More than two years after the fatal shooting of Gary Spohr in Lake Tahoe, former Major League Baseball pitcher Dan Serafini is preparing to stand trial in what prosecutors are calling a premeditated act fueled by a long-running family feud over money and personal grievances.
Serafini, 51, was arrested in October 2023 in Winnemucca, Nevada. His alleged accomplice, Samantha Scott, was taken into custody the same day in Las Vegas with help from U.S. Marshals.
The two are accused of conspiring in the June 2021 shooting that left Spohr dead and his wife, Wendy Wood, critically wounded. Wood survived gunshot injuries to the head and wrist but died by suicide in 2023. According to her daughter, Adrienne Spohr, “she never fully recovered from the attack.”
Jury selection began in Auburn, California, where Serafini faces charges of murder and attempted murder. He remains in custody at the South Placer County Jail and could face life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors allege the crime was far from random. According to investigators, the assailant entered the Tahoe City home hours before the couple returned and waited to ambush them. Home surveillance footage reportedly captured a hooded and masked figure believed to be Serafini inside the property the day of the murder.
Scott, who worked as a nanny for the family, pleaded guilty in February to being an accessory to a felony. She admitted to driving Serafini to the scene of the crime. Prosecutors say she initially claimed to be in Elko, Nevada, at the time but changed her account when cellphone records placed her in the Reno and Truckee areas. Her vehicle was also spotted near the Spohr home on neighborhood surveillance cameras.
Court documents detail a potential motive stemming from a decade-long rift over family finances. Serafini, once a millionaire during his pro baseball days, reportedly lost much of his fortune through failed business ventures, including ownership of the Sparks, Nevada bar Bullpen, which appeared in a 2015 episode of Bar Rescue.
The family dispute extends beyond the courtroom. Adrienne Spohr and Erin Spohr are reportedly locked in a bitter legal battle over their parents’ will. Adrienne, who has accused Serafini of orchestrating the murder, is also facing scrutiny from the defense, which plans to argue that she benefited financially from her father’s death. Defense attorneys also claim she is currently in a relationship with a convicted bank robber.
The defense is expected to argue that others had motives to harm Spohr and Wood, citing their reputation as “nightmare neighbors” with a history of legal conflicts and restraining orders. Wood was previously convicted for assaulting a man fishing near her property in 2018, and Spohr had been involved in multiple lawsuits over the past decade.
Additional reports allege Serafini and Scott were romantically involved. Scott claims the night before the murder was spent drinking with Serafini at a “seedy” casino in Elko, Nevada — a detail prosecutors say adds to the timeline of their alleged conspiracy.
Once a first-round MLB draft pick by the Minnesota Twins in 1992, Dan Serafini played parts of seven seasons in the majors between 1996 and 2007. The left-handed pitcher appeared in 104 games, compiling a career record of 15-16 with a 6.04 ERA during stints with the Twins, Cubs, Padres, Pirates, Reds, and Rockies.
Born in San Francisco and a graduate of Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, Serafini made his big-league debut at age 22. His last professional pitch came in 2013, ending a career that spanned over a decade across multiple leagues and countries.
