Former major league pitcher Dan Serafini was allegedly having an affair with his family nanny before the pair were arrested over a deadly 2021 ambush involving his in-laws.
Details of the apparent tryst were laid bare in court documents as the 51-year-old faces trial for allegedly murdering his father-in-law, Gary Spohr, and attempting to kill Spohr’s wife, Wendy Wood, in their Lake Tahoe, California, home, the Daily Mail reported.
The nanny, Samantha Scott, 35, is slated to be among the prosecution witnesses who will testify against Serafini during the trial, which kicked off last week with jury selection.
Serafini and his alleged mistress were arrested at the same time after Scott was accused of driving the pitcher to his in-laws’ home the night of the fatal shooting on June 5, 2021.
Scott, who took a plea deal earlier this year, admitted to engaging in a “flirtatious, romantic relationship” with the accused killer prior to the rampage, the court papers charge.
She allegedly told cops that she spent the eve of the killing getting drunk with Serafini at a casino hotel in Elko, Nevada.
Their text exchanges will be shown as evidence during the trial, according to the Daily Mail.
Prosecutors have alleged the motive behind the slaying was a decades-old family feud over money.
While Wood initially survived the shooting, she ended up killing herself in 2023.
Serafini, who pitched for six different teams between 1996 and 2007, is married to the couple’s daughter, Erin Spohr.
His wife, with whom he shares two children, is set to testify in his defense.
Prosecutors said a hooded Serafini was captured on surveillance video sneaking into his in-laws’ home hours before the attack unfolded.
He is accused of hiding inside the house before allegedly opening fire.
Deputies responding to the initial 911 call found Spohr dead from a gunshot wound. His wife was shot at least twice.
The couple’s other daughter, Adrienne Spohr, told KCRA that her mother never fully recovered.
“She missed my dad terribly and was never able to comfortably live again in her home,” she said.
Scott ended up pleading guilty to being an accessory to a felony in connection with the deadly ambush. Her sentencing date hasn’t been set.
