Former Pirates Pitcher Found Guilty of Murder

PITTSBURGH — A former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher is looking at life in prison after they were found guilty of a serious crime.

CBS Sacramento reported that a jury in Placer County reached a verdict and found former Pirates left-handed pitcher Dan Serafini guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and burglary.

Investigators said that Serafini shot and killed his father-in-law, Robert Spohr, in an execution style-murder, and shot his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood, twice in the head, but she survived, at their home in Lake Tahoe, Calif. in June 2021. Wood committed suicide two years late in 2023.

Authorities arrested Serafini and 33-year old Samantha Scott, his nanny and eventually turned into his lover in connection with the murder in late 2023.

Scott said that she drove Serafini to his in-laws' home the day of the shooting and pleaded guilty in February as an accessory and was released from custody.

Serafini still awaits sentencing, where he faces life without parole, and is currently held on no bail.

Erin Spohr, daughter of the couple and Serafini's wife, said that she still trusts her husband and had an open marriage with him when she testified in the trial.

Adrienne Spohr, Erin's sister, wore her mother's engagement ring and her father's ashes around her neck after the verdict, wanting 'justice'.

Serafini joined the Pirates in a trade from the San Diego Padres on June 28, 2000, with minor-league pitcher Andy Bausher headed out west.

He made seven starts for Triple-A Nashville, with a 4-3 record and a 2.68 ERA, which earned him a spot on the MLB roster.

Serafini made 11 starts for the Pirates in 2000, with a 2-5 record, a 4.91 ERA over 62.1 innings pitched, 32 strikeouts to 26 walks and a 1.54 WHIP.

He wouldn't make it back to the MLB until doing so with the Cincinnati Reds in 2003 and then after four seasons pitching in the Nippo Professional Baseball in Japan, 2004-07, he pitched for the Colorado Rockies in 2007. Serafini pitched in Mexico for the next five seasons before retiring in 2013.

The Minnesota Twins took Serafini 26th overall in the 1992 MLB Draft from Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, Calif.

Serafini pitched three seasons with the Twins, 1996-98, and one season with the Chicago Cubs in 1999 before landing with the Padres.

He also pitched for Italy at both the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Serafini and his wife owned a bar in Sparks, Nev. named The Oak Tavern, previously named The Bullpen Bar, that featured in an episode on the reality television show, Bar Rescue, on June 28, 2015.