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Former MLB pitcher Dan Serafini arrested in connection to 2021 murder case

A former MLB pitcher and a woman were arrested Friday in connection to a murder and an attempted murder in 2021 in Placer County, California, officials say.
Dan Serafini: The former MLB pitcher and a woman were arrested Friday in connection to a murder and an attempted murder in 2021 in Placer County, California, officials say. (Placer County Sheriff's Office/Placer County Sheriff's Office)
(Placer County Sheriff's Office/Placer County Sheriff's Office)

ROSEVILLE, Calif. — A former MLB pitcher and a woman were arrested Friday in connection to a murder and an attempted murder in 2021 in Placer County, California, officials say.

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Placer County Sheriff’s Office said Danny Serafini, 49, and Samantha Scott, 33, were arrested Friday morning in Nevada for the 2021 murder of Robert Gary Spohr, 70, and the attempted murder of Wendy Wood, 68. Detectives with Placer County Sheriff’s Office helped assist Serafini’s arrest in Winnemucca, Nevada and Scott’s arrest in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Today, justice was served,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said in a statement obtained by ESPN. “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.”

The sheriff’s office said on June 5, 2021, deputies were called to a house in Homewood, which was an area in North Lake Tahoe. When they arrived, they found Spohr dead from a gunshot wound. His wife, Wood, was also found shot and was taken to the hospital. Wood recovered from her injuries but died about a year later.

Video surveillance of Spohr and Wood’s house showed a man in a gray hoodie with a face covering and backpack hours before the attack, the sheriff’s office said, according to The Associated Press. A second video showed a man walking up the driveway.

Serafini was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He played seven seasons. According to WPXI, he played with the Pittsburgh Pirates for one season. WHIO reported that Serafini also played for the Cincinnati Reds. He retired in 2007.

Serafini was the 26th overall pick in the 1992 draft by the Minnesota Twins, according to ESPN. He played with the team for about three seasons. He had a 6.04 ERA and had a 15-16 record in 104 games. Serafini also pitched for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies, according to Baseball-Reference.com.

“We thank the U.S. Marshal Service Reno Office, U.S. Marshal’s Nevada Violent Offender Task Force (Las Vegas), Winnemucca Police Department, and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office with the arrests,” the sheriff’s office said.

Serafini and Scott are expected to be extradited from Nevada to Placer County, the sheriff’s office said.

Information about what led investigators to Serafini and Scott has not yet been released.

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