A jury found daniel serafini guilty of first degree murder, attempted murder and first degree burglary, a verdict reported after a trial that produced additional true findings, including lying in wait and use of a firearm to cause great bodily injury.
The verdict followed charges filed on October 20, 2023, accusing him of the June 5, 2021 shooting that killed his father in law and seriously wounded his mother in law, court reporting and local outlets show.
Jurors returned the guilty verdict on July 14, 2025, and Serafini filed a motion for a new trial on August 19, 2025, that was later denied by a Placer County judge on February 20, 2026.
On February 27, 2026, a judge sentenced Serafini to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to reporting from local media and court notices.
Background Career And Family Context
Serafini, born January 25, 1974 in San Francisco, was a left handed pitcher and the 26th overall pick in the 1992 Major League Baseball draft by the Minnesota Twins, a long career record shows.
He appeared in the major leagues for the Twins, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies, and also played in Taiwan and Japan for professional clubs identified in his career record.
His professional timeline includes a major league debut on June 25, 1996 and later stints in Nippon Professional Baseball from 2004 to 2007, a 50 game suspension announced November 27, 2007 for violating baseball's drug policy, and play in Mexican and independent leagues through 2012.
Outside baseball he operated a Throw Like a Pro Baseball Academy in Sparks, Nevada, and with his wife owned a Sparks bar known as The Oak Tavern, an establishment featured on a television episode that aired June 28, 2015.
The June 5, 2021 attack left Robert Gary Spohr dead at the scene and Wendy Louise Wood badly injured, records and reporting state, and Wood later died by suicide about one year after the shooting.
Prosecutors and reports noted an alleged financial motive, saying Serafini had earned significant money in his career but faced financial difficulties after a divorce, investments and a failed business, and that he was reportedly about $300,000 in debt.
