Daniel Serafini Landed in Prison Because of Babysitter Mistress’ Mistake

It took authorities more than two years to arrest Daniel Serafini for the murder of his father-in-law Gary Spohr and attempted murder of his mother-in-law Wendy Wood, but they obtained crucial evidence needed to convict him long before that.

That evidence came from his accomplice-turned-mistress Samantha Scott, who would ultimately agree to testify against her then-paramour in a deal with prosecutors to avoid being tried on the same charges as Serafini.

Investigators first questioned Scott in November 2021 while executing a search warrant at her home. Cell phone records revealed that she had been near the Homewood, Calif., residence of Spohr and Wood on the day they were shot.

Those cell phone records ultimately allowed prosecutors to build their case against Serafini.

Prosecutors said that Serafini had turned his cell phone off on the day of the shooting, noting that he would often send upwards of 100 text messages per day but didn’t send any texts on the day of the shooting.

Scott, who to this day maintains that she merely believed Serafini was making the trip to Lake Tahoe that day to purchase a large quantity of cocaine, did not turn off her phone, allowing investigators to place her just over a mile from the crime scene.

It only strengthened investigators’ case when surveillance footage from a motel in Elko, Nev., showed that both Serafini and Scott had spent the previous night at the same motel.

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When Scott told Serafini about the search warrant executed at her home, Serafini confessed to her that he’d shot Wood twice in the head at point-blank range. Scott later used this confession to have her charges reduced to a lesser accessory charge.

Scott testified about that conversation during Serafini’s six-week trial, which ended with a jury convicting the former Major League Baseball player of murder and attempted murder on July 14.

Serafini and Scott are now both awaiting a sentencing hearing in their respective cases, with Serafini facing the possibility of life in prison and Scott possibly being credited with time served for her offense.

Prosecutors said that Serafini carried out the shooting after being dropped off by Scott near the victims’ $3.5 million Lake Tahoe home, then sneaked into the residence while the victims were out on their boat with Serafini’s wife, Erin Spohr, and their two young sons.

The fact that the shooter entered the home in the middle of the day while there were three cars in the driveway, and that investigators found no evidence of forced entry or anything being stolen from the home, led them to believe the shooter knew the victims.

Serafini is believed to have killed his in-laws in order to gain access to their $23 million estate, which would have been split between their two daughters, Erin and Adrienne.

In the end, Erin received none of that money; Wood disinherited Erin and then died by suicide in February 2023, nearly two years after she was shot.

Erin does, however, still own half of her parents’ Lake Tahoe home, which was put in a trust in her name back in 2017 by her parents.

She has also continued to stand by her husband, and the two, along with Scott, are also facing a wrongful death lawsuit which was filed by Erin’s sister Adrienne four months before Serafini’s arrest.