TW: suicide, deceat, manipulation, trauma bonding, murder, 911 calls All alleged theories are mine and Thank you for Murderpedia for the plethora of details in this case and for Channel 4 Documentaries for the audio Celeste Beard Johnson--> In 1997, 32-year-old Celeste Beard hit the jackpot. That year, the thrice-divorced Austin housekeeper married her 75-year-old millionaire employer, Steven Beard. Suddenly, Celeste had it all: a Texas mansion, plenty of money, and a stable life for her two daughters. But on October 2, 1999, Celeste's picture-perfect life came crashing down with one blast from a 20-gauge shotgun. That night, an armed intruder slipped into Steven's bedroom and fired a point-blank shot directly into his chest. Steven survived the initial shot, but five months later, died from complications related to his injury. By then, however, Texas authorities had a suspect in custody - Celeste's lesbian best friend, Tracey Tarlton. The former bookstore manager eventually implicated Celeste in the plot to kill her husband. At the trial, defense attorneys alleged Tarlton was simply a jealous woman with a terrifying and deadly love interest in Celeste. Prosecutors, on the other hand, claimed that Celeste had manipulated her friend into perpetrating the shooting in order to inherit Steven's vast fortune. To support their claim, prosecutors even called Celeste's own daughters to the stand. Both girls testified that their mother had sought a hit man to silence Tracey before her arrest. The jury found Celeste guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced her to 20 years in prison. Classification: Murderer Characteristics: To inherit Number of victims: 1 Date of murder: October 2, 1999 Date of arrest: March 28, 2002 Date of birth: February 13, 1963 Victim profile: Steven Beard, 75 (her millionaire husband) Method of murder: Shooting (20-gauge shotgun) Location: Austin, Texas, USA Status: Sentenced to life in prison, serving at least 40 years, in 2004 Today's Resources: Murderpedia: https://murderpedia.org/female.B/b/beard-celeste.htm Trial and 911 Audio clips from Channel 4 Documentarties: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAqTBvbNnNM
