Placer sentencing postponed for ex-MLB pitcher convicted in deadly shooting
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A judge postponed the sentencing for retired MLB pitcher Daniel Serafini.
- Serafini will file a motion asking the court for a new trial in his murder case.
- A jury last month convicted Serafini of shooting his wife’s parents.
A former Major League Baseball player convicted last month of shooting his wife’s parents in their Lake Tahoe-area home wants a new attorney and will ask the court for a new trial.
Daniel Serafini, the convicted retired MLB pitcher, had been scheduled to be sentenced on Monday afternoon for the June 5, 2021, shooting that killed his father-in-law Gary Spohr, 70, and severely wounded his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood, 68. Serafini faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
However, Placer Superior Court Judge Garen J. Horst postponed Serafini’s sentencing until Oct. 28, when Serafini will have an opportunity to seek a new trial. But it’s not clear which attorney will represent Serafini in that hearing.
Spohr died after being shot once in the head during the burglary at the couple’s Homewood residence on the west shore of Lake Tahoe, the victims’ family has said. Wood suffered two gunshot wounds to the head but regained consciousness and called authorities for help. Wood received extensive rehabilitation but died a year after the shooting.
Last month, a jury of 10 women and two men found Serafini guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder for the shooting at his in-laws’ home. The jury also found Serafini guilty of first-degree burglary for the break-in at the couple’s West Lake Boulevard home.
Assistant Chief Deputy District Attorney Richard Miller, who prosecuted Serafini, told the jury that the former MLB pitcher hated his wife’s wealthy parents and told others he was willing to pay $20,000 to have them killed. The prosecutor said Serafini entered the couple’s home while nobody was there and waited for hours before shooting them as they watched TV in their living room.
David Dratman, one of Serafini’s attorneys, argued the prosecution does not have any physical evidence linking his client to the crime scene, noting that security camera video showed a masked intruder entering the couple’s home who appeared to be younger with a smaller and thinner body frame than the retired professional baseball player.
Authorities arrested Serafini and family friend Samantha Scott in October 2023 in connection with the deadly shooting. The initial charges indicated that prosecutors have always believed that Serafini was the person who shot his wife’s parents, not Scott.
Scott has since agreed to a plea deal with the Placer County District Attorney’s Office and testified as a key witness for the prosecution in Serafini’s trial. Scott told the jury she drove Serafini and dropped him off a few miles from his in-laws’ home that day, before he returned hours later and got rid of his clothing, a backpack and a handgun while returning to Nevada.
Motion for a new trial
The judge said the court experienced a “flurry of filings” last week as Serafini’s attorneys filed signed documents to replace his legal counsel as the criminal case moves toward sentencing. Serafini was seeking to replace the attorneys who represented him in the trial, Dratman and David Fischer, with attorney Jeff Wood.
Wood attended Monday’s hearing at the Auburn historic courthouse. Wood stood behind Serafini, who sat with Dratman and Fischer in the courtroom. Wood remained there only to introduce himself to the court, but he left soon after telling the judge he was formally withdrawing from the formal request to replace Serafini’s attorneys. It’s unclear why that happened, it was not discussed in court.
But Dratman made it clear to the judge that he anticipates Serafini will have new legal counsel as the case proceeds, telling the judge that Serafini has a Sixth Amendment right to “counsel of his choice.” Dratman said that’s why they filed a motion to postpone Monday’s sentencing.
“We anticipate new legal counsel will be coming in,” Dratman told the judge.
For the meantime, Dratman and Fischer remain Serafini’s attorneys in this case. Dratman said they are hoping for a “smooth transition” as the new attorney steps in. Dratman said Serafini will be filing a motion to seek a new trial.
The judge said he has to allow time to prepare the new trial motion to ensure both sides receive due process under the law while balancing that with the rights of the victims’ family.
