2 including ex-MLB pitcher arrested in 2021 homicide of Lake Tahoe man, attack on wife

Two people, including a former professional baseball player, were arrested Friday morning following a “lengthy” two-year homicide investigation into the fatal attack on a west Lake Tahoe couple, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said.

Danny Serafini, 49, and Samantha Scott, 33, were arrested separately in Nevada on suspicion of the homicide of Robert Gary Spohr, 70, and the attempted murder of his wife, Wendy Wood, 68.

Spohr and Wood were attacked in their home in Homewood on the west shore of Lake Tahoe on the evening of June 5, 2021. Deputies responded to the home after receiving a 911 call from the residence.

They arrived to find Spohr dead from a single gunshot, and Wood suffering from two gunshot wounds to her head. Wood regained consciousness after the attack and called for help, her daughter Adrienne Spohr told The Sacramento Bee in February.

She was transported to a hospital where she was treated for over a month, Adrienne Spohr said at the time. Wood underwent extensive rehabilitation, but died a year later, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Eight months after the attack, the Spohr family offered a $150,000 reward for information leading to a conviction.

“For me, everyday living with the uncertainty of who did this and why, has been the most agonizing thing,” Adrienne Spohr said. She was not immediately available for comment Friday.

Video surveillance was clue in case

Early on in the investigation, detectives recovered video surveillance from a home along West Lake Boulevard showing a man wearing a gray hoodie, white neck gaiter and backpack walking toward Spohr and Wood’s home hours before the attack. Another video shows the same man walking up the driveway of their home.

“Since then, (the Placer County Sheriff’s Office) detectives have worked tirelessly over the course of the past two years, devoting countless hours of follow-up by detectives, along with the (District Attorney’s) Office,” the Sheriff’s Office said. “The information and evidence detectives gathered led them to identify Serafini and Scott as the suspects.”

Serafini was arrested in Winnemucca with the help of the Winnemucca Police Department and the U.S Marshal Service’s Reno office. Scott was apprehended in South Las Vegas by the U.S. Marshal Service Nevada Violent Offender Task Force. The Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office also assisted in the arrests, Placer officials said.

“Today, justice was served,” said Sheriff Wayne Woo 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. Understand that my team’s commitment to unraveling the most complex of cases prevails, and those who inflict harm upon our community will be held accountable every time.”

“This is such a tremendous relief for our tight-knit North Tahoe community, said county Supervisor Cindy Gustafson, who represents the Tahoe region. “So many of us knew Gary and Wendy personally and were horrified by the murder and shooting. I want to thank our Placer County Sheriff and our District Attorneys’ investigators who spent countless hours pursuing leads and gathering evidence so that justice could be served.”

Scott and Serafini will be extradited to Placer County, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Suspect was in major leagues, reality show

Serafini is a former Major League Baseball player who was drafted in 1992 by the Minnesota Twins. A left-handed pitcher, he also played for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies, according to Baseball Reference.

He played his last professional game in 2007 before being suspended for 50 games after failing a performance-enhancing drug test, an ESPN report said at the time. Two years later, he played for Italy in the World Baseball Classic.

Serafini attend Junipero Serra High School in San Mateo prior to his baseball career. The school boasts Barry Bonds and Tom Brady among its alumni.

A public records search, shows Serafini had a family relationship with Spohr and Wood, having married one of their daughters, Erin.

Serafini and his wife were featured on a 2015 episode of Paramount Network’s “Bar Rescue” in which he told producers he had lost $14 million in “bad investments and a bitter divorce settlement” following the end of his major league career.

He purchased a bar called the Bullpen in Sparks, Nevada, and according to the show, Serafini was $300,000 in debt and at risk of losing his home and his parents’ house.