Infamous Murderers - Celeste Beard Johnson

CELESTE BEARD JOHNSON:

Celeste (Beard) Johnson is incarcerated at Mountain View Correctional Facility,

a maximum security prison at Gatesville, Texas. Convicted of both Capital murder

and injury to Elderly individual, for the murder of her fourth husband, millionaire

tycoon Steven Beard. Convicted of Solicitation of Capital murder for trying to hire

someone to kill Tracey Tarlton in a bid to prevent her from testifying.

Johnson is serving a life sentence and is currently, as of 2008, 45 years old. The

Texas DCJ lists her Parole Eligibility Date as January 4, 2042, at age 80, at

which time she will have served 40 years of her life sentence.

Deciding that her husband's millions were preferable all to herself Johnson

manipulated her friend and lover, Tracey Tarleton, into shooting her husband.

Steven Beard's death occurred from a blood clot which was ruled a complication

from the gunshot wound, and thus a homicide. (Tarleton's parole eligibility date

is February 26, 2011, after 10 years of a 20 year sentence.) Shortly before

Celeste Beard was incarcerated she married a fifth time, to a Spencer Cole Johnson.

CELESTE BEARD JOHNSON'S VIEWPOINT:

On being sentenced:

My life is over. I'm devastated. I'm scared. I'm terrified. I don't want to go to

prison. I don't want to be with people that have actually murdered somebody.

AT THE TIME OF THE TRIAL SHE SPOKE ABOUT HER MARRIAGE:

I wanted somebody to take care of me and he wanted someone to take care

of and so he asked me to move in. He was just what I needed at the time.

No matter what I ever did, good or bad, in my life, I could tell Steven and he

would forgive me. He did everything for me. I miss talking to him. I miss being,

when I was with him, I was so sure of everything. I loved him with all my heart.

I had everything with Steven. I could have spent, and I did, on whatever

I wanted, whenever I wanted. I did whatever I wanted.

TODAY HER CLAIMS ABOUT THE MARRIAGE:

Life with Steven was all a lie. He changed everything about me. Got rid of my

clothes. Everything. I had long blonde hair he wanted it cut short. I did what he

wanted to do. I was living a lie. Our whole environment was a lie.

ABOUT TRACEY TARLTON:

I had no idea Tracey was homicidal. I don't know why Tracey shot my husband.

Am I responsible for Tracey going into the house and shooting Steven? No, I'm

not responsible for that.

AUDIO TAPE AT TRIAL: (Celeste's voice) I hired somebody to kill Tracey.

ABOUT HER DAUGHTERS WHO TESTIFIED AGAINST HER:

They're lying about everything, even their claims that they loved Steven. They're

the ones that talked behind his back. They hated Steven. They thought he was old.

They thought he was no fun. I hate to admit it, but the only reason why they

could have turned on me was for the money.

ABOUT PRISON LIFE:

I survived because I DO NOT believe in the future that Texas has mapped out

for me. I have hope that justice will prevail because I AM INNOCENT.

I will walk away from this nightmare a free and better woman

Kathryn Casey covered the trial in her book "She Wanted It

All: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and a Texas Millionaire.

To see other photos and information explore the CMM Forum.