For Marriage Or Money?

Summary

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48 Hours: "For Marriage Or Money?"

Date: October 1, 2025
Host: CBS News
Theme: The murder of Texas millionaire Steven Beard, examining whether his wife, Celeste Beard, masterminded his death for financial gain or if she was caught in the crosshairs of obsession and manipulation.

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EPISODE OVERVIEW

"For Marriage Or Money?" delves into the shocking case of Steven Beard—a wealthy Austin businessman shot in his home in 1999—and the subsequent investigation that unraveled a complex web of relationships, secrets, and motives. The episode explores Celeste Beard’s rise from waitress to millionaire's wife, the toxic friendship and alleged affair with Tracy Tarlton, and the dramatic courtroom battle over whether Celeste killed for love, money—or both.

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KEY DISCUSSION POINTS AND INSIGHTS

1. The "Texas Fairytale"—Celeste and Steven’s Relationship

• Background:
  • Celeste grew up with adversity: depression, poverty, troubled family life ([04:23], [20:26]).
  • Steven Beard, a wealthy widower, met Celeste at a country club. He offered financial security; she offered companionship ([03:01–04:23]).
• Extravagant Lifestyle:
  • Lavish spending, compulsive shopping—"Probably $50,000 in a day" ([01:14], [19:18]).
  • Steven adopted Celeste’s twin daughters, seeking a "complete" family ([07:45–08:13]).

2. The Shooting—Unraveling the Fairytale

• Crime Scene:
  • Steven shot in bed in October 1999. Initial theories: burglary vs. staged murder ([04:52–06:27]).
  • "His guts were hanging out"—astonishing 911 call ([05:03]).
  • Celeste’s apparent distress: “Don't let him die. Please don't let him die.” ([01:30]; [06:17])
• Investigation:
  • Tracy Tarlton, Celeste’s best friend, arrested soon after when her shotgun matches the crime scene ([09:31–10:12]).

3. Celeste + Tracy: Friends, Lovers, or Manipulator & Victim?

• Conflicting Narratives:

  • Tracy claims a romantic/sexual affair; Celeste denies it ([13:18], [17:11], [21:39]).
  • Tracy describes Celeste as manipulative, “She had a plan, and she wanted me to shoot him...I was thinking about Celeste’s instructions.” ([30:04–30:29])
  • Celeste’s lawyer, Dick DeGuerin: Tracy is obsessed and delusional; sexual relationship was Tracy’s fantasy ([17:08], [26:08]).

• Tracy’s Motive & Mental State:

  • Diagnosed with bipolar disorder, psychosis, substance abuse ([19:44], [20:04]).
  • Testimony from a cellmate suggests Tracy wanted revenge on Celeste for ending their relationship ([31:00]).

4. Money as Motive—Divorce vs. Murder

• Financial Stakes:

  • If Steven died, Celeste would inherit millions; through divorce, much less ([27:11–27:24], [34:42]).
  • Prosecutor: “Celeste Beard loved money more than she loved anything else. Because of that, she had Steven Beard killed.” ([25:15])

• Celeste’s Defense:

  • “We weren’t getting a divorce. I mean, I had everything. Steven never would have divorced me.” ([27:19])

5. Key Testimonies—Twin Daughters vs. Their Mother

• Twins Testify:

  • Alleged Celeste repeatedly expressed disgust for Steven and wished him dead ([32:36], [33:33]).
  • Claimed Celeste drugged Steven: “I saw her break apart the sleeping pill and put it in his baked potato.” ([34:00])

• Celeste’s Response:

  • Accuses her own daughters of lying for inheritance money ([34:42]).

• Audio Evidence:

  • Recording played in court demonstrates Celeste’s verbal abuse ([35:19–35:53]).

