Former MLB pitcher, woman arrested in connection with deadly attack on Tahoe couple in their home
WINNEMUCCA, Nev. - Two people have been arrested in connection with the 2021 high-profile killing inside a Lake Tahoe-area home that left a man dead and his wife with critical injuries.
The Placer County Sheriff's Office announced that Danny Serafini, 49, and Samantha Scott, 33, were arrested Friday morning in Nevada for the 2021 shooting of Robert Gary Spohr, 70, and his wife, Wendy. Gary died but Wendy survived after being shot several times.
Serafini, born in San Francisco, was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 1992 MLB Draft. He pitched for multiple teams over the course of his career. Additionally, investigators say Serafini was a family member of the deceased, confirmed by family to be the victim's son-in-law.
Serafini was arrested in Winnemucca and Scott was arrested in Las Vegas, the sheriff's office said. The sheriff's office says the pair knew each other.
In 2022, sources told CBS13 that investigators were considering the possibility the suspect was hired to kill the Spohrs. Then, in April 2023, the Placer County Sheriff's Office said that it was looking for multiple suspects who may live in the Reno area.
Surveillance video released at the time of the shooting showed a person in a hoodie and a face covering enter the home hours before the attack was known.
After the crime, the Spohrs' daughter, Adrienne Spohr, said her parents were targeted.
"We still don't completely understand the motive of the killer, and, at the end of the day. He came here to kill my Mom and my Dad." said Spohr in 2021.
In 2022, sources told CBS13 that investigators had been considering the possibility that the two were targeted. Retired homicide detective John Cabrera watched the surveillance video and agreed.
The family put-out a call to the public via a website with a six figure reward for information that leads to an arrest. In the same conversation with CBS13, Spohr looked to the future about what it would be like to get the news, shared by authorities on Friday.
"There is nothing better in the world than to get a call from the Placer County Sheriff that we finally have the information we need to arrest this person." she said in 2021.
"This was not something random," said Cabrera. "There is a particular reason why this individual went over to the victim's residence."
Serafini and Scott will be extradited back to Placer County. The sheriff's department says they were assisted by the U.S. Marshal Service Reno Office, U.S. Marshal's Nevada Violent Offender Task Force (Las Vegas), Winnemucca Police Department, and the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office with the arrests.
Winnemucca is located in Northern Nevada, approximately 215 miles east of Homewood.
