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A California judge has rejected Dan Serafini's latest attempt to secure a new trial following his conviction for murder and attempted murder.
The former Major League Baseball pitcher was found guilty last July after a lengthy trial. He later filed two separate motions requesting a new trial, arguing that there had been jury misconduct and that he received ineffective assistance from his attorneys. His first
motion was denied in January. On Friday, Judge Garen J. Horst turned down his second request as well.
While delivering his ruling in court, Judge Horst sharply criticized Serafini. According to KCRA, the judge described him as a liar and a manipulator, adding that he viewed Serafini as arrogant and someone with a loose relationship with the truth.
Serafini is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 27, roughly seven months after being convicted of killing his 70 year old father in law, Gary Spohr, and attempting to murder his 68 year old mother in law, Wendy Wood. Prosecutors alleged that Serafini targeted the couple in order to gain access to a share of their $23 million estate through his now estranged wife.
During the trial, prosecutors said Serafini broke into his in laws' Lake Tahoe home on June 5, 2021, while they were out boating with their daughter and Serafini's two sons. They argued that he waited inside the house and later shot Spohr after the others had left. Wood was also shot three times, including once in the head, but survived.
Wood spent the next two years in extensive rehabilitation, relearning how to walk, talk and perform daily tasks. She died by suicide in 2023.
Friday's hearing will also allow family members and friends of the victims to deliver impact statements. Meanwhile, Adrienne Spohr, the sister of Serafini's estranged wife, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against both Serafini and her sister. Erin Spohr has not been accused of wrongdoing and reportedly had an alibi at the time of the shooting. The civil case is paused until after sentencing.
In his latest motion, Serafini argued that his former attorneys failed to introduce a voicemail from Wood in which she said the shooter was not him. Prosecutors countered with a recorded interview in which Wood identified Serafini as the gunman. He now faces the possibility of life in prison.
