Dan Serafini, Ex-MLB Pitcher, sentenced to Life in Prison for Shooting In-Laws; a glance at his career

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murder in the death of his father-in-law, Robert Gary Spohr. There was also no possibility of parole. He also received a life sentence for the attempted murder of Spohr’s wife, Wendy Wood, who survived after being shot twice in the head by Serafini.

He was found guilty of first-degree murder in the incident that occurred in 2021. On the third count of burglary, Serafini was sentenced to 25 years to life. He was initially to be sentenced in August 2025 but was delayed after he filed several motions seeking a retrial.

On June 5, 2021, Spohr, 70, was found dead in a home in North Lake Tahoe, California, from a single gunshot. Wendy Wood, then 68, was also shot. She recovered from the injuries but died by suicide one year later, as reported by ESPN. The family cited the trauma of the attack as the reason for her death.


Prosecutors stated during Serafini's conviction that a $1.3 million ranch renovation project played a role in the fatal incident, as ESPN reported. They had also presented text message evidence of the escalation of the disagreement and premeditation before the shooting took place. "I'm going to kill them one day," one text message sent prior to the attack read, as quoted by ESPN.

Serafini's estranged sister-in-law, Adrienne Spohr, in her victim impact statement, revealed that he cashed a $200,000 check from her mother weeks after shooting her. "He is a monster who knows no moral boundaries and has zero reservations about taking the lives of others to benefit himself," according to PEOPLE.

The judge ordered that all three sentences be served consecutively, not concurrently—and said restitution would be determined at a later date. Prosecutors said during the trial that Serafini killed his in-laws because he believed their deaths would allow him to get his hands on the couple's $23 million fortune through his then-wife's inheritance.

Dan Serafini: Glance at his career

Born on January 25, 1974, Serafini, a native of the San Francisco area, was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the No. 26 overall pick in the 1992 MLB draft.

After making debut in 1996, he went on to appear in 104 games (33 starts) with the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Colorado Rockies before his retirement in 2007.

He had a 15-16 record with a 6.04 ERA and one save. He threw 263⅔ innings and struck out 127 batters.