6. Manipulation, Mental Illness & Truth-Telling

• Competing Claims:
  • Was Celeste a master manipulator, playing Tracy for her own ends? Or was Tracy an unstable, obsessed woman acting alone?
  • Dick DeGuerin: “The only evidence they have is Tracy Tarleton. And Tracy Tarleton can’t be believed. She can’t be believed because she’s a crazy woman.” ([38:21])

7. The Verdict and Aftermath

• Jury Decision:

  • Celeste found guilty of capital murder ([39:03]).
  • Sentenced to life in prison ([39:34]).

• Personal Fallout:

  • Estranged from her daughters: “I’ve lost my children.” ([40:41])

• Final Words:

  • Christina (daughter): “You say we turned on you, but you turned on us...You are guilty.” ([40:03])
  • Celeste: “I feel responsible in that I brought Tracy into our lives. But am I responsible for Tracy going in the house and shooting Steven? No, I’m not responsible for that.” ([40:51])

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MEMORABLE QUOTES & HIGHLIGHTED MOMENTS

• “I wanted somebody to take care of me, and he wanted someone to take care of.” — Celeste Beard [00:37]
• “Probably $50,000 in a day.” — Celeste Beard, about shopping ([01:14], [19:18])
• “My guts just came out of my stomach. They blew out. Yeah, they blew out of my stomach.” — Steven Beard, 911 call [05:03]
• “She had a plan, and she wanted me to shoot him… I was thinking about Celeste’s instructions.” — Tracy Tarlton [30:04–30:29]
• “Celeste is not a gold digger. She did spend a lot of money and Steve showered money. She made him happy, he made her happy.” — Dick DeGuerin [19:24]
• “I hated to admit it, but the only reason why they could have turned on me was for the money.” — Celeste Beard, about her daughters [34:35]
• “This soap opera that we went through for four weeks does not prove Celeste is a killer.” — Dick DeGuerin [37:57]
• “We, the jury, find the defendant Celeste Beard Johnson guilty of the offense of capital murder.” — Judge [39:03]
• “What did I or Jen ever do to you except love you? And this is how you treated us? Like trash… You are guilty.” — Christina Beard [40:03]
• “I feel responsible… But am I responsible for Tracy going in the house and shooting Steven? No, I’m not responsible for that.” — Celeste Beard [40:51]

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TIMESTAMPS FOR KEY SEGMENTS

• [03:01–04:23] – Celeste and Steven’s courtship
• [04:52–06:27] – The shooting and the chaotic aftermath
• [09:31–10:12] – Tracy Tarlton arrested
• [12:11–13:05] – Tracy describes plan and shooting
• [19:00–19:24] – Celeste’s luxury shopping habits
• [27:11–27:35] – Financial motive for murder
• [32:23–34:00] – Celeste’s twin daughters testify
• [35:19–35:53] – Abusive phone call played in court
• [39:03–39:15] – Jury delivers guilty verdict
• [40:03–40:35] – Christina’s emotional statement to Celeste

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CONCLUSION

"For Marriage Or Money?" masterfully untangles the knotty questions surrounding Steven Beard’s murder. The episode explores whether Celeste Beard was a calculating gold-digger or a woman ensnared by a disturbed friend’s obsession, driven by greed, love, or self-preservation. Through interviews, court testimony, and firsthand accounts, the podcast lays bare the intricacies of a real-life Texas tragedy—ultimately leaving listeners face to face with the horrors that can hide behind the perfect façade of wealth and marriage.

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Transcript

[Celeste Beard]

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[Narrator]

A special 48 hours mystery.

[Celeste Beard]

I wanted somebody to take care of me, and he wanted someone to take care of. And so he asked me, you know, to move in. And I was like, okay.

[Narrator]

You know, it's a rags to riches story, Texas style.

[Interviewer]

He pursued you?

[Celeste Beard]

Yes, but I let him.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Celeste had a hard life.

[Narrator]

She was a waitress raising twin daughters. Then she married a millionaire, Steven Beard.

[Dick DeGuerin]

She loved him. He loved her.

[Celeste Beard]

He said being around me made him young.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Celeste learned to live large.

[Interviewer]

What's the biggest tab you ever ran up in your shopping in a single day? Would you guess?

[Celeste Beard]

Probably 50,000 in a day.

