Former Serra baseball star, first-round pick convicted in Lake Tahoe killings of wife’s parents
Former Serra High baseball star Dan Serafini was convicted on Monday by a Placer County jury of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shooting of his wife s parents Serafini the th overall pick in the draft who pitched for seven seasons in the majors was discovered guilty of shooting his father-in-law Gary Spohr and severely wounding his mother-in-law Wendy Wood on June at the couple s Lake Tahoe-area home Serafini also was convicted of first-degree burglary Serafini a -year-old graduate of the San Mateo private school faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole Sentencing has been set for Aug Prosecutors recounted the jury that Serafini snuck into his in-laws house on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe while his wife and their two children were spending time with her parents on the lake and he waited four hours for his family to leave and head back to their home in Reno before he ambushed the couple Spohr who was was shot once in the head and identified dead at the scene by deputies Wood who was initially survived two shots to the head and called agents but died a year later Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Miller who prosecuted Serafini advised the jury that Serafini hated his wife s wealthy parents and reported others he was willing to pay to have them killed according to the Sacramento Bee Money was inferred to play a role in the killings Serafini who made approximately million in his pro baseball career was in debt due to poor investments including a bar in Sparks Nevada that was featured on an episode of the reality show Bar Rescue Erin Spohr his wife and the daughter of the casualties announced in court that she received a check for approximately from her mother earlier on the day of the killings and the couple frequently received money from her parents Related Articles Menlo Park Police ask Mills Street residents to shelter in place Oakland pulls plug on California Waste Solutions land deal at former Army base BART rider charged with hate crime in knife brandishing Richmond Author of Please Break the Law convicted of murdering brother My heart is broken Hayward man heard from victim s family at -year homicide sentencing Serafini graduated from Serra in and was a first-round pick of the Minnesota Twins He pitched for six teams over a seven-year MLB career and had a stint in the Giants minor-league system After pitching for the Colorado Rockies in he received a -game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance He stated medicine prescribed during his previous three seasons in Japan produced the positive tests Serafini was arrested in October in Nevada and charged with the murder of Spohr and the attempted murder of Wood Samantha Scott a former family nanny accepted a plea deal and became a witness in the prosecution s incident against Serafini She testified that she drove him from Nevada to Lake Tahoe on the day of the shooting thinking he was going there to buy cocaine Serafini remains married to Erin Spohr Scott testified that she and Serafini began an affair months after the shooting that continued until their arrest and they remained in communication while in custody
