A former MLB pitcher was declared guilty of murder and attempted murder of his wife’s parents in a 2021 Lake Tahoe attack, where he waited inside his home with a gun in what prosecutors say it was a murder with financial motivation.
Danny Serafini, 51, faces a life imprisonment after a jury condemned him for the murder of his father -in -law, Robert Gary Spohr, 70, according to the Office of the District Prosecutor of the Pleasure County. His mother -in -law, Wendy Woods, survived the shooting, but died for suicide a year later.
The Sheriff County Sheriff of pleasure arrested Serafini and his lover, Samantha Scott, two years after finding spohr dead at home.
The agents were called to Lake Tahoe’s house on June 5, 2021, where they found Spohr Dead and Woods, said the Sheriff’s office. An investigation found security images of a hood who wore a face and a backpack walking towards the residence several hours before the murder.
The Sheriff’s office said at the time of Serafini’s arrest in 2023 that a subsequent investigation led to Serafini and Scott as suspects.
Scott reached an agreement in February and declared himself guilty of being an accessory of a serious crime, according to NBC News Kcra affiliate. He then testified against Serafini at the trial, admitting to having an adventure with him.
She testified that she gave Serafini a trip on the day of the shooting, but believed it was for a drug business, Kcra said. Scott told the court that he later suspected that Serafini could have been involved in the attack, but that Serafini then admitted that “he shot Wendy twice on his head and once in his hand and survived him,” according to Kcra.
Serafini’s lawyer, David Dratman, tried to undermine Scott’s testimony pointing to his changing story and his plea agreement. Dratman did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
The jury found Serafini guilty of theft in the first degree in addition to the murder and attempted murder.
The prosecutors accused Serafini of killing their in -laws so that he and his wife, Erin Spohr, obtained access to a multimillion -dollar heritage after the Serafini baseball race ended.
His wife testified that her parents reduced the couple a check of $ 90,000 on the day of the attack, Sfgate reported, which she thought it was evidence that her husband did not need to kill them. The media also reported that he testified that his parents had a trust with a value of $ 11 million and had more millions in assets.
Serafini spent seven years in the big leagues, the registration time with the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies. His most busy season was in 1998, going 7-4 with an effectiveness of 6.48 for twins.
He also professionally launched in Japan, Taiwan and Mexico.
Adrienne Spohr, sister -in -law of Serafini, told journalists after the verdict who looks forward to his sentence on August 18, according to Kcra.
“Four years of hell have passed,” he said.