[Narrator]

Then five years into their marriage, the fairytale was shattered.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Stephen Beard was shot in his own bed.

[Judge or Court Official]

Emergency.

[Dick DeGuerin]

My guts just came out of my stomach.

[Interviewer]

She immediately started screaming, saying, don't let him die.

[Celeste Beard]

Die. Don't let him die. Please don't let him die.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Peter Van Sant on a crime that didn't quite add up.

[Celeste Beard]

I couldn't imagine anybody I knew being involved in the shooting of my husband.

[Narrator]

The murder of Stephen Beard would take years to unravel. Revealing intimate secrets between the best of friends. Tearing a family apart. Mother against daughters. Because when money is involved, anything can happen.

[Celeste Beard]

I loved him with all my heart.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Who murdered the millionaire for love or money?

[Judge or Court Official]

I'm Leslie Stahl. When Texas tycoon Steven Beard was killed, police didn't have to look very far for possible motives or potential suspects. A motive. Show me the money. Suspects. How about the millionaire's young wife or her best friend? Peter Van Sant goes inside a case that proves even when fairy tales come true, the there's no guarantee of a happy ending.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Meet Texas.

[Narrator]

Texas is known for doing everything big. And in Austin, Texas, millionaire business tycoon Steven Beard was living large with his new wife, Celeste.

[Celeste Beard]

Stephen was always very generous. He gave me lovely jewels, lots of jewelry, lots of everything.

[Narrator]

Celeste and Steven had two houses, including this custom built Texas palace in one of Austin's wealthiest neighborhoods.

[Celeste Beard]

I spent a lot of money redoing the houses all the time. Everything I bought for the Toro Canyon house, I had to buy for the lake house. So I was used to Buying in twos. A lot of my spending was compulsive.

[Narrator]

Steven Beard had made his mark as the co owner of a local television station. He was rich, powerful, and an important member of the community.

[Interviewer]

He pursued you?

[Celeste Beard]

Yes, but I let him.

[Narrator]

Celeste and Stephen met at the Austin country club. Stephen was recently widowed after a 45 year marriage. Celeste was a waitress.

[Interviewer]

When did you start to realize that you were attracted to him?

[Celeste Beard]

Immediately. I mean, it was his personality. I wanted somebody to take care of me and he wanted someone to take care of. And so he asked me, you know, to move in. And I was like, okay. You know, I mean, he was just. He's what I needed, and I was what he needed at the time. And that's how it started.

[Narrator]

Celeste says she had finally found a provider and protector in Stephen after surviving a hard luck life filled with depression and debt.

[Celeste Beard]

No matter what I ever did, good or bad in my life, I could tell Steven he would forgive me.

[Narrator]

But five years into her marriage, Celeste's fairytale life began to unravel in the early morning hours of October 2, 1999.

[Judge or Court Official]

Emergency.

[Dick DeGuerin]

I need ambulance.

[Narrator]

Hurry. It was a call that would launch one of Austin's most bizarre mysteries. Stephen Beard, alone in his bedroom, had called for help.

[Dick DeGuerin]

My guts just came out of my stomach. They blew out. Yeah, they blew out of my stomach.

[Narrator]

I'm in bed. Okay, sir.

[Interviewer]

Didn't know who Steven Beard was. Didn't know he was famous. The unusual thing in this case is they told dispatch that his guts were hanging out.

[Narrator]

It was close to three in the morning when deputy Alan Howard arrived on the scene. The Beard estate was completely dark.

[Interviewer]

We received no answer at the front door. Rang the door, banged on the door, still received no answer. Dispatch still had Mr. Beard on the phone.

[Narrator]

He spotted Beard through a window and broke the sliding glass door to enter.

[Interviewer]

The curtains were open, and you could see Mr. Beard through the sliding glass door. He was on the bed. It looked bad. You look at it and it's not something you see every day. Everybody was thinking he's had some type of surgery or hernia or something. He's blown his incision.

