Inside The Cubs

Former Cubs Pitcher Convicted on Murder, Burglary Charges Against In-Laws

A former Chicago Cubs pitcher was recently found guilty of murder and burglary charges against his in-laws by a California jury.
Dylan Sanders|
Sep 20, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detailed view of Chicago Cubs third baseman Javier Baez (9) (not pictured) hat and glove with the initials P.R. for his home country Puerto Rico against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field.
Sep 20, 2017; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detailed view of Chicago Cubs third baseman Javier Baez (9) (not pictured) hat and glove with the initials P.R. for his home country Puerto Rico against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

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A former Chicago Cubs pitcher now faces life in prison after he was convicited of murder and attempted murder on his in-laws by a California jury on Monday, per Doha Madani of NBC News.

Daniel Serafini was found guilty of shooting his wife's parents, killing Robert Gary Spohr and wounding Wendy Woods back in 2021. Woods had survived the shooting, but committed suicide a year later.

Serafini was arrested two years later, along with Samantha Scott, with whom he had an affair, and took a plea deal as an accessory to a felony.

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The killing was motivated by money, as the 51-year-old was looking to secure an inheritance reportedly worth over $11 million for himself, his wife and their kids. Along with the previous charges, he was also found guilty on burglary.

The Cubs had purchased Serafini's contract from the Minnesota Twins heading into the 1999 season. He ended up spending just one year with the team because he had a rough campaign.

Over 42 appearances, he posted a 6.93 ERA with a 1.893 WHIP and just 17 strikeouts over 62.1 innings of work. They traded him to the San Diego Padres that winter.

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That was reminiscent of his entire MLB career, as he finished with a 6.04 ERA with a 1.718 WHIP and 127 strikeouts in 263.2 innings. He played for seven years across six teams.

His time in the Majors ended after he was suspended for 50 games after the 2007 campaign due to performance enhancing drugs, which apparently stemmed from his time in Japan.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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