AUBURN, Calif. — Retired MLB pitcher Daniel Serafini has been convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shootings of his wife’s parents during a burglary at their home four years ago near Lake Tahoe in California.
A Placer County jury on Monday found the 51-year-old guilty of killing his father-in-law, Gary Spohr, and severely wounding his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood, on June 5, 2021, at their home on the lake’s west shore. Wood received extensive rehabilitation but died a year after the shooting.
Serafini also was convicted of first-degree burglary.
Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Miller, who prosecuted the case, told jurors that Serafini hated his wife’s wealthy parents and was heard saying he was willing to pay $20,000 to have them killed, the Sacramento Bee reported.
A left-hander, Serafini was drafted in 1992 by the Minnesota Twins. He also played for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies.
The Pirates acquired Serafini in a trade with the Padres on June 28, 2000. He made seven starts in Triple-A before getting called up to the majors. He went 2–5 with a 4.91 ERA in 11 starts for the Pirates and was released during spring training the following season.
The jury was shown transcripts of angry emails and text messages between Serafini and his in-laws in which they were involved in a heated, ongoing dispute over a $1.3 million loan to help fund his wife’s fledgling horse ranch business, the Bee reported.
Defense attorney David Dratman argued that there was no physical evidence linking Serafini to the crime scene, noting that security camera footage showed a masked intruder entering the couple’s home who appeared to be younger with a smaller body frame than the former baseball player.
Dratman told the jury that although his client had a rocky relationship with his in-laws, the couple was generous with Serafini and his wife, loaning them money and treating them to lavish vacations. “Does that provide a motive for murder? That’s killing the golden goose,” Dratman said in his closing argument.
Dratman declined to comment about the verdict.
Serafini faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced Aug. 18.
