A former Major League Baseball player is due to appear in court this week charged with the grisly murder of his in-laws at their luxury Lake Tahoe home.
Daniel Serafini, 51, who played seven seasons of MLB, is accused of fatally shooting real estate tycoons Robert Spohr, 70, and Wendy Wood, 68, on June 5, 2021.
Police caught a masked intruder entering their $3.2 million Hurricane Bay home on surveillance footage, and prosecutors later identified the gunman as Serafini.
Spohr died instantly of a bullet to the brain. Wood survived two gunshots to the head and dialed 911, but she took her own life one year later while still in recovery.
Their devastated family spent years searching for answers – until October 20, 2023, when police identified the victims’ own son-in-law Serafini as the prime suspect.
Serafini had been married to Erin Spohr for 10 years at the time of the murder, and their former nanny, Samantha Scott, was also charged in connection with the crime.
Police allege that Serafini was in desperate need of cash after an acrimonious divorce and a failed bar venture rinsed his $14 million earnings from his baseball career.
Scott, 34, pleaded guilty in February 2025 to being an accessory after the fact. She has been released until her sentencing hearing later this year. Serafini has pleaded not guilty to the murder and attempted murder charges.
Former Major League Baseball player Daniel Joseph Serafini, 51, is due to appear in court this week charged with the grisly murder of his in-laws at their luxury Lake Tahoe home
Robert Spohr and Wendy Wood (pictured together) were gunned down at their home in 2021
Serafini had been married to the victims’ daughter Erin Spohr for 10 years at the time of the murder, and their former nanny, Samantha Scott (pictured), was also charged in connection with the crime. Scott, 34, pleaded guilty in February 2025 to being an accessory after the fact
Jury selection in Serafini’s trial started this month, and attorneys from both sides will make their case in the trial from May 20, before witnesses take to the stand.
The trial will lay bare details of the grisly murder, which unfolded on a sunny Saturday on the California, West Shore side of Lake Tahoe almost four years ago.
Wearing a backpack and black hoodie, the masked killer carried a concealed .22-caliber gun as he strolled among oblivious crowds in the popular sunspot, police say.
He beelined for the neighborhood of luxury homes which overlook the picturesque lake, and snuck inside the home of Spohr and Wood where he lay in wait.
The real estate power couple were enjoying time by the lake with their eldest daughter and former competitive equestrian, Erin, and their two grandsons, at the time.
During the lakeside break, they gave Erin a check for $90,000, which she later testified was to pay for the home she shared with Serafini in Reno, along with childcare, vacations and a $55,000 car.
Her parents returned to their home that evening, completely oblivious to the gunman lurking on the second floor which featured a balcony overlooking the lake.
An hour later, six gunshots rang out through the neighborhood, and minutes later, the shooter was seen in surveillance footage leaving the mansion.
Serafini played for a number of teams across his career, including the Cincinnati Reds
Spohr died instantly of a bullet to the brain. Wood survived two gunshots to the head and dialed 911, but she took her own life one year later while still in recovery
The trial will lay bare details of the grisly murder, which unfolded on a sunny Saturday on the California, West Shore side of Lake Tahoe (pictured) almost four years ago
Spohr died straight away, but Wood regained consciousness. She managed to dial 911 but was so badly injured she could only gasp for air.
Emergency responders rushed to the scene, where they found Spohr’s body along with bullet shell casings and bloodstains splattered around the luxury home.
Medics found Wood in the bathroom, and flew her to the hospital in Reno, where she spent the next month in intensive care. She had no memory of the shooting.
But perhaps the most shocking details of the case were yet to surface.
The case was refreshed in February 2022, when the couple’s youngest daughter, Adrienne, held a press conference outside their home.
Desperate for answers about what happened to her beloved parents, Adrienne offered a $150,000 reward for any information which led to a conviction.
‘It was just a regular day,’ Adrienne told SFGATE of the day her parents died.
‘And it turned into something so dark and horrific. The only peace I have is that my dad died instantly.’
Police caught a masked intruder entering their Hurricane Bay home on surveillance footage
Wearing a backpack and black hoodie, the masked killer carried a concealed .22-caliber gun as he strolled among oblivious crowds in the popular sunspot on the day of the murder
Serafini was detained in Winnemucca, Nevada, accused of murder, along with lying in wait and child endangerment because his two children were in the home shortly before the shooting
There were no other signs of attempted break-ins or attacks in the ritzy neighborhood, and the killer seemed to know their way around Spohr and Wood’s home, so police believe the crime was premeditated by someone the couple knew.
‘That’s the part that’s just chilling,’ Adrienne told SFGATE.
She added that her mother had been plagued by paranoia that the unidentified killer would come back for her during the last year of her life.
Wood died by suicide in March 2023. Adrienne said she couldn’t cope with the grief of losing her husband of almost 45 years.
‘She missed my dad like crazy,’ she told the Chronicle four months after the suicide.
‘She was just stunned. It was like the killer killed her, too. When we bring that person to justice, I certainly hope they are held accountable for both deaths. They are very much responsible for both.’
A breakthrough finally came in October 20, 2023, when Placer County Sheriff’s detectives arrested two suspects – Serafini and Scott.
Serafini was detained in Winnemucca, Nevada, accused of murder, along with lying in wait and child endangerment because his two children were in the home shortly before the shooting.
Scott was snared in Las Vegas, where she was charged with murder as a friend and alleged accomplice to Serafini.
Daniel Serafini (pictured), 51, who played seven seasons of MLB, is accused of fatally shooting real estate tycoons Robert Spohr, 70, and Wendy Wood, 68, on June 5, 2021
Serafini had been married to the victims’ daughter Erin Spohr for 10 years at the time of the murder, and their former nanny, Samantha Scott (pictured), was also charged in connection with the crime. Scott, 34, pleaded guilty in February 2025 to being an accessory after the fact
In the summer before their arrests, Adrienne filed a lawsuit against her sister and brother-in-law, accusing them of being involved in a conspiracy to kill her parents.
The civil lawsuit claims they were financially motivated to commit the crime because Erin was failing to make money as a horse trainer, and the former baseball star lost his money through bad investments.
Though Erin does not seem to have been charged by police, her sister’s lawsuit claims that she lured her parents out of their house on the day of the shooting so that Serafini could sneak inside and lay in wait for their return.
Erin filed a countersuit against Adrienne, alleging elder abuse and claiming that Adrienne encouraged their mother to remove Erin from the family’s trust, which is reportedly worth around $10 million.
The case isn’t the first time Serafini has been mired in scandal – his baseball career ended in disgrace when he tested positive for steroids in 2007.
Serafini was drafted out of high school in 1992 by the Minnesota Twins, and he went on to play for the Chicago Cubs, the San Diego Padres, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds.
He suffered a further fall from grace when a divorce from his first wife ate into his $14 million fortune, which was rinsed by a failed business venture when he tried to launch a Nevada bar.
Serafini is scheduled to face the courtroom on May 20. He has pleaded not guilty to all crimes.
His wife, Erin, and attorney David Dratman, have both insisted that he is not the masked man in the surveillance footage.
