Ex-MLB player charged in father-in-law’s killing also committed child abuse, prosecutors say

A retired Major League Baseball player accused of killing his father-in-law and attempting to kill his mother-in-law also was charged with child abuse of two infants, according to court documents.

Danny Serafini, 49, was arraigned this week on a murder charge in the killing of Robert Spohr, his wife’s father, and attempted murder in the shooting of Wendy Wood, his wife’s mother. In a criminal complaint, prosecutors also alleged that Serafini committed “cruelty to child by abuse, neglect, or endangering health,” citing his treatment of a 3-year-old and an 8-month-old.

The complaint did not say whether the children were Serafini’s and did not spell out the specific actions related to the alleged abuse.

Serafini was arrested last week — along with a woman, Samantha Scott, 33 — in connection with the June 5, 2021, shootings of Spohr and Wood. Deputies at the time responded to a 911 call from a residence in Homewood, a neighborhood in North Lake Tahoe. They found Spohr dead from a single gunshot wound. Wood had also been shot but was still alive.

Wood died by suicide a year after the attack.

Serafini and Scott were both arrested in Nevada, and Serafini was quickly extradited to California.

The criminal complaint said that Serafini or an accomplice used a .22-caliber gun to carry out the shootings, which were committed during the course of a burglary.

Serafini pleaded not guilty to all charges and was ordered held without bail. He’s due back in court on Nov. 27.