Convicted former MLB player Dan Serafini, who is serving life in prison for allegedly shooting his in-laws, is continuing to claim his innocence.
“I don’t understand it at all,” Serafini told NBC’s Keith Morrison on the Friday, April 17 episode of Dateline. “I believed in the justice system. And the justice system failed.”
Serafini, 52, was sentenced in February to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder of father-in-law Gary Spohr and the attempted murder of mother-in-law Wendy Wood.
The 2021 incident occurred in Tahoe City, California, where police found Spohr dead and Wood suffering from severe gunshot wound injuries. It was later revealed that Wood called 911 after being shot by a masked intruder.
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Serafini was arrested in October 2023 in connection to the crime after detectives claimed that he was responsible. He pleaded not guilty at the time.
While Wood survived the attack, she suffered brain damage as a result of the shooting. In 2023, her daughter, Adrienne Sphor, revealed that she died by suicide at an assisted-living facility.
Serafini was married to Erin Sphor — Adrienne’s sister — at the time of the crimes. Erin filed for divorce from Serafini following his conviction, but offered a letter of support to the judge during his recent trial.
Adrienne, on the other hand, asked the judge to impose the highest sentence possible during the trial.
“Dan Serafini should never see the outside of a prison again, and I ask that you give him the full sentence for first degree murder, attempted murder and burglary,” she asked the judge during Serafini’s February 27 sentencing hearing. “I also ask that you compel him to work to pay back his restitution, much of which is money that he blatantly stole from my parents.”
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Serafini was allegedly having an affair with a family friend, Samantha Scott, who was also arrested and charged in the murder of Gary and attempted murder of Wood. (Erin later testified that she and Serafini maintained an open relationship since the day they began dating.)
Scott made a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a lesser accessory charge in exchange for testifying against Serafini in court. She pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact in February 2025. Scott was released until sentencing and faces up to three years in prison.
Serafini blamed the conviction on the jury, saying they “just didn’t like me.”
“They didn’t like my lifestyle,” Serafini said on Dateline. “They didn’t like the way I acted in court. Which I didn’t act any way. I sat there like I was supposed to because my lawyers told me to. ‘Don’t react. Don’t respond. Sit there like nothing’s bothering you.’ And I did. And I got crucified for it.”
