Wendy Wood and Robert Gary Spohr were attacked by a gunman in their West Coast Tahoe home on June 5, 2021.
Courtesy of Adrienne Spohr
The murder was shocking in its audacity. On Saturday, June 5, 2021, a man was caught on surveillance footage jogging up the driveway of Robert Gary Spohr and Wendy Wood’s home on Highway 89. Across the street from the residence is Hurricane Bay, a busy beach, especially on a Saturday. Authorities believe the attacker entered the home sometime between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m., apparently without having to force entry; At the time, Placer County sheriff’s officials said it appeared to be “some sort of planned event.”
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At one point, a 911 call was made from the home, but dispatchers couldn’t hear anyone on the other end of the line. They still sent police officers to check the house. There they found Spohr dead on the second floor and Wood clinging to life in the bathroom. Incredibly, Wood survived two gunshot wounds to the head, although she died a year later, the sheriff’s office said.
“It was just a normal day,” her daughter Adrienne Spohr told SFGATE last year, “and it turned into something so dark and terrible. “The only peace I have is that my father died immediately.”
After two years of terror and searches, arrests have been made, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday. In custody are Danny Serafini, 49, and Samantha Scott, 33. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Serafini was married to Erin Spohr, another daughter of the late couple. Although officials did not say how Serafini and Scott are connected, they said, “Both suspects are known to each other and the victims.”
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Serafini was born in the Bay Area and played for baseball powerhouse Junipero Serra High School. In 1992, he was drafted by the Twins in the first round straight out of high school. He had an inglorious career with 15 wins and 16 losses with a career ERA of 6.04, bouncing from Minnesota to Chicago to San Diego and even briefly signing a minor league contract with the Giants in 2001. In 2007, he was handed a 50-game suspension for Major League Baseball after he allegedly tested positive for steroids.
FILE: Dan Serafini of the Cincinnati Reds throws a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park on September 11, 2003 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
In 2013, he was out of baseball. For much of the last decade, he owned a bar called the Oak Tavern in Sparks, Nevada. In another strange twist, the bar was the subject of a 2015 episode of the reality show “Bar Rescue.” Erin Spohr told the Chronicle in July that they “sold that bar a long time ago.”
“My husband now works in underground mining,” she continued.
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Serafini’s LinkedIn still lists his occupation as owner of Oak Tavern. “Have experienced almost every aspect of life,” the site says. “Happiness, sadness, victory, defeat, being rich, being poor, children, being married, getting divorced, but most importantly, finding the one true happiness in my life. Erin! I can get through anything now! And with a smile on my face, thank you!!!”
The Placer County Sheriff’s Office did not disclose what led investigators to suspect Serafini and Scott in the attack. Scott was taken into custody in Las Vegas while Serafini was arrested in Winnemucca, Nevada. According to Clark County Jail records, Scott remains in custody there awaiting extradition to California; Jail and court records for Humboldt County, Nevada, were not available Sunday morning, but Serafini does not appear to be in Placer County yet either.
“Today, justice was served,” Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said in a statement. “The arrest of those responsible for the tragic events that occurred in Homewood, North Lake Tahoe in 2021 is a testament to the unwavering commitment of our detectives, law enforcement partners and the tenacity of our pursuit of the truth.”
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