CA - Robert Spohr, 70, fatally shot & Wendy Wood, 68, shot at home, Lake Tahoe, 5 June 2021 *arrest*

[SophieRose]

More from the prelim in May:

Dan Serafini and Samantha Scott, pair accused of 2021 Tahoe murder, appear in court

A Monday preliminary hearing is happening in Roseville for a former major league pitcher accused of killing his father-in-law.

www.kcra.com

Miller laid out a timeline of the victims' final hours before being shot. He showed more security video of the couple spending time with their oldest daughter, Erin Spohr and grandchildren heading to and from the lake that afternoon. Erin Spohr is married to Serafini.

The man arrived about an hour after the victims leave for the lake with the kids at 5:09 p.m.

The video also showed the couple saying goodbye to Spohr and their grandchildren at 7:45 p.m.

At 8:51 p.m., six gunshots are heard on the video.

Four minutes later, the same man is seen leaving the home.

Carlton also testified about a video from a resident's home about a mile and a half from the Spohr's home, showing someone he said was Samantha Scott. He testified she parked a tan Subaru and walked around the block. Carlton said the video also showed her picking up Serafini after the shootings.

In 2023 it was reported children may have been In the home when shootings occured but prelim says they were in the car with daughter ES.

Post in thread 'CA - Robert Spohr, 70, fatally shot & Wendy Wood, 68, shot at home, Lake Tahoe, 5 June 2021 *arrest*'

Nov 1, 2023

Ex-MLB player appears in court for 1st time in connection with father-in-law's homicide

Daniel Serafini is accused of killing his father-in-law, Robert Gary Spohr, in Placer County.

www.abc10.com

10/31/23

Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire says they are still a long way off from discussing the death penalty, but the counts against Serafini carry a heavy sentence.

“With the special circumstances, he faces potentially either death sentence or life in prison without possibility of parole sentence, but the charge of murder carries 25 to life,” said Gire.

Gire says they feel confident in the special circumstance charge of lying in wait, which Serafini also pleaded...

• Seattle1

• 
• 

Gire wouldn't comment on if the .22 caliber gun mentioned in the criminal complaint had been recovered. He did share the child endangerment charges stem from the belief a three-year-old child and an eight-month-old child were in the home at the time of the shooting. Gire would not share how the kids are related.

 

[Seattle1]

For the record and IMO-- info from the prelim by ES should be taken with big grains of salt:

It was apparent by her short answers, sometimes saying, "I don't know" or "I don't remember," Erin Spohr did not want to testify at the preliminary hearing of her husband and friend.

Cameras are not allowed inside the courtroom to record the testimony.

Spohr told the judge she doesn't think either of the suspects had anything to do with the shootings of her parents on June 5, 2021.

5/8/24 -- Prelim Hearing

 

[Seattle1]

Wife of former MLB player accused in her father's Lake Tahoe murder appears in court

Tuesday was the second day of the preliminary hearing in the case against Dan Serafini and Samantha Scott

www.kcra.com

5/7/24

Day two of prelim hearing...

When asked questions by the prosecution while on the stand, Spohr was instructed not to answer many of the questions by her attorney, including when the prosecution asked her where she was on June 5, 2021, that's the day her parents were murdered.

At her attorney's recommendation, when asked questions, she cited her 5th Amendment rights, her spousal privilege not to testify against her husband, and her spousal privilege not to testify on their communications together in response.

 

[Seattle1]

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article294551129.html

10/28/24

Defense attorneys are challenging a Placer Superior Court ruling ordering a trial, arguing prosecutors did not prove that a masked suspect captured in security camera video is “definitively” a former Major League Baseball player accused of shooting his wife’s parents three years ago at their Lake Tahoe-area home. Daniel Serafini, 50, and family friend Samantha Scott, 34, are accused in an alleged burglary at the home of the married couple, 70-year-old Gary Spohr and 68-year-old Wendy Wood.

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article294551129.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Seattle1]

Both waived their right to a speed trial. They will be back in court in September.

In March 2025, the courts will set a date for the trial which is expected to last six to eight weeks.

Former MLB player accused in 2021 Tahoe murder case waives right to speedy trial

A former Major League Baseball player accused of killing his father-in-law and injuring his mother-in-law appeared in court on Monday.

www.kcra.com

 

[Betty P]

Both waived their right to a speed trial. They will be back in court in September.

In March 2025, the courts will set a date for the trial which is expected to last six to eight weeks.

Former MLB player accused in 2021 Tahoe murder case waives right to speedy trial

A former Major League Baseball player accused of killing his father-in-law and injuring his mother-in-law appeared in court on Monday.

www.kcra.com

What a nightmare.

