over money led him to murder father-in-law Robert Gary Spohr, according to a statement from the Placer County District Attorney’s Office.
Serafini also shot his mother-in-law Wendy Wood twice in the head and once in the shoulder, per People, leaving her with debilitating injuries before she died by suicide two years after the 2021 attack.
“The human toll of this case extends far beyond the courtroom,” Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire said in the statement. “The defendant’s horrific crimes took the lives of a father, mother, loving grandparents, family members and friends. The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence.”
Dan Serafini Targeted In-Laws to Access Inheritance, Prosecutors Say
Serafini was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder in July after jurors heard that he hated his in-laws and wanted to gain access to their multi-million dollar inheritance, NBC News reported.
Serafini’s lover Samantha Scott testified that she dropped the former baseball player off at his in-laws Lake Tahoe home on June 5, 2021.(Scott pled guilty to being an accessory after the fact, according to KCRA, and agreed to testify against Serafini as part of a deal with prosecutors).
Serafini snuck into the home, according to prosecutors, while the couple was on their boat with his estranged wife Erin and two sons, lying in wait for five hours until they returned, People reported. When they came back to the house, Serafini opened fire, killing Spohr with a single gunshot to the head and gravely injuring Wood, who required extensive rehabilitation.
The couple’s daughter Adrienne Spohr told the court during the sentencing, per NBC News, that Serafini and her sister had received millions from her wealthy parents over the years, including funding a horse estate, paying for nanny services and paying off large credit card debt.
Serafini’s greed didn’t end even after the shooting, she said.
“Dan showed no remorse,” she contended. “He cashed in a $200,000 check made to him from his victim’s account just weeks after holding a gun to her head and pulling the trigger.”
She added that in the aftermath of the shooting, Serafini and her sister had resisted her attempts to post a reward to track down the killer, telling the court, according to People, “He is a monster who knows no moral boundaries and has zero reservations about taking the lives of others to benefit himself.”
Friends of Spohr and Wood also spoke about the couple’s love for adventure and generous nature, with one telling the court, according to The Sacramento Bee, “Daniel’s evilness deserves no sympathy.”
Dan Serafini Proclaims Innocence
Although Serafini’s estranged wife did not appear in court, she did have his attorney read a statement in support of her husband, which asked for leniency.
Meanwhile, Serafini continued to proclaim his innocence, arguing that he was being unfairly painted as a calculated manipulator by prosecutors for a crime he didn’t commit.
“There was no DNA, no photos, no video, to link me to this crime, but because you don’t like me, you found me guilty,” he said, according to the news outlet. “This trial was a popularity contest.”
The judge ultimately handed down a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Serafini was also sentenced to 25 years to life for a burglary charge, to be served consecutively.
The former baseball player spent seven seasons in the major leagues, playing for a wide range of teams including the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies.