HUNTER: Ex-MLB hurler's murder trial hears of lover, money feud with in-laws

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Dan Serafini never really got much beyond the backhanded sobriquet of “journeyman.”

Still, ask any kid in the ballyard if seven years toiling around the MLB would be worth it, and it would be 100% in the affirmative.

But sometimes, dreams go sideways even with multimillion-dollar contracts, the women, the cars, and the glamour. Some guys struggle when the cheering ends.

Like Lenny Dykstra, Mel Hall, the tragic Pete Rose, O.J. Simpson, and former Maple Leaf Brian “Spinner” Spencer, who was accused of murder and was eventually a homicide victim.

The graveyards and prisons are packed with former jocks who flew too close to the sun, who believed the things they were told when they were 12.

Former pitcher Serafini is just the latest in a long line of woe. He is likely to be reassigned to San Quentin.

Serafini is charged with first-degree murder in the ambush murder of his father-in-law, Gary Spohr, 70, at his home in Lake Tahoe, California, in June 2021. Cops say Serafini also allegedly parked two bullets into the head of his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood.

She survived the bullets but not the heartache and took her life two years later, still despairing over the murder of her husband.

Now, Serafini, who toiled for the Minnesota Twins, the Pirates, Cubs, Reds, Padres and Rockies from 1996 to 2007, is on trial. The death penalty was taken off the table in October.

His gal pal and the family’s nanny, Samantha Scott, has already pleaded guilty to being an accessory and is testifying against Serafini. Scratch beneath the surface, and there are more twists and turns than a screwball.

Among the bon mots:

Scott claims she and Serafini went on a booze-a-ramma the night before the murder at a “seedy” casino in Elko.

— According to prosecutors, the murder and attempted murder were part of a long-time family feud tied to money (isn’t it always?). Like a lot of other former jocks, Serafini blew all his MLB dough on a watering hold called The Bullpen.

— Just before the murder, Wood gave her daughter Erin a cheque for $90,000. Erin testified that her parents paid for the pair’s Reno home and financially supported them. She and her sister, Adrienne Spohr, have been engaged in a legal war over the family will.

— Prosecutors claim Serafini offered $20,000 to have his in-laws whacked in 2012. He called them “wealthy pieces of shit.”

It’s expected that Serafini’s lawyers will try to point the finger at his disgruntled sister-in-law Adrienne Spohr or others who described the dead couple as “nightmare neighbours.” Their daughter is reportedly currently dating a bank robber.

But it was Adrienne who offered a $150,000 reward for information that led to the identification and arrest of the killer. Two years later, Serafini was charged.

Prosecutors are alleging that a world of hurt was piling up for the former hurler. Pages of emails unveil the bitterness and depth of the hatred between Serafini and his in-laws.

They argued over vacations in Hawaii, dodgy business deals, and a whopping $1.3 million the couple owed to Serafini’s in-laws. Wendy accused everybody’s all-American of being “vicious and belligerent.”

Daniel Serafini, ex-big leaguer, appears destined for the showers.

Permanently.

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun