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Former MLB star Dan Serafini admits he led a group of “white men” in prison and meted out punishment to certain inmates, KCRA reports
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He reportedly confirmed he made one prisoner do 500 burpees and said he made six prisoners do the exercises as punishment for a “conspiracy”
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Serafini tries to get new trial after July murder conviction, testifies
Dan Serafini returned to the witness stand this week to seek a retrial after being convicted of murder last July.
Prosecutors questioned the former Major League Baseball star on Monday, February 9, and presented evidence in support of their request that the judge deny his motion for a new trial due to lack of counsel.
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Serafini refused to testify in the first trial and was forced to answer questions about his character for much of the day that put him in a less than ideal position.
During cross-examination on Monday, Serafini admitted that he once led a faction of “white” inmates at the prison, according to a KCRA reporter who was in court to observe the proceedings.
The athlete reportedly confirmed that he was a “point person” during the months he served at the South Placer County Jail, but said he lost that position when he was forced to be transferred to another prison.
“Keyholder” is a slang term used to describe a person who leads a faction of inmates within a jail or prison.
Brian Barr/Allsport
Serafini also claimed he was tasked with punishing individuals who clashed with his team, KCRA reported.
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He reportedly denied assaulting or ordering an assault on any of the men, but admitted to other punishments and said under oath that at least six prisoners were forced to perform exercises.
Serafini reportedly confirmed during questioning by prosecutors that a man was ordered to do 500 burpees.
The former pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins and Chicago Cubs in the late 1990s added that he also did 500 burpees with the player.
He could not recall the specific crimes the man committed, but the report said six people who were punished were “found to have been involved in the conspiracy.”
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That’s not all Serafini admitted on the witness stand.
Courtesy of Adrienne Spohr
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Serafini reportedly confirmed that he committed insurance fraud and had previously violated a restraining order filed by his first wife.
He also admitted to using a variety of illegal narcotics over the years, as well as prescription drugs following his father-in-law’s death.
Serafini was arrested in October 2023 following a two-year investigation into the June 5, 2021 shooting that killed his father-in-law, 70-year-old Gary Spohr, and seriously injured his mother-in-law, 68-year-old Wendy Wood, People magazine previously reported.
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It all happened at the wealthy real estate investor’s Lake Tahoe home, just hours after his now-estranged wife, Erin Spohr, left after spending a day on the water with their two sons.
Wood survived but took his own life two years after the shooting.
Serafini was found guilty after a six-week trial that included testimony from dozens of witnesses and physical, digital and forensic evidence, all of which prosecutors said pointed to the retired baseball player as the killer. During the trial, prosecutors claimed Serafini wanted to kill his in-laws in order to share in his wife’s $23 million inheritance.
He now wants a new trial, having provided a voicemail recording last week in which his mother-in-law said she knew he was not the shooter.
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Prosecutors responded Monday with their own recording, KCRA reported.
The audio reportedly shows his mother-in-law talking to a detective and saying Serafini was the shooter at their home that night.
“I remember him coming over and seeing him shoot Gary and then point the gun at me,” Wood reportedly said in the recording.
The judge in the case will rule on February 20. If the motion is denied, the judge will sentence Serafini on that date.
Read the original article on People