[Narrator]

Shortly after Sergeant Gregory Truitt arrived, Celeste and daughter Christina emerged from a separate wing of the house where they'd been sleeping.

[Interviewer]

I heard a woman's voice say, what are you doing in my house? What's going on? They hadn't heard our knocks, our phone calls. All of a sudden, something woke him up.

[Narrator]

Truitt told Beard's wife that her husband was badly bleeding and an EMS helicopter was on its way.

[Interviewer]

She immediately started screaming, saying, don't let him die.

[Celeste Beard]

Don't let him, don't let him die. Don't let him die. Please don't let him die.

[Narrator]

Minutes later, it became clear that this wasn't a medical problem they were dealing with. It was a crime scene.

[Interviewer]

A shotgun shell had been found in the bed or near the bed where Mr. Beard was. @ that point, everything changed. Your whole attitude changed. You really started looking. There's somebody around here with a gun.

[Narrator]

Guns drawn, police began a room to room search of the house.

[Interviewer]

The bathroom had been ransacked and some clothing had been pulled out of the drawers. There was a lot of clothing on the floor.

[Narrator]

Although Steven's wallet and some of his cash were missing, police also noticed that the couple's other valuables had not been taken. And they began to wonder, was this a burglary gone bad or a murder attempt staged to look like one? Soon the EMS helicopter arrived.

[Celeste Beard]

They wheel him out on the gurney and I come up to him and I just tell him I love him. He's talking to me. He says he loves me too.

[Narrator]

Steven Beard survived the night, but spent the next four months in the hospital with Celeste by his side.

[Judge or Court Official]

He was always smiling when she was there.

[Narrator]

Phil and Anna Pressy were the couple's closest friends.

[Interviewer]

Every day she went there, she would talk to the doctor. She would make sure he was getting the proper medical treatment. She would demand things of the nurse, make sure that the wounds were taken care of.

[Narrator]

And for Celeste, taking care of Stephen was the least she could do.

[Celeste Beard]

Because he took care of me. Steven did everything for me.

[Narrator]

Including Celeste says financing a successful custody battle for her twin daughters, Christina and Jennifer.

[Celeste Beard]

I wanted everything for them that I didn't have. Her goal was for Stephen to adopt.

[Judge or Court Official]

Both girls so that the girls would have some security.

[Narrator]

Three years after he married Celeste, Steven adopted the 17 year old twins. And Celeste finally had a complete family.

[Celeste Beard]

We just travel. I love traveling and we would take big trips all over the world. Steve was a blast. He would get on those Waverunners with me and go 55 miles an hour on the lake. I mean, how many 75 year old men do that? And we would do that every weekend. We'd go out on the lake.

[Narrator]

Even his age didn't slow him down. Stephen was 75, Celeste was 37.

[Celeste Beard]

He said being around me made him young. It made him feel young and he acted young.

[Interviewer]

He was like a teenager.

[Dick DeGuerin]

He was so in love with Celeste that it was just hard for him.

[Interviewer]

To contain himself, really.

[Narrator]

But in January of 2000, four months after he was shot, Stephen Beard died.

[Interviewer]

What do you miss most about Steve?

[Celeste Beard]

I miss talking to him when I was with him. I was so ashamed, sure of everything.

[Narrator]

Celeste's world fell apart.

[Celeste Beard]

I was just in a severe emotional depression. I was drinking heavily, I was taking a lot of medication, and I didn't want to be alone.

[Interviewer]

You really did love this man who was more than twice your age.

[Celeste Beard]

I did. I loved him with all my heart.

[Narrator]

But Celeste's heartache was just beginning. Within days of the shooting, police made an arrest that shocked her.

[Celeste Beard]

I couldn't imagine anybody I knew being involved in the shooting of my husband.

[Narrator]

The suspect was one of Celeste's best friends. While friends and family were at Steven Beard's side at this hospital in Austin, police received a tip that led them to the home of Tracy Tarlton.

[Dick DeGuerin]

We introduced ourselves, she invited us in. We asked if she owned a 20 gauge shotgun and she said yes, she did.