I can't help but wonder, given the large amounts of money the Spohr's were giving their daughter and Serafinia, if they were drug addicts. I can't imagine how a couple could spend so much money, accumulate so much debt and still kill her parents so she could inherit millions more. They had to have had expensive drug habits to regularly spend so much, so quickly.

 

[Seattle1]

https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article296510559.html

12/3/24

A Placer Superior Court judge denied a motion to dismiss murder charges in a case involving a former Major League Baseball player accused of shooting his wife’s parents three years ago at their Lake Tahoe-area home.

Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article296510559.html#storylink=cpy

 

[Seattle1]

In 2023 it was reported children may have been In the home when shootings occured but prelim says they were in the car with daughter ES.

I did read during the prelim that there's surveillance of ES and the children allegedly leaving the home of the victims shortly before the murders were believed to have occurred but I don't recall evidence confirming they were in a car with ES.

Nonetheless, as of this date, Count Four or child endangerment/abuse charges per the Criminal Complaint have not been eliminated. I guess we will learn more about the state's evidence on the location of the children at trial:

At the time of the shooting, Serafini was married to Spohr and Wood’s oldest daughter, Erin Spohr, and they have two children. Serafini faces an additional charge of child endangerment listing his two small children as victims on June 5, 2021 in Placer County, according to the criminal complaint. It’s not exactly clear whether the children were present during the shooting.

Placer County DA will not seek death penalty against former MLB player in Tahoe murder case

He’s accused of shooting his wife’s parents during a June 2021 burglary at their home.

www.yahoo.com

 

[tlcya]

Samantha Maria Scott, 34, pleaded guilty on Feb. 6 to a charge of being an accessory to a felony in the shootings of Robert Gary Spohr, 70, and Wendy Louise Wood, 68. Scott’s co-defendant, former MLB pitcher Daniel “Danny” Joseph Serafini, 51, is set for a jury trial in the case in March.
Family nanny admits to plotting with former Bar Rescue tavern owner to murder his in-laws

I recall watching the bar rescue episode he was featured on.

He was a good lookin guy (JMO) but his personality was ugly to me even back then when the show aired. You could tell he was a spoiled man, used to getting what he wanted with minimal effort. How women failed to see the obvious red flags with this guy escapes me.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1919465565220921691

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Serafini's alleged affair with Samantha Scott was revealed in court documents obtained by the Daily Mail. Scott is set to be among the witness to testify in the trial against Serafini, which began last week during jury selection.

Scott accepted a plea deal earlier this year, which included admitting to a "flirtatious, romantic relationship" with Serafini and allegedly told police that she spent the night before the murder getting drunk with the suspect at a casino hotel. Text exchanges between Serafini and Scott will be shared as evidence during the trial, the Daily Mail reported.

Former MLB Pitcher Accused Of Killing Father-In-Law, Affair With Nanny | 700WLW

Former MLB pitcher on trial for the murder of his father-in-law is also accused of having an affair with his family's nanny.

700wlw.iheart.com

 

[Lexiintoronto]

Serafini's alleged affair with Samantha Scott was revealed in court documents obtained by the Daily Mail. Scott is set to be among the witness to testify in the trial against Serafini, which began last week during jury selection.

Scott accepted a plea deal earlier this year, which included admitting to a "flirtatious, romantic relationship" with Serafini and allegedly told police that she spent the night before the murder getting drunk with the suspect at a casino hotel. Text exchanges between Serafini and Scott will be shared as evidence during the trial, the Daily Mail reported.

Former MLB Pitcher Accused Of Killing Father-In-Law, Affair With Nanny | 700WLW

Former MLB pitcher on trial for the murder of his father-in-law is also accused of having an affair with his family's nanny.

700wlw.iheart.com

In that article the DM reported that victim Wendy Wood regained her memory after the attack, despite previous reports to the contrary. (Grain of salt because it’s the DM, but it would explain a lot).

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Serafini was allegedly having an affair with Scott, who was the family's nanny. She is scheduled to testify against him after taking a plea.

* Scott claims she spent the night before the murder with Serafini at a "seedy" casino in Elko where they had a lengthy boozing session.

* Prosecutors argue the murder was over a decade-long family feud in regard to money (Serafini allegedly lost most of his MLB money on the Sparks bar, Bullpen, that appeared on a 2015 episode of Bar Rescue).

* Wood reportedly gave Erin Spohr a $90,000 check shortly before she and her husband were shot.

* There is an ongoing legal battle between Adrienne and Erin Spohr over the family will.

Serafini married Erin Spohr in 2012 and they owned a $1.1 million five-bedroom property in Reno where they shared their two young children.

