Former Beverly Man Sentenced In 2020 Killing Of Salem Girlfriend

SALEM, MA — A former Beverly man was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison on Wednesday in the killing of his then-girlfriend who was living in Salem in 2020.

John Shairs was convicted of the murder charge last month in the killing of Tina Amore, a Beverly High School alumna, who was 49 years old when court testimony said she died from blunt force trauma to the head on Dec. 20, 2020.

Court testimony in the case included witnesses testifying to seeing a pattern of violent incidents involving Shairs. The investigation included the Salem Police Department and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to Essex DA Tucker's office.

"It is our sincere hope that this conviction brings some peace to the family and friends of Tina Amore," Tucker said following the jury's verdict.

The Hon. Kathleen McCarthy-Neyman presided over the trial and sentencing.

Amore went to Johnson & Wales University and worked as a legal secretary at State Street in Boston prior to beginning her family. She was remembered as a mother to two children and as someone who enjoyed helping and caring for her friends and family during the trial.

Shairs was charged with Amore's murder in 2021 after he had been arrested and charged with domestic violence a month earlier.