A former Nevada bar owner who made a name for himself pitching in Major League Baseball and appearing on the popular show “Bar Rescue” has been found guilty of murdering his father-in-law and attempting to kill his mother-in-law in order to gain access to their $11 million trust fund, according to prosecutors.
According to a press release from the Placer County District Attorney’s Office, Daniel “Danny” Serafini, 51, was convicted Monday after a six-week trial in Placer County, California, of shooting Robert Gary Spohr, 70, and his wife Wendy Wood in June 2021. He was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and burglary.
The attack took place in Tahoe City, a quiet unincorporated resort town on Lake Tahoe’s western shore, where Spohr and his wife were living at the time. First responders discovered the couple shot inside their home after receiving a call from Wood, who was “gravely wounded,” according to prosecutors. She died by suicide a year later.
“During the investigation, detectives determined that Serafini was responsible for the horrific attack on his in-laws,” according to the prosecutor’s office.
Following the shooting, Law&Crime reported that the Placer County Sheriff’s Office shared two videos of a “hooded male wearing a face-covering and a backpack walking to the residence several hours before the homicide occurred.” One of the videos showed a man with a backpack outside the victims’ home, while the second included footage of the suspect walking on a sidewalk by the water.
Based on the information and evidence gathered, police identified Serafini and Samantha Scott, a friend of Serafini’s wife, Erin Spohr, as the suspects. Scott, who previously worked as a nanny for the Serafini and Spohr families, pleaded guilty on February 6 to being an accessory to a felony in the shootings.
Adrienne Spohr, Erin’s sister and the daughter of Robert Gary Spohr and Wood, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Scott, Serafini, and Erin in June 2023. Adrienne Spohr accused them of “malicious, despicable, cruel, and unjust conduct” in the lawsuit, making them liable for damages following Robert Gary Spohr’s “senseless murder” and Wood’s eventual death.
“It’s been four years of just hell,” Adrienne Spohr told reporters on Monday following Serafini’s conviction. “The Placer County District Attorney’s and Sheriff’s offices never gave up, and today justice was served. And I’ll never forget how persistently they pursued this case. They never gave up on my parents, no matter how many people tried to lie and manipulate them.”
Serafini rose to prominence as a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs in the 1990s, but after his professional career ended, it appeared that he was experiencing financial difficulties. According to SFGate, prosecutors claimed during his trial that money was ultimately what motivated him to target his in-laws, citing their $11 million trust and his wife’s connection to them.
The former bar owner appeared with his wife on an episode of “Bar Rescue” titled “Take Me Out to the Bar Game” that aired in 2015 and began with the story of how Serafini’s $14 million earnings from his playing career dwindled after a series of failed investments and a “bitter divorce.” On the episode, Erin Spohr is heard commenting on how she noticed a shift in Serafini’s personality as the failing bar left him $300,000 in debt and in danger of losing his parents’ home.
“My parents were so proud of me at one time for being a successful baseball player and now I’m thinking what a disappointment I am to everybody,” Serafini explained during the episode.
His sentencing is scheduled for August 18.
