Former MLB Pitcher Arrested in Shooting of Elderly Couple
A former Major League Baseball pitcher was arrested Friday in connection with a 2021 shooting that left his father-in-law dead and his mother-in-law severely wounded.
Danny Serafini, 49, of Reno, Nevada, was arrested in Winnemucca, Nevada, and was jailed on a charge of being a fugitive from justice, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Samantha Scott, 33, was also arrested in Las Vegas on Friday by the U.S. Marshal Service in connection with the case.
Serafini and Scott will be extradited to Placer County, California, to face murder charges in the death of Robert Gary Spohr, 70, and attempted murder charges in the wounding of Wendy Wood, 68.
Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini arrested in connection to 2021 murder case https://t.co/SWUO4bo2GO
— WSB Radio (@wsbradio) October 21, 2023
Former Twins #1 pick pitcher Dan Serafini arrested in alleged murder and attempted murder of his in-laws https://t.co/grE57CwBSE
— Greg KeIIy (@GregKeiiy) October 21, 2023
Placer County Sheriff’s Office representative Angela Musallam said surveillance video shot at the crime scene on June 5, 2021, was vital to the arrest.
Adrienne Spohr of Petaluma, the victims’ daughter, had offered a $150,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.
“It’s awful,” Spohr said in July. “You can’t really ever go back to normal. There’s this big question mark floating — something horrific happened, and yet it’s like … everyone else goes on with their lives, but there’s this chasm in your life.”
Both victims were shot in the head.
Wood lived but later took her own life.
“She couldn’t handle it, the loss,” Spohr said. “She missed my dad like crazy. 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.”
“[D]etectives have worked tirelessly over the course of the past two years, devoting countless hours of follow up by detectives, along with the DA’s Office. The information and evidence detectives gathered led them to identify Serafini and Scott as the suspects; both suspects are known to each other and to the victims,” the Placer County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
“Today, justice was served,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo was quoted as saying.
“The apprehension of those responsible for the tragic events that unfolded in Homewood, North Lake Tahoe in 2021 stands as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our detectives, law enforcement partners, and the persistence of our pursuit of truth,” he continued.
“Understand that my team’s commitment to unraveling the most complex of cases prevails, and those who inflict harm upon our community will be held accountable every time,” Woo concluded.
Serafini is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres in a career that began in 1996 and ended in 2007, according to MLB.com.
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