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Background

Celeste Johnson was born in Culver City, California, on February 13th, 1963. She was adopted but has made claims over the years that her adoptive father physically abused her.

She tried to delete herself in her early teen years due to mental health issues. She got into a serious relationship with Craig Bratcher when she was 17. The two had twins and married but eventually divorced.

Johnson was attractive and never had a problem getting a man. After her relationship with Bracther ended, she moved on and married Henry Wolf, but that relationship also ended in divorce.

By 1993, Johnson was married to Jimmy Martinez and worked at a country club in Austin, Texas. There, she met Steven Franklin Beard II, a club member.

Beard was a multi-millionaire retired TV executive. He was also married at the time, but his wife had cancer.

Beard and Johnson started to get close, and in October, Beard’s wife of 42 years died. Johnson and her third husband divorced in April 1994, and she made it her mission to seduce Beard and make him her fourth husband, even though she was 39 years younger than him.

Johnson and one of her daughters moved in with Beard in 1994, while her other daughter lived in Washington with her father.

Beard and Johnson married on February 18th, 1995, when she was 32 and he was 71. They had an agreement in which Beard promised to give her a million dollars during their marriage.

Johnson’s other daughter moved in with them soon after their nuptials, and Beard adopted the girls after they lost their father in 1996.

In January 1997, he transferred $500,000 to Johnson. Surprisingly, she blew through all the money in just six months.

In 1999, Johnson was struggling with depression and checked into a mental hospital. There, she met Tracey Tarlton, another patient.

Johnson told Tarlton she married Beard for financial reasons, and she complained of being in a loveless marriage. She alleged that Beard was physically and emotionally abusive.

The two became close and had intimate encounters while they were getting treatment for their mental health issues. Tarlton fell in love with Johnson, and she thought Johnson loved her, too. They continued to hang out and communicate after leaving the facility.

Soon, Johnson started talking about how she was slipping things into her husband’s food and drink, trying to kill him. In one instance, Tarlton was present when Johnson tried to suffocate Beard with a plastic bag.

Crime

In September 1999, Beard asked Tarlton to kill her husband. Tarlton said no at first, but eventually, she agreed. Tarlton requested Johnson support her in jail, get her a lawyer, and take care of her pets if she got caught, and Johnson agreed.

When they planned the Murder on October 1st, 1999, Johnson promised to collect the spent shotgun shell after the shooting and dispose of it.

On October 2nd, 1999, at around 3:00 am, Tarlton accessed Beard’s home, snuck into his bedroom, and shot him in the stomach as he slept. Then she fled the scene. Johnson and one of her daughters were in another area of the home at the time.

Beard didn’t die and was able to call 911. He was taken to the hospital, where he would remain for over three months.

After a tip from Johnson’s daughter, police went to talk to Tarlton soon after the murder. She handed over her shotgun, thinking Johnson had disposed of the spent shell, but Johnson forgot, and police found it.

The shotgun tied her to the crime. Six days after Beard was shot, Tarlton was arrested and charged with injury to an elderly person.

While Beard was recovering from the hospital, Johnson blew through $700,000.

Beard went home from the hospital on January 18th, 2000. The next day, he was readmitted. He died on January 22nd, 2000, and Tarlton’s charges were upgraded to capital murder.

With Beard dead, Johnson thought she was home free. She inherited two homes and half of Beard’s other assets. She cut off contact with Tarlton, started partying every night, and had encounters with several different men.

In July 2000, she married her fifth husband. When Tarlton saw the marriage announcement in the paper, she realized she had been manipulated.

She came clean to detectives and pointed the finger at Johnson.

Police arrested Johnson on March 28th, 2002, on capital murder charges

Trial

When Johnson went to the trial, her daughters, Tarlton, and several other witnesses, told the court that Johnson had always stated how much she hated Beard.

Prosecutors also had several people confirm that Johnson and Tarlton indeed had a sexual relationship.

Cell phone records indicated multiple communications between Tarlton and Johnson leading up to the murder—they continued to communicate after Beard died.

Johnson’s defense claimed Tarlton and Johnson were never lovers. They stated Tarlton was obsessed with Johnson and acted alone when she killed Beard.

They also said Johnson’s daughter turned on her so they could send her to prison and get their hands on Beard’s money. Johnson did not testify on her behalf.

The jury sided with the prosecution and convicted Johnson of capital murder. She was sentenced to 40 years to life. She will be eligible for parole on April 1st, 2042, when she is 79.

Tarlton got a deal for cooperating with the prosecution. She served ten years of a 20-year sentence and was released in August 2011.

Aftermath

Beard has given interviews during her incarceration, including one viral clip from an appearance on Snapped Behind Bars. She claims she was given a monthly allowance of $35,000 that she could spend however she wanted.