Ex-MLB pitcher Dan Serafini sentenced to life in prison for murder of father-in-law

Former major-league pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced Friday to life in prison without parole in the shooting of his wife’s parents during a burglary in 2021 at their home near Lake Tahoe.

Serafini, 52, was convicted in July of first-degree murder of his father-in-law, Gary Spohr, attempted murder of his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood, and first-degree burglary. Spohr was killed, and Wood survived, though she died a year after the shooting.

Serafini, who was born in San Francisco, was drafted in 1992 by the Twins. Besides Minnesota, the left-handed pitcher played for the Cubs, Padres, Pirates, Reds and Rockies in his 11-year career.

Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire said in a Friday statement that Spohr and Wood were loving grandparents and that Serafini’s crimes greatly impacted 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,” Gire said.

During his sentencing hearing in Auburn, Serafini addressed the court and maintained his innocence, according to MyNews4 and KCRA 3. He said he was partying with his wife the night of the shooting and described himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes.”

During sentencing, Judge Garen Horst read victim impact statements and the court heard from Adrienne Spohr, the daughter of Spohr and Wood.

“He thought he had gotten away with murder,” Adrienne Spohr said, according to KCRA 3’s Michelle Bandur. “He thought that he’d be cashing out my parents’ estate with his wife in the months afterward. He was happy while my dad laid deceased and my mom laid bleeding out on her couch clinging to life.”

She asked that Serafini be put in solitary confinement because she was worried he would have someone kill her, according to Bandur.

“He is a monster that knows no moral boundaries and has zero reservations about taking lives to benefit himself,” Adrienne Spohr said Friday. “Finally, I want the court to remember who my parents were, not just what happened to them. They were adventurous people who love their community.”

Serafini decried the justice system.

“Justice is fragile. I am just a man,” he said, according to Bandur. “I am far from perfect, but I am no murderer. We live in a society that lacks compassion and empathy. A society that sadly thrives on hearing the misfortunes of others. I sit before you today, a broken man, humiliated, embarrassed, angry and sad. But I am no murderer. I am a survivor, and I am no murderer.”

He also said he “was exposed to cross-examination about my character but never once was I questioned about my innocence in this court.”

The case included a second defendant: Samantha Scott, who pleaded guilty to an accessory charge in February 2025, per ABC10.com.

Scott was described as a close friend of Serafini’s wife and his lover, per ABC10.com, and Nevada police arrested the pair in separate cities in October 2023.

Serafini will serve his sentence at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, according to the Placer County District Attorney’s Office.