Ex-MLB Pitcher Serafini Sentenced to Life for In-Law Murder

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Dan Serafini was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on February 27, 2026, for the 2021 murder of his father-in-law and attempted murder of his mother-in-law during a burglary at their Lake Tahoe home.

Placer County Superior Court Judge Garen J. Horst imposed two consecutive life sentences on the 52-year-old Serafini for first-degree murder in the death of Gary Spohr, 70, and attempted murder of Wendy Wood, 68, along with an additional 25 years to life for first-degree burglary. The convictions stemmed from a June 5, 2021, attack in the couple's Homewood residence on Lake Tahoe's west shore. Prosecutors described how Serafini broke into the home while Spohr and Wood were out boating with family members, including Serafini's then-wife, Erin Spohr. He hid in a closet for about three hours armed with a .22-caliber rifle equipped with a makeshift silencer, then shot both victims in the head upon their return. Spohr died instantly from a gunshot wound, while Wood survived the initial assault but suffered severe brain damage requiring extensive rehabilitation.

Wood regained some abilities, such as reading, writing, hiking,...