Family nanny admits to plotting with former Bar Rescue tavern owner to murder his in-laws

A former Major League Baseball player’s co-defendant has acknowledged her involvement in the murderous shooting of the player’s in-laws in their California home. On February 6, 34-year-old Samantha Maria Scott entered a guilty plea to a charge of accessory to a felony in connection with the shooting deaths of Wendy Louise Wood, 68, and Robert Gary Spohr, 70. A jury trial for Scott’s co-defendant, 51-year-old former Major League Baseball pitcher Daniel “Danny” Joseph Serafini, is scheduled for March. Serafini’s wife, Erin Spohr, was born to Robert Spohr. According to reports, Scott was Erin Spohr’s buddy and the family’s previous babysitter.

On June 5, 2021, Spohr was shot and killed at his home in Lake Tahoe. He was discovered dead by deputies after a single gunshot wound. Despite being shot as well, his wife was transported to a hospital and eventually recovered from her wounds. A year later, she took her own life. Two films of a “hooded male wearing a face-covering and a backpack walking to the residence several hours before the homicide occurred” were released by the Placer County Sheriff’s Office following the initial shooting event, according to Law&Crime. In one of the cameras, a man carrying a backpack was seen outside the Spohrs’ home. In the second, the suspect was seen walking on a walkway near water. “Detectors identified Serafini and Scott as suspects based on the information and evidence they collected; both suspects are known to the victims and to each other,” authorities stated.

Scott, who was characterized as Serafini’s wife’s close friend, and Serafini were ultimately taken into custody. Serafini gained notoriety as an MLB pitcher, but his apparent financial difficulties started after his professional career ended. The former bar owner and his spouse made an appearance on the Bar Rescue program. The 2015 episode “Take Me Out to the Bar Game” started with the tale of how Serafini’s $14 million playing career earnings had diminished following a string of unsuccessful ventures and a “bitter divorce.” This was further exacerbated by the decline in the popularity of what was then known as The Bullpen at Aspen Glen in Sparks, Nevada.

In the episode, Erin Spohr is heard remarking that she had observed a shift in Serafini’s character and that she missed her former spouse, who was in risk of losing his parents’ house due to the failing bar’s $300,000 debt. In the episode, Danny Serafini can also be heard trembling as he says, “My parents were so proud of me at one time for being a successful baseball player and now I’m thinking what a disappointment I am to everybody.” The bar was renamed Oak Tavern following its renovation, but it has since closed. The Oak Tavern’s X account stated in a 2016 tweet that the show “screwed the pooch big time lol.”

In June 2023, Adrienne Spohr, Erin Spohr’s sister and the daughter of Robert and Wendy Wood, sued the defendants and her sister for wrongful death. Following the “senseless murder” of Robert Gary Spohr and Wood’s ultimate death, Adrienne Spohr filed a lawsuit accusing them of “malicious, despicable, cruel, and unjust conduct,” holding them accountable for damages. “Throughout their marriage, my parents had been extraordinarily giving to Daniel Serafini and Erin Spohr,” she remarked. “I am unable to comment on my sister’s level of involvement at this time, even though I am being asked for my opinion.” Erin Spohr, who has not been charged with the killings, claims in a countersuit that her sister deceived their mother to exclude her from the estate. Scott’s sentencing date has not been set.