* The prosecution argues Serafini offered $20,000 to have his in-laws murdered in 2012 and later described them as "wealthy pieces of ." In June 2021, he was allegedly overheard saying he wanted to kill them. Spohr was murdered June 5, 2021.

* Erin Spohr was seen visiting her parents on June 5, 2021 before saying goodbye at 7:45 p.m. An hour later, five gunshots were fired in rapid succession from inside the home and a masked man was seen leaving the property around 9 p.m. after entering around 5 p.m. Prosecutors allege Scott drove him to Tahoe City that day.

* Scott initially said she was in Elko that day but changed her story after cellphone pings placed her in Reno and Truckee. Her car also was captured on home surveillance footage near the Spohr residence.

* The defense plans to argue others had reason to kill Spohr and Wood, who they described as "nightmare neighbors" who had restraining orders at the time of the attack.

* Wood was convicted of attacking a man for fishing outside her home in 2018, and Spohr was involved in several court cases in the decade before his death. They also argue Adrienne benefitted financially from Spohr's death and she is currently dating a convicted bank robber.

Wild details emerge as former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini set for Lake Tahoe murder trial

In October 2023, former big-league pitcher Dan Serafini was arrested in connection with the Lake Tahoe murder of his Gary Spohr. Serafini was arrested in Winne

nevadasportsnet.com

 

[Ssschu]

Serafini was allegedly having an affair with Scott, who was the family's nanny. She is scheduled to testify against him after taking a plea.

* Scott claims she spent the night before the murder with Serafini at a "seedy" casino in Elko where they had a lengthy boozing session.

* Prosecutors argue the murder was over a decade-long family feud in regard to money (Serafini allegedly lost most of his MLB money on the Sparks bar, Bullpen, that appeared on a 2015 episode of Bar Rescue).

* Wood reportedly gave Erin Spohr a $90,000 check shortly before she and her husband were shot.

* There is an ongoing legal battle between Adrienne and Erin Spohr over the family will.

Serafini married Erin Spohr in 2012 and they owned a $1.1 million five-bedroom property in Reno where they shared their two young children.

* The prosecution argues Serafini offered $20,000 to have his in-laws murdered in 2012 and later described them as "wealthy pieces of ." In June 2021, he was allegedly overheard saying he wanted to kill them. Spohr was murdered June 5, 2021.

* Erin Spohr was seen visiting her parents on June 5, 2021 before saying goodbye at 7:45 p.m. An hour later, five gunshots were fired in rapid succession from inside the home and a masked man was seen leaving the property around 9 p.m. after entering around 5 p.m. Prosecutors allege Scott drove him to Tahoe City that day.

* Scott initially said she was in Elko that day but changed her story after cellphone pings placed her in Reno and Truckee. Her car also was captured on home surveillance footage near the Spohr residence.

* The defense plans to argue others had reason to kill Spohr and Wood, who they described as "nightmare neighbors" who had restraining orders at the time of the attack.

* Wood was convicted of attacking a man for fishing outside her home in 2018, and Spohr was involved in several court cases in the decade before his death. They also argue Adrienne benefitted financially from Spohr's death and she is currently dating a convicted bank robber.

Wild details emerge as former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini set for Lake Tahoe murder trial

In October 2023, former big-league pitcher Dan Serafini was arrested in connection with the Lake Tahoe murder of his Gary Spohr. Serafini was arrested in Winne

nevadasportsnet.com

Wow, interesting family.

 

[Betty P]

Serafini was allegedly having an affair with Scott, who was the family's nanny. She is scheduled to testify against him after taking a plea.

* Scott claims she spent the night before the murder with Serafini at a "seedy" casino in Elko where they had a lengthy boozing session.

* Prosecutors argue the murder was over a decade-long family feud in regard to money (Serafini allegedly lost most of his MLB money on the Sparks bar, Bullpen, that appeared on a 2015 episode of Bar Rescue).

* Wood reportedly gave Erin Spohr a $90,000 check shortly before she and her husband were shot.

* There is an ongoing legal battle between Adrienne and Erin Spohr over the family will.

Serafini married Erin Spohr in 2012 and they owned a $1.1 million five-bedroom property in Reno where they shared their two young children.

* The prosecution argues Serafini offered $20,000 to have his in-laws murdered in 2012 and later described them as "wealthy pieces of ." In June 2021, he was allegedly overheard saying he wanted to kill them. Spohr was murdered June 5, 2021.

* Erin Spohr was seen visiting her parents on June 5, 2021 before saying goodbye at 7:45 p.m. An hour later, five gunshots were fired in rapid succession from inside the home and a masked man was seen leaving the property around 9 p.m. after entering around 5 p.m. Prosecutors allege Scott drove him to Tahoe City that day.