[Narrator]

Within days, Detective Rick Wines linked Tracy's gun to the crime scene.

[Dick DeGuerin]

The shotgun shell that we found at the scene came from the shotgun that we found in her house. You know, two and two to me has always been four.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Our buying philosophy here is that on.

[Narrator]

October 8, 1999, the well respected manager of Austin's largest independent bookstore, Tracy Tarlton, was arrested. And what's more, she and Celeste Beard were the best of friends.

[Tracy Tarleton]

We saw each other for the most part every day at some point or another. Celeste is fun, loving, she's funny, she makes people feel important.

[Celeste Beard]

I genuinely liked her. I mean, she was a nice person. She had a lot of good qualities. I cared very much for Tracy as a friend.

[Tracy Tarleton]

But today, I don't think Celeste is ever in touch with what her feelings are.

[Narrator]

Tracey's version of almost everything that happened back in 1999 is completely different from her one time best friends, including the state of the Beard marriage.

[Interviewer]

Did Celeste love her husband, Stephen Beard?

[Tracy Tarleton]

No.

[Interviewer]

What'd she think of him?

[Tracy Tarleton]

She often called him disgusting. She thought that he was a ridiculous old fat man.

[Narrator]

And Tracy says Celeste told her it wasn't just Stephen's physical appearance that she hated. It was the way he treated her.

[Tracy Tarleton]

You know, he just emotionally crushed her all the time. Ran her down and belittled her and berated her and taunted and tortured her emotionally until it left her in these really depressed, suicidal states.

[Narrator]

So why didn't Celeste just get a divorce?

[Tracy Tarleton]

She would become terrified about that. She would say she couldn't, you know, that he would hunt her down that she could never get out from under him.

[Narrator]

Traci says Celeste felt like a prisoner in her own home. So to escape her husband, she came up with outlandish ways to knock him out.

[Tracy Tarleton]

They drank a lot of vodka, but she would take the vodka bottle, pour most of it out, and fill it up with Everclear, which is a higher proof alcohol. She would take sleeping pills and grind them up and put him in his food.

[Interviewer]

And the reason for that was what?

[Tracy Tarleton]

First reason was that he would pass out early and she could leave. And the other reason was he was an older man and it would speed the death process.

[Interviewer]

A slow poisoning.

[Narrator]

Right then, just days before, Celeste and Steven were leaving for a long trip to Europe together. Traci says Celeste couldn't take it anymore.

[Tracy Tarleton]

She came over and was just hysterical, beside herself. She said, I'll never. I'll never survive this trip.

[Interviewer]

Celeste had absolutely convinced you that Steven's abuse was going to lead her to suicide?

[Tracy Tarleton]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer]

And you wanted to save her?

[Tracy Tarleton]

I wanted to help her.

[Narrator]

Two days later, Traci drove over to the Beard estate with a weapon in hand.

[Interviewer]

What kind of gun?

[Tracy Tarleton]

A Francke 20. That gun was given to me by my father, who had had it engraved for me, has my name on it.

[Interviewer]

Tell me about that moment that you pulled the trigger. What do you remember?

[Tracy Tarleton]

I had stepped into a space that was just numb when I went into that bedroom, so that I wouldn't back away without doing what I felt like at the time I needed to do. And I shot him.

[Narrator]

But who is willing to commit murder and risk the death penalty? And for a friend? Well, Tracy says she and Celeste were more than friends. They were lovers. And even after Tracy was arrested for shooting Steven Beard and released on bond, she says she and Celeste continued their affair. And Tracy says these pictures show they were a couple. This is Celeste and Tracy at a wedding in Atlanta. Here they're dancing at a party.

[Interviewer]

Tracy was not secretive about it. Everybody in the store knew that she was dating somebody named Celeste.

[Narrator]

Jeremy Ellis worked with Tracy at Book People, the trendy bookstore where Tracy was the boss.

[Interviewer]

She spoke about Celeste like it was her girlfriend. They were sort of physical, close with each other. So I thought, well, good for Tracy.

