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Celeste Johnson


Inmate Name: Celeste Johnson Charge: Murder, Injury to an Elderly Person Sentence: 2 Life Terms Prison: Mountainview Prison, Texas Celeste Johnson was one of four children to be adopted by Edwin and Nancy Johnson. She grew up in Southern California and was sent to private schools until she reached high school and her parents divorced. Celeste had difficulty adjusting to the sudden change of fortune and the lack of structure in her teen years, and at the young age of 17, she gave birth to twin daughters. She had three rocky marriages and according to her biographer, a history of putting her daughters in foster homes. When things got really tough, Celeste would threaten to commit suicide. While still married to her third husband, 31-year-old Celeste took a job at the exclusive Austin Country Club in Texas. It was there that she met 69-year-old millionaire, Steven Beard. Celeste and Steven began dating, and in February 1995, after Celeste’s divorce from her third husband, she and Steven were married. At first the newlyweds seemed like the perfect match but after a while, Celeste began to find life with Steven increasingly unbearable. In 1999, after a confrontation with Steven over money, Celeste threatened suicide and admitted herself to a local psychiatric hospital. There, she befriended another patient, Tracey Tarlton, a lesbian who was suffering from severe depression. According to investigators, Celeste and Tracey then began an affair. Celeste insists her relationship with Tracey was strictly platonic but testimony admitted into court says otherwise. In the fall of 1999, Celeste’s husband discovered the two women kissing during a dinner party at the Beard mansion and banished Tracey from his home. After this incident, Steve decided to take Celeste on a worldwide tour, telling people that the trip was a test to see if he and Celeste could get along. Prosecutors theorize that Celeste was afraid Steven would divorce her, depriving her of access to his money. Investigators say she then asked Tracey to shoot and kill Steve, threatening suicide if she didn’t. On October 2, 1999, police received a 911 call from the Beard residence. Steven Beard had been shot and was holding his intestines in his hands. He was rushed to the hospital and remained in critical condition until he was stabilized and returned home. But one day later, he had to return to the hospital and died a few days after that. Police discovered that the gun that killed Steven belonged to Tracey Tarlton and arrested her. A year later, while Tracey was in jail awaiting trial, she finally agreed to cooperate and told prosecutors that Celeste had convinced her to shoot Steven. Celeste was arrested on March 29, 2002 for the murder of her husband. She was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. She also received an additional life sentence for injury to an elderly person. She is serving her sentence at a maximum-security prison in Texas.