KILLER IN-LAW

WHEN A PAIR OF WEALTHY RETIREES WERE AMBUSHED IN THEIR HOME ON THE SHORE OF LAKE TAHOE, POLICE FOUND OUT THE KILLER WAS SOMEBODY WHO KNEW THE COUPLE WELL: A FORMER MLB PITCHER MARRIED TO THEIR DAUGHTER

- CHRIS SPARGO

It had been a long winter made all the more difficult by COVID restrictions for wealthy real estate investors Gary Spohr and Wendy Wood, who in 2021 found themselves unable to travel or welcome friends to the $3.5 million home they had built on Lake Tahoe in Homewood, Calif., for their retirement. But on June 5, 2021, the couple were able to enjoy a day of boating with their favorite guests—their 8-month-old and 3-year-old grandsons. The couple’s daughter Erin Spohr, 39, arrived with the boys behind schedule, cutting short their time on the lake, but that didn’t matter to Wendy, 68, as she walked back to the house that evening hand in hand with the toddler while Gary, 70, cooked dinner for the group.

Before Erin packed the boys into the family’s SUV for the drive home to Reno at 7:45 p.m., her mother handed her a check for $90,000—a gift to help Erin build the indoor horse-riding ring she had dreamed of. And then Wendy and Gary headed into the house, completely unaware that a masked man seen on surveillance video entering the garage hours earlier was lying in wait inside. An hour later, authorities say, the intruder emerged from hiding and opened fire on the couple. Gary was shot in the back of the head and died on the spot; Wendy, who was hit twice in the head and once in the hand, survived. She dialed 911, and although she was unable to speak, a dispatcher sent law enforcement to the house within minutes. They rushed Wendy to a hospital.