[Narrator]

But months after Stephen Beard died, Traci says her relationship with Celeste was over.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Celeste started just going bananas, just hysterical. Then we both said, we're not gonna do this anymore. You won't see me again.

[Narrator]

Then while out on bond, Traci read something about Celeste that would change everything.

[Tracy Tarleton]

In that article, there were A lot.

[Narrator]

Of things said, including the startling news that Celeste had gotten remarried to a man she met in a bar, Cole Johnson.

[Tracy Tarleton]

She's off at her honeymoon in Aspen. Even I couldn't overlook that. Everything started unraveling very quickly for me after that article.

[Celeste Beard]

Today's the important milestone of your life.

[Narrator]

From then on, Tracy became more and more convinced that all of Celeste's stories were lies.

[Tracy Tarleton]

When I started realizing that Celeste had been lying to me all along, that this man was not abusing her, that she had married him for his money, that she had been lying to me during our relationship, all of it was farce.

[Narrator]

Traci begins to suspect that she'd been set up for murder.

[Tracy Tarleton]

I think she manipulated me from the beginning.

[Narrator]

A little more than a year after Stephen Beard died, Traci, who'd already been charged with his shooting, was now taken into custody on a charge of murder.

[Tracy Tarleton]

I knew what the truth is.

[Narrator]

The truth, Traci claims, was that she wasn't acting alone.

[Interviewer]

Whose idea was it to kill Stephen Beard?

[Tracy Tarleton]

Celeste.

[Narrator]

For more than a year, Tracy sat in jail, keeping Celeste's involvement in Stephen's shooting a secret. Then, In March of 2002, just days before her own murder trial was set to begin, Tracy struck a deal with prosecutors. In exchange for a 20 year sentence, Tracy would testify that it was Celeste who had planned the murder of Stephen Beard.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Police near Fort Worth have arrested a former Austin woman.

[Narrator]

Two years after her husband's death, Celeste Beard was arrested for capital murder. Tracy's story is convincing, but can she be believed?

[Interviewer]

Why do you think Tracy shot Stephen?

[Celeste Beard]

Because she's crazy. That's the only way I can describe her. She's nuts.

[Narrator]

Dick DeGuerin, one of the most colorful and accomplished lawyers in Texas, is as at home on the range as he is in a courtroom. His success can be measured here on his 150 acre ranch in the Texas hill country.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Hey, bud.

[Narrator]

Complete with its prized longhorns, fine horses, and vintage pickup truck. DeGuerin is Celeste Beard's lawyer now, dead certain as to just what this murder is all about.

[Dick DeGuerin]

It's about a woman that became deathly obsessed with Celeste and would do anything to have her.

[Interviewer]

Were Celeste and Tracy lovers?

[Dick DeGuerin]

No. Tracy wanted it, but Celeste rebuffed her. She had this fantasy of being Celeste's lover.

[Narrator]

Despite their difference in age, Celeste is adamant that she was attracted to much more than Steven Beard's wallet.

[Interviewer]

Steven Beard was 70 years old. He was elderly. He was obese. You were 32 years old. You're young and pretty. What's the attraction here. It's not physical.

[Celeste Beard]

I've never thought of myself as pretty. I never saw him as obese. I never saw him as 70. He said being around me made him young.

[Narrator]

And according to friends, like Mary Lou Gibbs, the marriage was a good one.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Yes, Celeste loved Steve very much.

[Celeste Beard]

Steve gave Celeste something she'd never had. A man who, no matter what she did, he thought it was terrific.

[Narrator]

Mary Lou became like a surrogate mother to Celeste. She understood exactly why the 70 year old millionaire believed he'd finally found his dream girl.

[Celeste Beard]

You can't meet and be around Celeste without loving her.

[Narrator]

Mary Lou and her daughter Danna witnessed the good life Steven gave his new bride. The friends socialized together at the couple's new weekend house and at the mansion the newlyweds built in Toro Canyon, one of Austin's toniest neighborhoods.

