NEED TO KNOW
- Erin Spohr filed for divorce from Daniel Serafini on July 21, a week after a jury convicted him of murdering her father, Gary Sphor, and attempting to murder her mother, Wendy Wood
- Spohr wrote in her complaint that the pair were married on Jan. 23, 2010 in Hawaii, despite testifying at her husband’s trial that they wed in 2011 after he divorced hs first wife, Renee
- Renee Serafini filed for divorce just two days before her husband remarried Erin
The wife of Daniel Serafini is seeking a divorce.
Erin Spohr, 39, filed a complaint for divorce with minor children on July 21 in Nevada, one week after a jury convicted her former Major League Baseball player husband of murdering her father Gary Spohr, 70, and attempting to murder her mother Wendy Wood, 68.
In her filing, Erin wrote that she is seeking sole custody of the couple’s two sons, ages 7 and 4, and is not requesting child support or alimony from Serafini at this time.
Erin also said that she and her husband have an “amicable” relationship in her divorce complaint, a copy of which was obtained by PEOPLE.
The divorce filing is notable considering that Erin stood by Serafini throughout his criminal proceedings, and even testified on his behalf after prosecutors forced her to take the stand.
She denied that Serafini played any role in the shooting that claimed her father’s life and required her mother to relearn how to walk, speak and ride a bike, among other things.
Wood died by suicide in February 2023 while struggling to adjust to life without her husband, a family member told PEOPLE.
On the stand, Erin painted her husband as a devoted father and loving husband. She also noted the two had always had an open marriage.
She appeared unbothered when prosecutors questioned her about Serafini’s years-long affair with their friend and occasional babysitter, Samantha Scott.
At the same time, Erin depicted Scott as an obsessive woman whose sartorial and beauty choices grew increasingly similar to her own over the course of the affair.
Erin also spoke on the stand about the beautiful wedding she and Serafini had in Hawaii in 2011, and told the jury about the couple’s courtship.
The two were introduced after Erin was hired to work with Serafini’s first wife Renee and help train her horses.
On the witness stand, Erin said it was not until Serafini and Renee divorced that she started dating her future husband. She also testified that she did not play a role in the couple’s divorce.
That was on June 26. Less than a month later, Erin wrote in her divorce complaint that she and Serafini were married on Jan. 23, 2010. Renee Serafini filed for divorce on Jan. 21, 2010.
The divorce proceedings in the Serafini case stretched out over the next three years, which could also explain why Erin’s mother was eager to have her new son-in-law sign a post-nuptial agreement that prohibited any money from the trust set up in her daughter’s name from going to his first wife or their children.
Serafini’s current divorce should go much quicker as Erin has filed as a self-represented litigant and is seeking nothing from her estranged husband.
Erin’s filing also comes as her sister Adrienne Spohr has petitioned the court requesting $1.3 million in restitution from her brother-in-law.
Adrienne also filed a civil suit against Serafini, Erin and Scott for the wrongful death of her parents.
Scott drove Serafini to Lake Tahoe on the day he shot his in-laws, and will be sentenced later this year after she agreed to testify against her former paramour and plead guilty to a lesser accessory charge rather than stand trial on charges of murder and attempted murder.
Serafini was set to be sentenced on Monday, until his defense team successfully petitioned the court to submit motions for a new trial and hear oral arguments in October.
He faces a possible sentence of life in prison if that conviction is upheld.
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