Former Padres Pitcher Found Guilty in Murder Trial

After three days of deliberation in Auburn, California, a jury returned a guilty verdict in the murder trial of former San Diego Padres pitcher Dan Serafini on Monday.

In addition to being found guilty of first-degree murder of his father-in-law, Gary Spohr, Serafini was found guilty on one count of attempted murder of his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood Spohr, and one count of first-degree burglary.

Serafini, 51, was accused of shooting his in-laws at the couple's home near Lake Tahoe in Northern California in June 2021. He will remain in custody with no bail pending sentencing, according to KCRA.

In addition to the six months he spent in the Padres' organization early in the 2000 season, Serafini pitched for the Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Anaheim Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, and Milwaukee Brewers organizations during a professional career that began in 1992.

As a Padre, Serafini went 0-0 with an 18.00 ERA in three major league games, then was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in June 2000. He also made 26 appearances for the Padres' Triple-A Las Vegas affiliate, going 2-4 with a 6.88 ERA.

Serafini pitched professionally in Taiwan, Mexico, Japan, and Venezuela in addition to the United States across 22 seasons in professional baseball. He also pitched for Team Italy in the 2009 World Baseball Classic and made two separate stints in the independent Atlantic League.

Serafini retired after pitching four games as a 39-year-old in the Mexican League in 2013.

As a major leaguer, Serafini went 15-16 with a 6.04 ERA (76 ERA+) in 104 career games (33 starts). Serafini went 9-6 with a 5.88 ERA with the Twins from 1996-98, his longest tenure with any one organization.

According to KCRA, Serafini is scheduled for sentencing on Aug. 18. He faces the possibility of life in prison.

Serafini's trial began in May. At the center of contention: a security video from the scene of the crime showing a man who was described by an FBI agent as being approximately 6-foot-2.

Serafini stands 6-foot-3, his legal team contended, making him too large to match the image of the masked man in the video. Another video of Serafini at a Nevada hotel several hours before the shooting was a focal point of the trial as well.

"We spent a good 20 minutes pausing video and just staring at shoes," juror Gracee Butrick told media, including the Sacramento Bee, after the verdict. "From the hotel video all the way to the garage video. It's the same exact shoe and the walk, the hitch in the hip nailed it in. I really think (Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard) Miller tied it all in nicely for us."

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