October 21, 2023 - Placer County Sheriff’s Office officials report that after a lengthy two-year investigation involving Placer County Sheriff’s detectives and the District Attorney’s Office, 49-year-old Danny Serafini and 33-year-old Samantha Scott were arrested this morning in Nevada for the 2021 Homewood murder of 70-year-old Robert Gary Spohr and the attempted murder of 68-year-old Wendy Wood. PCSO detectives assisted in the apprehension of Serafini in Winnemucca, NV and also assisted in the apprehension of Scott in Las Vegas, NV. We thank the U.S. Marshal Service Reno Office, U.S. Marshal’s Nevada Violent Offender Task Force (Las Vegas), Winnemucca Police Department, and the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office with the arrests.

On June 5, 2021, deputies received a 911 call from a residence in Homewood, a neighborhood in North Lake Tahoe. Deputies arrived at the home and found Robert Gary Spohr deceased as a result of a single gunshot wound. Robert’s wife, Wendy, had also been shot but was taken to a nearby hospital where she recovered from her injuries. Unfortunately, Wendy passed away a year later. During the early stages of the investigation, video surveillance was obtained from the home and along West Lake Boulevard, revealing a hooded male wearing a face-covering and a backpack walking to the residence several hours before the homicide occurred. Since then, PCSO detectives have worked tirelessly over the course of the past two years, devoting countless hours of follow up by detectives, along with the DA’s Office. The information and evidence detectives gathered led them to identify Serafini and Scott as the suspects; both suspects are known to each other and to the victims.

After the arrests, Placer County Sheriff Wayne Woo praised the hard work and dedication put forth by detectives and the DA’s Office saying, “Today, justice was served. The apprehension of those responsible for the tragic events that unfolded in Homewood, North Lake Tahoe in 2021 stands as a testament to the unwavering dedication of our detectives, law enforcement partners, and the persistence of our pursuit of truth. Understand that my team’s commitment to unraveling the most complex of cases prevails, and those who inflict harm upon our community will be held accountable every time."

The sheriff’s office is now awaiting Serafini’s and Scott’s extradition from Nevada into Placer County.

Source & photos: Placer County Sheriff’s Office