What to Know
- The woman charged with killing NYPD Officer Anastasio Tsakos while drunk driving and attempting to flee the scene faced a judge in a Queens courtroom Tuesday.
- Jessica Beauvais, 32, was arraigned on a 13-count indictment and pleaded not guilty
- Prosecutors say Beauvais admitted to using marijuana and drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel. However, her attorney says she has no criminal history, wasn’t a flight risk and asked for bail, which the judge refused.
The woman charged with killing NYPD Officer Anastasio Tsakos while drunk driving and attempting to flee the scene faced a judge in a Queens courtroom Tuesday.
Jessica Beauvais, 32, was arraigned on a 13-count indictment in which she faces multiple manslaughter charges, as well as two DUI counts, aggravated criminally negligent homicide, and a slew of other charges in connection to Tsakos' death last month. She pleaded not guilty.
Beauvais was allegedly driving while intoxicated and with a suspended license when she hit NYPD highway officer Anastasios Tsakos on the Long Island Expressway early on April 27. Tsakos was directing traffic at the scene of an earlier deadly accident that day when Beauvais allegedly hit him as he walked to his car.
Although she took off, police arrested her a short time later. Detectives eventually found Tsakos NYPD pin and notebook in Beauvais' car -- all left behind following the impact of the crash.
Prosecutors say Beauvais admitted to using marijuana and drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel. However, her attorney says she has no criminal history, wasn’t a flight risk and asked for bail, which the judge refused.
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“You can imagine how difficult it was for Officer Tsakos’ parents to sit in that courtroom. To face down the killer of their son," PBA President Pat Lynch said.
During Tuesday's hearing, Tsakos parents were seen emotional, trying to comfort each other. While on the other side of the courtroom, Beauvais' family -- including her parents and teenage son -- listened intently to the case.
Outside the courtroom, Tsakos’ parents wept and thanked the judge for keeping Beauvais locked up until her next hearing in July.
“There is no greater pain than a mother and a father losing a child and a child who was very well respected in the New York City police department," Paul DiGiacomo, DEA President, said.
Beauvais is facing several charges and if convicted she could spend up to 15 years in prison.
“This is a heartbreaking case that has left the police officer’s parents, his widow and their two young children and our entire community mourning his loss," Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said.