* Scott initially said she was in Elko that day but changed her story after cellphone pings placed her in Reno and Truckee. Her car also was captured on home surveillance footage near the Spohr residence.

* The defense plans to argue others had reason to kill Spohr and Wood, who they described as "nightmare neighbors" who had restraining orders at the time of the attack.

* Wood was convicted of attacking a man for fishing outside her home in 2018, and Spohr was involved in several court cases in the decade before his death. They also argue Adrienne benefitted financially from Spohr's death and she is currently dating a convicted bank robber.

Wild details emerge as former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini set for Lake Tahoe murder trial

In October 2023, former big-league pitcher Dan Serafini was arrested in connection with the Lake Tahoe murder of his Gary Spohr. Serafini was arrested in Winne

nevadasportsnet.com

How terrible to say such things about people he murdered and who are no longer around to defend themselves. Poor woman committed suicide after recovering her memory and realizing her own son in law was the one who shot her and killed her husband.

ETA: I also suspect he and his wife were gambling a lot of money away. No one goes through that much money supporting a small-ish local bar.

 

[Betty P]

Wow, interesting family.

I'm not sure I accept the defense team's version of the victims and family. It may be an exaggerated story made to release to the news media to taint the jury pool.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"Pay careful attention to her testimony and what it is she tells you and understand how to compare what she says to the actual facts," Dratman said.

Another critical thing he wants jurors to consider is that there were times when the relationship between him and his in-laws had rough spots, but not to the extent of turning to murder.

During the first day of opening statements, Serafini was seen smiling and gesturing at a man in the courtroom. He gestured his hand to his forehead as if he was wiping sweat from it.

Serafini pitched in the majors from 1996 to 2007 and was later featured in 2015 on an episode of the TV show "Bar Rescue," which portrayed him as a bar owner in serious financial trouble.

He is also married to Erin Spohr. The in-laws' deaths have spurred a legal battle between Adrienne and Erin over the legal inheritance of the parents' estate. The court case is on hold until after the murder trial.

Dan Serafini murder trial: Evidence in deadly Tahoe home burglary case to be presented

Evidence is being presented on Tuesday in the murder trial of Dan Serafini after opening statements began this week.

www.kcra.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

In his opening statement, Miller provided new details of the alleged family feud between Serafini and Spohr and Wood. He also revealed that Serafini was allegedly having a sexual affair with a woman named Samantha Scott, the family’s nanny, who recently agreed to plead guilty to being an accessory to a felony.

Scott will take the stand at some point in the trial, Miller said, and given her role in the shooting and first-person account of that day, she will be a key witness who could play a pivotal role in the outcome of the case. The day before the shooting, Serafini allegedly met Scott in a hotel room in Elko, a mining town in the middle of Nevada that’s about 300 miles from Lake Tahoe. On the day of the killing, Scott drove Serafini to Lake Tahoe, Miller alleged.

On Monday, Serafini stood beside his lawyer with his hands folded while the jury walked into the courtroom. He wore a tight-fitting dark suit with a navy blue tie and crisp white shirt.

https://www.sfgate.com/renotahoe/article/ex-mlb-player-serafini-tahoe-murder-trial-begins-20337061.php

 

[Betty P]

"Pay careful attention to her testimony and what it is she tells you and understand how to compare what she says to the actual facts," Dratman said.

Another critical thing he wants jurors to consider is that there were times when the relationship between him and his in-laws had rough spots, but not to the extent of turning to murder.

During the first day of opening statements, Serafini was seen smiling and gesturing at a man in the courtroom. He gestured his hand to his forehead as if he was wiping sweat from it.

Serafini pitched in the majors from 1996 to 2007 and was later featured in 2015 on an episode of the TV show "Bar Rescue," which portrayed him as a bar owner in serious financial trouble.

He is also married to Erin Spohr. The in-laws' deaths have spurred a legal battle between Adrienne and Erin over the legal inheritance of the parents' estate. The court case is on hold until after the murder trial.

Dan Serafini murder trial: Evidence in deadly Tahoe home burglary case to be presented

Evidence is being presented on Tuesday in the murder trial of Dan Serafini after opening statements began this week.

www.kcra.com

This article states in the days before the murder, Serafini had Scott pick up a package of cocaine for him. That explains a lot about why he was spending such large sums of money over the years.

 

[DozerCat98]

I personally suspect some swinging/throuple type situation between Serafini and his wife and the nanny.. she has been the “nanny” and traveled to horse shows with them for years.. as for the spending.. seems like they had terrible spending habits and failed business ventures. Erin was into very high priced horses as well.