Auburn, Calif. (AP) — Former MLB pitcher Daniel Serafini was sentenced Friday to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the 2021 shooting of his wife’s parents during a burglary at their home by Lake Tahoe, authorities said.
Serafini, 51, was convicted in July 2025 of first-degree murder of his father-in-law, Gary Spohr, attempted murder of his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood, and first-degree burglary. Spohr was killed and Wood survived, though she died a year after the shooting.
Placer County District Attorney Morgan Gire said in a Friday statement that Spohr and Wood were loving grandparents and that Serafini's crimes greatly impacted family members and friends.
“The impact of this attack has extended far beyond the immediate victims, deeply affecting family members and the broader community, and highlighting the lasting harm caused by deliberate violence," Gire said.
Serafini’s attorney did not return requests for comment.
During his sentencing hearing, Serafini addressed the court and maintained his innocence, according to MyNews4. He said he was out partying with his wife the night of the shooting and described himself as a “broken, imperfect man that makes mistakes."
Serafini was drafted in 1992 by the Minnesota Twins. In a career spanning 11 years, the left-hander played for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Colorado Rockies.
Prosecutors said Serafini hated his wife’s wealthy parents and was heard saying he was willing to pay $20,000 to have them killed, according to the Sacramento Bee. Prosecutors showed jurors transcripts of angry emails and text messages between Serafini and his in-laws.
During the six-week trial, Serafini’s attorney David Dratman argued there was no physical evidence linking his client to the crime scene. He told the jury that although Serafini had a rocky relationship with his in-laws, he did not have motive to kill them.
Following his conviction, Serafini filed multiple motions for a new trial, but those were denied.
Serafini will serve his sentence at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, according to the Placer County District Attorney's Office.
FILE - Italy's Dan Serafini throws before the first inning of an exhibition spring training baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels Wednesday, March 6, 2013, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) — A cargo plane carrying money crashed Friday near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on a highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said.
Defense Minister Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway" at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to the capital of La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft.
Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died but he did not clarify if the dead were in the plane or in the cars on the highway.
Salinas did not specify how many people had been killed in the crash and said the cause was being investigated.
Bolivian Air Force Gen. Sergio Lora said two of the plane's six crew members had not been found as of late Friday, adding that the aircraft was arriving from the eastern city of Santa Cruz where it had picked up its cargo.
Images on social media showed debris from the aircraft, destroyed cars and bodies scattered on the road. According to Tovar, at least 15 vehicles were damaged.
The plane, belonging to the Bolivian air force, was transporting banknotes from the Central Bank and images on social media showed people rushing to collect the scattered banknotes at the crash scene, while police in riot gear tried to disperse them.
But Central Bank President David Espinoza later said the banknotes had no legal tender status since they were about to enter circulation and still lacked serial numbers. He said the bills were being transported to La Paz and did not specify how many bills were being transported.
Authorities temporarily suspended all flights to and from the terminal.
People walk on the scene where a plane crashed on a highway in El Alto, Bolivia, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Military police on the scene where a plane crashed in El Alto, Bolivia, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
A police covers himself from tear gas spread to disperse people from getting near the area where a aircraft that was transporting money crashed on a highway, in El Alto, Bolivia, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Police stands near a destroyed car that was struck by a plane in El Alto, Bolivia, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
A military police stands next to a plane that crashed in El Alto, Bolivia, Friday, Feb. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
