NEED TO KNOW
\nA jury convicted Daniel Serafini, 51, of murder and attempted murder on July 14 after he fatally shot his father-in-law Gary Spohr and attempted to murder his mother-in-law Wendy WoodHe was arrested in October 2023 alongside accomplice Samantha Scott for the June 5, 2021 shooting, and it was later learned that the two were having an affairHe and his babysitter mistress would exchange love notes in jail after their arrests, one of which was read aloud in court during his trial<\/p>\n
Former Major League Baseball pitcher\u00a0Daniel Serafini and his mistress would leave each other hidden love notes in jail after being arrested and charged with murder and attempted murder for the shooting of his wife’s parents<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n Samantha Scott, 35, read one of those letters in court while testifying against Serafini as part of a deal she made with prosecutors which allowed her to enter a guilty plea to the lesser accessory charge.\n<\/p>\n In that letter, Serafini wrote: “I love you, and I think about you so much of every day. As crazy as it sounds, I wish we had more court days just so I could see your face. I wish I could tell you not to be so scared, but I understand that you are. There’s really nothing to be scared of. And it will be over soon.”\n<\/p>\n Serafini then went on to describe what he had planned for himself and Scott once they were released from jail.\n<\/p>\n “First plan is to hit the airport parking lot,” Serafini wrote.\n<\/p>\n Scott then explained in her testimony that this was a reference to a time when the two had engaged in sexual intercourse in the parking lot at Reno-Tahoe International Airport when going to pick up a car.\n<\/p>\n Samantha Scott during her arrest on Oct. 20, 2023.<\/p>\n Placer County Sheriff’s Office<\/p>\n Serafini then wrote about how he planned to profit off his situation at the time.\n<\/p>\n “I’m writing a book right now to help pay for your and my attorney’s fees. I’m also hiring you to help me finish it,” Serafini wrote. “So we need to take a couple of road trips to get some facts straight. Plus photos of certain places. I’m pretty sure there will be some stops along the highway on the way and back.”\n<\/p>\n When asked about the road trips and stops along the way, Scott said they were a reference to the sexual intercourse the two would engage in at rest stops while making road trips.\n<\/p>\n For more on Daniel Serafini,\u00a0subscribe now to PEOPLE<\/a>, or pick up this week’s issue, on newsstands Friday.\n<\/p>\n Serafini also encouraged Scott to “fantasize daily,” and told her to keep safe.\n<\/p>\n “If anyone f\u2014s with you, I have a long reach from here. I’ll take care of it,” Serafini wrote. Only problem is my news report is delayed a bit. Looking forward to being with you again soon. Love you, love me.”\n<\/p>\n He then signed the note: “”We will be free soon. I love you and always will. The Wolf.”\n<\/p>\n When asked why Serafini referred to himself as “The Wolf” in his letter, Scott said she did not know and had never referred to him using that word.\n<\/p>\n Daniel Serafini, Wendy Wood, Gary Spohr and Erin Spohr (l to r) on vacation in Hawaii in 2018.<\/p>\n Courtesy Adrienne Spohr<\/p>\n Scott explained that these notes would be exchanged on days when she and Serafini had court appearances, and carefully hidden in the same elevator the two would take while being transported from jail to the courthouse.\n<\/p>\n If caught exchanging these letters, the two would have likely been placed in solitary confinement, according to Scott.\n<\/p>\n It was shortly after she received this letter that Scott agreed to testify against Serafini at trial.\n<\/p>\n Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter<\/a>\u00a0for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.\n<\/p>\n At the time of the shooting, Scott was the best friend of Serafini’s wife Erin Spohr and an occasional babysitter for the couple’s two young boys.\n<\/p>\n Scott would later testify under oath that she believed Serafini was purchasing a large quantity of cocaine when she drove him to Lake Tahoe on June 5, 2021, and had no idea that he planned to murder his in-laws, Gary Spohr and Wendy Wood.\n<\/p>\n Serafini did shoot Spohr dead that day after laying in wait at the couple’s $3.5 million home\u00a0for hours, but Wood\u00a0managed\u00a0to survive despite being shot twice in the head at point blank range.\n<\/p>\n Scott would later say that she started to become suspicious of Serafini just a few weeks after the\u00a0shooting but that did not stop her from starting an affair with\u00a0the married father just a few months later.\n<\/p>\n She continued the affair with Serafini even after he allegedly confessed to shooting his mother-in-law in November 2021, and after she herself was arrested and charged with the murder of Spohr and attempted murder of Wood<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n What’s more, Scott continued to lie and deny that Serafini had any involvement in the shooting even after he allegedly confessed to committing the crime.\n<\/p>\n Serafini at Spring Training in 1999 while playing with the Minnesota Twins.<\/p>\n Brian Bahr\u00a0\/Allsport<\/p>\n Scott said that the two carried out the affair without Erin knowing by disguising their intimate meetings as trips to the home improvement store Lowe’s.\n<\/p>\n “Hey, thanks for letting us use your car. I’m headed to Lowe’s in a minute. You need anything?” Serafini wrote Scott in one text message submitted as evidence during the trial.\n<\/p>\n In another he wrote: “I’m going to Lowe’s tomorrow, so be ready.”\n<\/p>\n Erin would later testify on the stand that she knew her husband and Scott had been having an affair and that the couple had an open relationship ever since they were married back in 2011.\n<\/p>\n