On a Friday afternoon in Kenner, Louisiana, the life of 49-year-old Anthony Tardo was abruptly ended. On December 4, 2015, Tardo, a male who was the manager at Houston Marine Training Services, was fatally shot at his place of work. The incident occurred when John Spears, an instructor at the same maritime school, entered Tardo's office and shot him once in the chest.
Co-workers reported hearing Tardo utter an expletive just before the gunshot rang out.
Following the shooting, Spears calmly told his colleagues to call for help, stating that Tardo was going to 'need help.' He then exited the building, placed his firearm on top of his car, and waited for the arrival of law enforcement. Spears surrendered to the Kenner Police Department without any resistance. The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear to co-workers, who were unaware of any prior conflict between the two men. Spears had been employed at the training center for about a year, while Tardo had been a dedicated employee for nearly two decades and was a father to triplets.
John Spears was arrested and charged with the murder of Anthony Tardo. During his trial, Spears entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming a history of mental illness and that he had experienced a blackout during the shooting. However, prosecutors presented evidence that suggested a motive, including phone calls Spears made from jail to his wife in which he complained that Tardo had been 'aggravating' him. A co-worker also testified that Spears had made a comment on the day of the shooting about his intention to shoot his colleagues, a remark that was dismissed as a joke at the time.
A Jefferson Parish jury deliberated for just over an hour before rejecting Spears' insanity defense and finding him guilty of second-degree murder. Consequently, John Spears, who was 52 years old at the time of his conviction, was sentenced to a mandatory life term in prison for the murder of Anthony Tardo. Tardo's family described him as a 'generous, most caring person' with a 'contagious laugh' whose life was taken in a 'cowardly' act.
