A Long Island woman who was charged with the death of an NYPD Highway Officer has been found guilty by court on all accounts.
Anastasios Tsakos, 43, had been directing traffic away from a fatal crash in April 2021 when Jessica Beauvais - drunk and high - ploughed into him, throwing his body nearly 200 feet down the highway. Tsakos's left leg was severed from the knee down, and he died at a nearby hospital. Beauvais fled the scene and was later arrested after police chased her for three miles.
The Queens Supreme Court jury needed barely more than three hours to return its guilty verdicts against Jessica Beauvais, 34, in the horrifying death of Officer Anastasios Tsakos as he directed traffic along a stretch of the Long Island Expressway on April 27, 2021. The defendant, wearing a pearl necklace and diamond earrings in court, showed no emotion as she was found guilty of aggravated manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident.
“We’re relieved to finally see some justice,” said Patrick Hendry, president of the Police Benevolent Association. “We’re not going to celebrate today. The facts were clear as ever in this case. She decided to get behind that wheel after drinking alcohol, doing drugs. … She’s going to prison for a long time. Not long enough.”
The defendant, whose blood-alcohol level was nearly double the legal limit two hours after her arrest, faces up to 27 years in prison at her Dec. 14 sentencing.
