FORT WORTH, TX – A North Texas man accused of killing his father-in-law with a brutal headbutt at a Fort Worth bar in 2022 has pleaded guilty to murder, court records confirm.
John Birdwell reached a plea agreement last week, dropping charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault, and injury to the elderly in exchange for the murder conviction. A judge is set to sentence him Friday.
The fatal altercation happened at Woody’s Tavern, where 66-year-old Robert Bearden, a beloved veterinarian, met Birdwell to discuss his troubled marriage. Surveillance footage reportedly shows Birdwell headbutting Bearden three times before continuing the assault even after his father-in-law was unconscious. Bearden later died from his injuries.
Bearden, a veterinarian at VCA Mercedes Place Animal Hospital, was remembered as a compassionate and generous man by those who knew him.
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