Police arrested two people, including a former professional baseball player, Friday in Nevada in connection to a Lake Tahoe-area attack that left a man dead and his wife in critical condition.
After a two-year investigation, Danny Serafini, 49, and Samantha Scott, 33, were arrested separately, hundreds of miles apart in Las Vegas and northwest of Reno. Authorities say they knew each other and the victims – Robert Gary Spohr and his wife, Wendy Wood – and NBC and the San Francisco Chronicle say they were Serafini’s in-laws.
Wood recovered from her injuries but committed suicide 10 months later.
Spohr, 70, was killed and Wood survived the shooting at their home in an unincorporated community in California off the shore of Lake Tahoe, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said.
The two will be extradited to California, officials said.
Serafini played for a number of teams across his career, including the Cincinnati Reds
‘Today, justice was served,’ Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo said in a statement.
‘The apprehension of those responsible for the tragic events that unfolded in Homewood, North Lake Tahoe in 2021 stands as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our detectives, law enforcement partners, and the persistence of our pursuit of truth.’
The Chronicle said that in July, Serafini’s wife Erin – the late couple’s daughter – told the publication: ‘I have no idea who did that to my parents. I wish I knew.
‘Right now, we’re just trying to cope. I miss my parents tremendously, and I wish they could see my kids grow up.’
Serafini´s attorney, David Fischer, didn´t immediately respond to a phone call and an email Friday from The Associated Press seeking comment about the arrest. Serafini was an MLB pitcher who was drafted in 1992 and whose career spanned 11 years with multiple teams.
The Clark County Public Defender´s Office didn´t immediately return a call from the AP about whether Scott had an attorney who could speak on her behalf. Police records don’t list an attorney, and a spokesperson with the Placer County Sheriff´s Office said the department has no information on her representation.
Video surveillance from the Spohr and Wood home showed a man wearing a gray hoodie, face covering and backpack approaching it hours before the attack, police said. Another video shows the same man walking up the driveway.
Deputies responded to the home after receiving a 911 call. They discovered Spohr had been shot once, and Wood was shot at least twice.