He Went From First-Round Pick to Murderer Jailed for Life

UPDATE Mar 3, 2026 9:36 AM CST

Ex-MLB pitcher Dan Serafini has been sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole in the 2021 murder and attempted murder of his wealthy in-laws. Serafini was found to have hidden inside the Lake Tahoe home of Robert Gary Spohr and Wendy Wood before firing a weapon, killing Spohr and seriously wounding Wood, who later died by suicide. Prosecutors said he was after a large inheritance. A daughter of the couple, Adrienne Spohr, said Serafini and her sister Erin continued to ask Wood for money after the shooting, per NBC News. At sentencing, she described the former first-round draft pick, who maintains his innocence, as "a monster that knows no moral boundaries."

Jul 15, 2025 2:00 PM CDT

Retired MLB pitcher Daniel Serafini has been convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder in the shootings of his wife's parents during a burglary at their home four years ago near Lake Tahoe in California. A Placer County jury on Monday found the 51-year-old guilty of killing his father-in-law, Gary Spohr, and severely wounding his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood, on June 5, 2021, at their home on the lake's west shore, per the AP. Wood received extensive rehabilitation but died a year after the shooting. Serafini also was convicted of first-degree burglary.

Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Miller, who prosecuted the case, told jurors that Serafini hated his wife's wealthy parents and was heard saying he was willing to pay $20,000 to have them killed, the Sacramento Bee reported. The jury was shown transcripts of angry emails and text messages between Serafini and his in-laws in which they were involved in a heated, ongoing dispute over a $1.3 million loan to help fund his wife's fledgling horse ranch business.

Defense attorney David Dratman argued there was no physical evidence linking Serafini to the crime scene and told the jury that although his client had a rocky relationship with his in-laws, the couple was generous with Serafini and his wife, loaning them money and treating them to lavish vacations. "Does that provide a motive for murder? That's killing the golden goose," Dratman said in his closing argument. He did not comment on the verdict. A left-hander, Serafini was drafted in 1992 by the Minnesota Twins. He also played for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Colorado Rockies. Serafini faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced Aug. 18.