Dan Serafini Murder Trial Reaches The Ninth Inning
The former professional baseball player is charged with murder and attempted murder for allegedly shooting his in-laws in 2021.
The People v. Daniel Serafini is rounding third and heading for home with a head of steam. Serafini’s defense team rested on Monday, June 30, 2025 without calling any witnesses.
Serafini’s legal team read two stipulations to the Placer County jury that concerned his mobile device not recording his steps in June 2018 and his willingness to provide DNA and his cellphone records to investigators three days after the murder. Closing arguments are scheduled for July 8, 2025 at the historic Placer County Courthouse in Auburn.
Murder In North Lake Tahoe
Dan Serafini is alleged to have shot his in-laws Gary Spohr, 70, and Wendy Wood, 68, on June 5, 2021 inside their North Lake Tahoe residence. Spohr was killed. Wood survived, called 9-1-1, and recovered. However, Wood ultimately un-alived herself in March 2023. Serafini is charged with murder, attempted murder, a special circumstance for lying in wait, firearms enhancements, and great bodily injury enhancements.
A male figure wearing a hoodie, mask, and backpack was captured on surveillance camera at the property hours before the shootings. Prosecutors allege that male figure was Serafini. Gary Spohr and Wood were down at the lake with their daughter, Erin Spohr, and their two grandchildren. Serafini allegedly entered the house through the garage, lied in wait for nearly 5 hours, and shot Gary Spohr and Wood after they returned to their house.
Serafini was allegedly aided and abetted by his paramour Samantha Scott, who drove him from to Reno to Elko the day before the shooting. The day of the shooting, Scott drove Serafini to Crescent Valley, Nevada and then North Lake Tahoe. Crescent Valley is a remote, hot, dusty wide spot in the road in the middle of the Nevada desert.
Why Crescent Valley you ask? Because Serafini worked at a gold mine near Crescent Valley and had a trailer there because he worked four-days-on, four-days-off. Not coincidentally, his cell phone last pinged off a cell tower in Crescent Valley before being turned off. However, Scott’s cell phone remained on and pinged off cell towers in North Lake Tahoe. This is perhaps the best circumstantial evidence the government has presented.
Serafini and Scott were arrested in October 2023 and charged with murder. Scott turned state’s evidence in early 2025 and pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. She testified in mid-June 2025 and described the Elko trip, waiting for hours in North Lake Tahoe, and watching Serafini discard the firearm and clothing along Interstate 80 in Nevada. Instead of being by his wife’s side while her mother was fighting for her wife, Serafini was back in Elko with his mistress the day after the shooting. And his cell was back on pinging off towers in Northern Nevada.
Scott testified Serafini confessed to her in July 2021. Serafini’s legal team is advancing the ID Defense—The cops got the wrong guy—since there is no physical evidence that puts him at the scene.
An Open Marriage
Dan Serafini married Erin Spohr in 2011. Spohr grew up in Orinda. Her parents were wealthy and she had horses among other perks.
Erin Spohr testified as a prosecution witness with a grant of immunity during the final week of June 2025. She testified about having a rocky relationship with her mother, Wendy Wood, who could be described as tightly wound. Spohr described how the two hurled “daggers” at each other, often via email. Serafini would jump in on behalf of his wife.
Spohr also revealed she and Serafini had an open marriage. Spohr testified she became aware of Serafini’s affair with Samantha Scott in late 2021 after he told her about it. Testimony from both Scott and Spohr indicated the affair began in October 2021—after the shootings.
The jury heard about jail communications between Serafini and Scott that suggested he preferred her to his wife. Erin Spohr testified she still loved her husband and didn’t think he shot her parents. Spohr also testified she was skeptical of Scott’s testimony. Spohr also testified about how Scott’s hairstyles have changed over time to closely resemble her hairdo.
Erin Spohr’s younger sister Adrienne Spohr has a pending civil suit against her sibling for control of the parent’s estate. It was revealed during the trial that Serafini signed a post-nuptial agreement that prevented him from directly inheriting his in-law’s estate. The parents only wanted their two daughters to inherit it.
The Journeyman Lefty
Dan Serafini’s professional baseball career spanned 21 seasons. Although he is commonly described as a former MLB player, most of his innings occurred in the minors or overseas.
Serafini, a left-handed pitcher, was a first-round pick by the Minnesota Twins in 1992 out of Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo. He made his big league debut on June 25, 1996. Serafini also played for the Chicago Cubs, the Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and the San Diego Padres. Serafini also played three seasons in Japan and seven seasons in Mexico.
Serafini pitched 263.2 innings in MLB, posting a 6.04 earned run average. He could be best described a “pitch-to-contact” pitcher, as his strikeouts-to-innings ratio was rather low and he gave up more hits than innings pitched. Hence, Serafini put a lot of balls over the plate and relied on the defense to do the rest. Perhaps like his legal strategy.
One might ask how does a guy like Serafini pitch for more than 20 years with a 6.04 ERA? Simple: He’s a left-handed pitcher and stands 6-foot, 1-inch tall. Left-handed pitching is at a premium in baseball and a guy like Serafini, with his size, would always have an opportunity.
Serafini also had a well-publicized appearance on the TV show Bar Rescue in 2015. At the time, Serafini owned a sports bar in Sparks, Nevada called the Bullpen Bar that was losing money. The bar ultimately closed after having racked up hundreds of thousands in debt.
What’s Next
With closing arguments on deck, expect to hear the name Samantha Scott mentioned a lot. Her testimony and phone records put her in the company of Dan Serafini before, during, and after the murder. She also had an affair with a married man and a rather unusual relationship with Serafini’s wife. And apparently, she really wants to be Mrs. Dan Serafini. Hence, it’s bases loaded, two out, and Samantha Scott’s credibility is at the plate.
Another banger !!