[Judge or Court Official]

It was gorgeous. They had fountains and everything, and bronzes and statues.

[Celeste Beard]

I could have spent and I did on whatever I wanted. Whenever I wanted, I did whatever I wanted.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Steve Beard was her savior. She loved him, he loved her.

[Narrator]

A fairy tale unfolded, and Celeste, the former waitress now lived like a queen.

[Interviewer]

How many purses did you have?

[Celeste Beard]

Probably about 400. Three.

[Interviewer]

403 or 400 purses.

[Celeste Beard]

When I bought a pair of shoes, I bought a purse that matched.

[Interviewer]

What's the biggest tab you ever ran up in your shopping in a single day? Would you guess?

[Celeste Beard]

Probably 50,000 in a day.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Hello?

[Interviewer]

Yeah, $50,000.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Celeste is not a gold digger. She did spend a lot of money and Steve showered money. She made him happy, he made her happy.

[Narrator]

So how could Tracey Tarleton ever describe Celeste as the selfish, manipulative mastermind of a murder?

[Dick DeGuerin]

She's sick, sick, sick.

[Tracy Tarleton]

My diagnosis is bipolar one with psychotic tendencies.

[Interviewer]

Is it true that you've heard voices in the past?

[Tracy Tarleton]

It's a voice in my head.

[Narrator]

According to this psychological report from the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, Tracy was also prone to substance abuse, depression and suicide.

[Tracy Tarleton]

I have been suicidal many, many, many years, you know, and still am sometimes.

[Narrator]

In 1999, Tracy Tarleton sought treatment at this psychiatric hospital in Austin. Within hours, she met a fellow patient, another young woman with emotional problems. Her name was Celeste Beer.

[Celeste Beard]

I was severely depressed.

[Narrator]

Clinical depression had in fact haunted Celeste from her teens through her marriage to Steven Beard. She alleges her problems stemmed from a troubled home, a disturbing childhood, and claims of sexual abuse. As Celeste grew up, she began to slip from an A student to a deeply troubled adolescent.

[Interviewer]

What were you like as a teenager?

[Celeste Beard]

Hell.

[Narrator]

That hell continued through her adult life, a series of failed marriages and dead end jobs led to years of depression.

[Celeste Beard]

Yes, I've cut my wrist.

[Interviewer]

Taking pills.

[Celeste Beard]

Yes, I've taken pills.

[Interviewer]

Why? Why'd you want to die?

[Celeste Beard]

Wanting to live is a struggle sometimes.

[Narrator]

It was this Celeste, not any Cinderella, who met up with Tracey Tarlton on a hospital ward. Two women, emotionally vulnerable.

[Tracy Tarleton]

She was needy. And I was needy, too.

[Interviewer]

You became friends?

[Tracy Tarleton]

We became friends.

[Interviewer]

Suicidal, delusional, psychotic. Is that Tracy Tarleton?

[Celeste Beard]

That's Tracy Tarleton.

[Interviewer]

Your friend?

[Celeste Beard]

My friend.

[Narrator]

And Celeste was aware Tracy was gay?

[Tracy Tarleton]

Celeste was extremely flirtatious with me from the beginning, and I responded in kind.

[Interviewer]

She wanted to have a sexual relationship with you?

[Tracy Tarleton]

She wanted to have a sexual relationship with me.

[Interviewer]

All fantasy in her mind.

[Celeste Beard]

Well, obviously because she didn't do that with me.

[Narrator]

Whatever the true nature of their relationship, it would continue. When they were discharged from St. David's Tracy became a regular visitor at the Beard mansion.

[Interviewer]

You knew Tracy was mentally troubled, right? And so you decide, let's bring her home. Why would you do that?

[Celeste Beard]

Well, obviously I was making bad judgments.

[Narrator]

But according to the da, Celeste's bad judgment went way too far as she manipulated her troubled friend tracy. And on March 29, 2002, more than two years after Stephen Beard died, Celeste was charged with plotting her husband's murder.

[Interviewer]

Did you manipulate Tracy Tarlton into shooting Stephen?

