55-year-old Massachusetts man sentenced to prison for murdering his 49-year-old girlfriend

SALEM, Mass. – December 4, 2024 – In Superior Court in Salem today, John Shairs, 55, of Salem and formerly of Beverly, was sentenced to 22 years to life in prison for the murder of his then-girlfriend, Tina Amore of Salem, who was 49 at the time of her death on December 20, 2020, the Office of Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker has announced.

At the trial, witnesses testified to a pattern of violent incidents involving Shairs, and evidence presented indicated that Amore died due to blunt force trauma to the head. The investigation included the Salem Police Department and Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to Tucker’s office.

The Hon. Kathleen McCarthy-Neyman presided over the trial and sentencing. Deputy First District Attorney Kim Faitella prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth and, following the verdict, cited the work of Superior Court Chief James Gubitose, Chief of Victim and Witness Services Maureen Leal, Massachusetts State Police and the Salem Police Department. Shairs was represented by attorney Michael Phelan.

“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.

Throughout the case, Amore, a graduate of Beverly High School who went to Johnson & Wales University and worked as a legal secretary at State Street in Boston prior to beginning her family, was remembered as a mother to two children and as someone who enjoyed helping and caring for her friends and family.