Former Major League Baseball pitcher, Danny Serafini, has been arrested for his alleged connection with a 2021 shooting that resulted in the death of his father-in-law and left his mother-in-law hospitalized in northern California.
Serafini, aged 49, who had a seven-season career in MLB, playing for teams including the Minnesota Twins before retiring in 2007, was apprehended on Friday morning in Winnemucca, Nevada, according to the news release from the Placer County Sheriff’s Office.
“After a lengthy two-year investigation involving Placer County Sheriff’s detectives and the District Attorney’s Office, 49-year-old Danny Serafini and 33-year-old Samantha Scott were arrested this morning in Nevada for the 2021 Homewood murder of 70-year-old Robert Gary Spohr and the attempted murder of 68-year-old Wendy Wood,” the statement said.
A former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher is accused of murdering his father-in-law. https://t.co/oy0IMi1K0y
— WPXI (@WPXI) October 21, 2023
It was revealed that Serafini was a son-in-law of the victims, according to a spokesman for the sheriff’s office. Additionally, Samantha Scott was arrested in Las Vegas in connection with the same incident. Scott is believed to have known the victims, possibly serving as a nanny for the family. (RELATED: Minor League Baseball Player Whose Brother-In-Law Allegedly Murdered His Family: ‘My Heart Was Turned To Ash’)
“During the early stages of the investigation, video surveillance was obtained from the home and along West Lake Boulevard, revealing a hooded male wearing a face-covering and a backpack walking to the residence several hours before the homicide occurred,” the Sheriff’s Office added. “The information and evidence detectives gathered led them to identify Serafini and Scott as the suspects; both suspects are known to each other and to the victims.”
Both Serafini and Scott are now facing grave charges, including murder and attempted murder. They are currently awaiting extradition to Placer County, where the legal proceedings will continue, according to NBC News.