Ex-Bay Area MLB player, woman suspected in murder that rocked Tahoe

The killing was shocking in its brazenness. On Saturday, June 5, 2021, a man was caught on surveillance footage jogging up the driveway of the home of Robert Gary Spohr and Wendy Wood off Highway 89. Across the street from the residence is Hurricane Bay, a busy beach, particularly on a Saturday. Authorities believe the attacker got into the home sometime between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m., seemingly without needing to force entry; at the time, Placer County sheriff’s officials said it appeared to be “some sort of planned event.”

A 911 call was made from the home sometime after, but dispatchers couldn’t hear anyone speaking on the other end of the line. They sent law enforcement to check out the home anyway. There, they discovered Spohr dead on the second floor and Wood clinging to life in the bathroom. Incredibly, Wood survived two gunshot wounds to the head although she died a year later, the sheriff’s office said.

“It was just a regular day,” their daughter Adrienne Spohr told SFGATE last year, “and it turned into something so dark and horrific. The only peace I have is that my dad died instantly.”

After two years of terror and searching, arrests have been made, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday. In custody are Danny Serafini, 49, and Samantha Scott, 33. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Serafini is married to Erin Spohr, another daughter of the deceased couple. Although officials did not say how Serafini and Scott are tied, they said “both suspects are known to each other and to the victims.” 

Serafini was born in the Bay Area and pitched for baseball powerhouse Junipero Serra High School. In 1992, he was drafted straight out of high school in the first round by the Twins. He went on an inglorious career, racking up 15 wins and 16 losses with a career ERA of 6.04, bouncing around from Minnesota to Chicago to San Diego and even briefly signing a minor league contract with the Giants in 2001. In 2007, he was handed a 50-game suspension by Major League Baseball after allegedly testing positive for steroids.

By 2013, he was out of baseball. For much of the last decade, he owned a bar in Sparks, Nev., called the Oak Tavern. In another strange twist, the bar was the subject of a 2015 episode of the reality show “Bar Rescue.” Erin Spohr told the Chronicle in July that they “sold that bar a long time ago.”

“My husband now works in underground mining,” she continued.

Serafini’s LinkedIn still lists his occupation as the owner of Oak Tavern. “Have experienced almost every aspect of life,” the page reads. “Happiness, sadness,winning, defeat, being rich, being poor, children , being married, getting divorced, but most importantly finding that one true happiness in my life. Erin! I can get through anything now! And with a smile on my face, thanks to you!!!”

The Placer County Sheriff’s Office did not disclose what led detectives to suspect Serafini and Scott in the attack. Scott was taken into custody in Las Vegas, while Serafini was arrested in Winnemucca, Nev. According to Clark County jail records, Scott is still in custody there awaiting extradition to California; jail and court records for Humboldt County, Nevada were not available as of Sunday morning, but Serafini does not yet appear to be in Placer County either.

“Today, justice was served,” Placer County sheriff Wayne Woo said in a statement. “The apprehension of those responsible for the tragic events that unfolded in Homewood, North Lake Tahoe in 2021 stands as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our detectives, law enforcement partners, and the persistence of our pursuit of truth.”