Ex-MLB player charged in father-in-law’s killing also committed child abuse, prosecutors say

A retired Major League Baseball player accused of killing his father-in-law and attempting to kill his mother-in-law also was charged with child abuse of two infants, according to court documents.

Danny Serafini, 49, was arraigned this week on a murder charge in the killing of Robert Spohr, his wife’s father, and attempted murder in the shooting of Wendy Wood, his wife’s mother. In a criminal complaint, prosecutors also alleged that Serafini committed “cruelty to child by abuse, neglect, or endangering health,” citing his treatment of a 3-year-old and an 8-month-old.

The complaint did not say whether the children were Serafini’s and did not spell out the specific actions related to the alleged abuse.

Serafini was arrested last week — along with a woman, Samantha Scott, 33 — in connection with the June 5, 2021, shootings of Spohr and Wood. Deputies at the time responded to a 911 call from a residence in Homewood, a neighborhood in North Lake Tahoe. They found Spohr dead from a single gunshot wound. Wood had also been shot but was still alive.

Wood died by suicide a year after the attack.

California

Ex-MLB pitcher arrested in killing of father-in-law, shooting of mother-in-law in Lake Tahoe

Ex-MLB pitcher Danny Serafini has been arrested in connection with the killing of his wife’s father and the shooting of her mother in Lake Tahoe, authorities said.

Oct. 23, 2023

Serafini and Scott were both arrested in Nevada, and Serafini was quickly extradited to California.

The criminal complaint said that Serafini or an accomplice used a .22-caliber gun to carry out the shootings, which were committed during the course of a burglary.

Serafini pleaded not guilty to all charges and was ordered held without bail. He’s due back in court on Nov. 27.