Dan Serafini was his first draft pick from the prestigious private high school. He pitched professionally for 22 seasons, earning over $14 million, and two in six major league teams and two Japan leagues.
Now he may spend the rest of his life in prison.
Serafini, 51, was convicted Monday of first-degree murder in the 2021 shooting of stepfather Robert Gary Sparrow.
Serafini entered a home on Lake Sparles Lake Tahoe on June 5, 2021, and prosecutors said they had been secretly waiting with a .22 caliber gun for several hours to return before the victim was ambushed. Two children, 3 years and 8 months old, were at home at the time.
“The conviction comes after a six-week trial. During that time, the ju judges heard testimony from dozens of witnesses and presenting physical evidence, including digital, mobile phones and other forensic evidence.”
According to the evidence presented at the trial, when Spohrs arrived, Serafini shot both of them in the head and fled the house. Wood survived and was called 911. She died of suicide in 2023.
Two years later, police arrested Serafini and his nanny-turned enthusiast Samantha Scott, 33. Scott pleaded guilty to accessory charging in February.
Prosecutors said Serafini’s motivations were concentrated in a $1.3 million dispute over the renovation of the ranch. According to prosecutors, Serafini hated his in-laws and wrote in a text message with $21,000, “I’m going to kill him one day,” according to ABC News Sacramento affiliate KXTV. The victim had given Serafini’s wife Erin $90,000, on the day of the shooting.
“It’s been four years since my mother and father were shot, but four years of hell have passed,” said Adrian Spoe, the victim’s daughter and sister-in-law of Serafini, after the verdict.
According to KXTV, when the verdict was read out loud, Adrienne Spohr was heard crying in breath with others in court. Serafini shook her head in disagreement.
The mandatory minimum for first-degree murders with firearm enhancements is a lifespan of 25 years, but can increase to 35 years depending on how the fee is applied.
“My parents were incredibly generous to Daniel Serafini and Erin Spard throughout their marriage,” Adrian Spard said earlier in the trial.
The Minnesota Twins first drafted Serafini from Junipero Cerahai in San Mateo in 1992. Serafini made his big league debut with twins in 1996, pitching for parts of seven seasons alongside the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies.
After pitching in Japan between 2004 and 2007, Serafini was stopped in 50 games using performance-enhancing drugs that criticized the drugs he took in Japan in 2007 before returning to the US. He also pitched to Italy at the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
On June 28, 2015, the bar at Serafini in Sparks, Nevada was featured in an episode of Barrescue. The bar’s name was changed from bullpembar to an oak tavern as part of the makeover, but not before his financial difficulties blew away $14 million in career revenue and was told he received a $250,000 loan from his parents.
Serafini’s ruling is scheduled for August 18th. He will remain in custody without bail until then.
“At this point, our focus will be on the sentencing and making sure Dan Serafini never sees the outside of the prison again,” Adrian Spool said.
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