Anthony Spears

Parties

• Defendant: Anthony Spears (Caucasian). He lived near San Diego.
• Victim: Jeanette Beaulieu (Caucasian), a 38-year-old single woman.
• Other person referenced: Joann, Spears’s girlfriend in California.
• Other person referenced: Janet Spears, who married Spears after serving as the foreman of the jury that convicted him.
• Other people referenced: Prosecutor John Ditsworth; Presiding Judge Cheryl K. Hendrix; Forensic entomologist David Faulkner; Dr. Rich Merritt; Pati Urias (spokeswoman for the Arizona attorney general).

Background

Jeanette Beaulieu knew Anthony Spears and considered him her “boyfriend,” and they talked about their future together. Spears, however, thought that “she wasn’t that great looking of a girl.” Spears visited Jeanette on several occasions, and Jeanette purchased things for him. Unbeknownst to Jeanette, Spears was living with a girlfriend named Joann in California.

In December 1991, Jeanette took family leave from her employer. On December 31, she purchased a one-way airplane ticket for Spears to come to Phoenix on January 2, 1992. Spears brought with him his 9mm Beretta handgun.

After Spears arrived in Phoenix, Jeanette purchased a sleeping bag, withdrew $1,700 from an ATM, and had the title to her truck notarized. She later used a charge card for a cash advance of $500.

The offence

Jeanette Beaulieu was found in a desert area in January 1992. Officers discovered her body after she was shot through the head with a medium- or large-caliber bullet. A shiny 9mm shell casing was found near where the body was found and was later identified as having been fired in Spears’s 9mm Beretta.

A statement attributed to the state included that Spears’s motive was robbery.

Investigation

Jeanette’s body was found in a desert area; the case narrative also placed the body’s discovery “at a shooting range east of Phoenix.” Near the body, officers found a shiny 9mm shell casing that was later identified as having been fired in Spears’s 9mm Beretta.

Based on the decomposition of the body, a medical examiner put the murder date at Jan. 4. A forensic entomologist, David Faulkner, examined flesh-eating maggots found crushed and preserved in Beaulieu’s clothing and said the date of death was more likely between Jan. 10 and 12. Faulkner said the maggots couldn’t have been much older than 10 days when they were mummified in clothing removed from the victim shortly after her body was found, and that this would rule out Jan. 4 as a possible date for the murder unless the body was frozen at some point.

A second forensic entomologist, Dr. Rich Merritt of Michigan State University, was scheduled to view the maggot samples next week. The samples were not studied during Spears’s 1992 trial.

Arrest

Anthony Spears maintained his innocence since his 1992 arrest.

Trial

• Start of trial: November 23, 1992
• Verdict: December 9, 1992
• Jury finding (capital case context): The jury unanimously convicted Spears of first-degree murder.

Sentencing

• Sentencing date: March 31, 1993
• Sentence: Sentenced to death.
• Aggravating circumstances: Pecuniary gain.
• Mitigating circumstances: Prior criminal history; “Mother loved him”; Demeanor and conduct in court and while incarcerated; Military record; Psychological profile.

Appeals

Anthony Spears was awaiting execution on Arizona’s death row. He maintained his innocence. Originally scheduled to die June 28, Spears was given a stay of execution on June 2 to pursue appeals.

Pati Urias, a spokeswoman for the Arizona attorney general, said Spears’s conviction was fair.

The appeals narrative included discussion of a “new maggot theory” based on the lifespan and development of insects found at the crime scene, and that lawyers would have to submit the new maggot theory to the trial court if they hoped to win his freedom. DNA testing of evidence was also described as another avenue of appeal.

The proceedings included cited opinions:

• State v. Spears , 184 Ariz. 277, 908 P.2d 1062 (1996).
• Spears v. Stewart, et. al., 267 F.3d 1026 (9th Cir. 2001), amended and superseded by Spears v. Stewart, et. al., 283 F.3d 992 (9th Cir. 2002).

Outcome

Anthony Spears remained on Arizona’s death row and was under a stay of execution on June 2 to pursue appeals, after being sentenced to death on March 31, 1993.

Aftermath

Spears’s wife, Janet Spears, was described as the foreman of the jury that convicted him. The narrative said Janet Spears was never convinced and told the judge she'd made a mistake the day after the verdict was read.

The narrative also stated that “Althogh Spears was not in Arizona when Faulkner says Beaulieu was killed, Jan. 10-12, he was in the state on Jan. 4, the day the state says she was killed,” and reiterated that the state’s motive theory was robbery.

Other details

• Spears’s age mentioned in the appeals narrative: 41.
• Jeanette Beaulieu’s age: 38.
• On arrival in Phoenix: Jeanette withdrew $1,700 from an ATM and had the title to her truck notarized.
• On Jan. 4 (as stated in the case narrative): Spears called Joann and told her he would be driving back to California. When he arrived, he had with him five guns that had belonged to Jeanette, two sleeping bags, and almost $1,000 in cash, and was driving Jeanette’s truck.
• On Jan. 2 (as stated in the case narrative): Spears flew to Phoenix with a one-way airline ticket purchased by Beaulieu and brought a 9mm handgun.
• On Jan. 4 (as stated in the case narrative): Spears drove back to California on Jan. 4 in a truck he bought from Beaulieu.
• San Diego authorities evidence (as stated in the case narrative): San Diego authorities found a notarized title from Beaulieu in the glove compartment.
• Shell casing and timing (as stated in the case narrative): A shell casing determined to be from Spears’s gun was found among the thousands of others at the shooting range a week-and-a-half after Beaulieu’s body was found.
• Bookkeeping/identifier: March 31, 1993 # 097352.