Crime

Salem man found guilty in 2020 beating death of his girlfriend

John Shairs faces life in prison for the murder of Tina Amore, a mother of two.

November 12, 2024

1 minute to read

A Salem resident was found guilty of beating his girlfriend to death in 2020, prosecutors said in a statement on Thursday.

A jury found John T. Shairs, 55, guilty of second-degree murder following the death of his girlfriend, Tina Amore, 49, court documents show.

Court statements from the trial detail a domestic altercation between Shairs and Amore on Dec. 20, 2020. Patrick Barror, a neighbor of the couple, heard them fighting and what he said sounded like someone hitting a punching bag, documents show. He said he heard Amore ask John to stop hitting her.

An autopsy report determined that Amore’s cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. In addition, prosecutors said witnesses testified to “a pattern of violent incidents” involving Shairs.

“It is our sincere hope that this conviction brings some peace to the family and friends of Tina Amore,” Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker said.

Prosecutors said Amore was a Beverly High School graduate who worked as a legal secretary in Boston. She was a mother of two and enjoyed caring for friends and family, prosecutors said.

Shairs will be sentenced at a hearing on Dec. 4, documents said. In Massachusetts, a second degree murder conviction carries a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 to 25 years. Representation for Shairs did not immediately reply to a request for comment.