[Celeste Beard]

No, I did not.

[Interviewer]

Did you encourage her to do so?

[Celeste Beard]

I had no idea that Tracy was homicidal.

[Narrator]

The jury would have to grapple with more than just murder. They'd have to examine a friendship and decide which friend was telling the truth.

[Judge or Court Official]

Please raise your right hand. The State of Texas vs. Celeste before Johnson jury trial. Is the state ready to proceed? It's hard to imagine Celeste Beard's journey from a troubled childhood to marrying a millionaire who gave her everything she wanted to. Now standing trial for his murder. There's no dispute about the fact that it was Celeste's friend, Tracy Tarlton, who shot Steven Beard in his own bed. But at the heart of this case is a question. Did Celeste plot the murder and manipulate Tracy into pulling the trigger? The most dramatic testimony will come from Celeste's twin daughters. And they are well aware they hold their mother's fate in their hands. Here again is Peter Van Sant.

[Celeste Beard]

They're all Celeste shoes, flats the size of the heels. These are all clothes on hangers.

[Narrator]

All of Celeste Beard's possession. Celeste's undergarments from her years of wealth and extravagant spending.

[Interviewer]

$595. $300.

[Celeste Beard]

Yes. She liked to Spend big now.

[Narrator]

Fit in this single small closet.

[Celeste Beard]

That's quite a fall from the fairy tale life.

[Narrator]

And as friends and foes gather on this first day of her murder trial.

[Celeste Beard]

This is, as they say, her day in.

[Narrator]

Celeste risks losing something money can't buy. Her freedom.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Celeste is innocent, and it's all on my shoulders now.

[Interviewer]

You ready?

[Dick DeGuerin]

I'm ready. All right, please.

[Judge or Court Official]

To this indictment and each count therein, how do you plead?

[Celeste Beard]

I'm not guilty. That's all I can say.

[Tracy Tarleton]

A lot of people think the Bible says that money is the root of all evil.

[Narrator]

Co prosecutor Gary Kaw.

[Tracy Tarleton]

What the bible actually says is that the love of money is the root of all evil. Celeste Beard loved money more than she loved anything else. Because of that, she had Steven Beard killed.

[Judge or Court Official]

She couldn't stand Steve Beard. Behind his back, she talked to people about how she hated him. He disgusted her.

[Narrator]

In her opening statement, lead prosecutor Allison Wetzel says while Celeste hated her husband, she loved his money and used her lover, Tracey Tarleton, to get it.

[Judge or Court Official]

What happened here is a simple case of a greedy, manipulative defendant who took advantage of a mentally ill woman who was in love with her.

[Dick DeGuerin]

This is a case of fatal attraction. It's a case of obsession.

[Narrator]

Defense attorney Dick Daguerrein tells jurors the prosecution's case is based on the inventions of a sick mind.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Tracey Tarleton is psychotic. She's been diagnosed as having delusions, as hearing voices that aren't there, as seeing things that aren't there, of having a.

[Narrator]

Mental condition that created rich fantasies.

[Dick DeGuerin]

The sexual relationship existed solely in Tracy's.

[Narrator]

Mind, fantasies that led to murder.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Tracy shot Stephen Beard for her own selfish and sick reasons. They're going to have a lot of difficulty with Tracy Tarleton's credibility, and they're going to try to make Celeste look bad.

[Narrator]

The prosecution first wants the jury to focus on Celeste's money motive. I'm David Cooperman, Steven Beard's attorney, who drew up the family will testifies that Celeste stood to inherit millions more dollars in cash and property if Stephen died. On his death, the half interest in the homes, the tangible personal property and the club memberships and $500,000 would go outright to Celeste.

[Interviewer]

You wanted it all. You wanted the millions that you would get if he died, as opposed to going through a divorce.

[Celeste Beard]

But we weren't getting a divorce. I mean, I had everything. Steven never would have divorced me.

[Narrator]

Prosecutors say in the spring of 1999, six months before the shooting, Celeste chose murder over divorce as the best way to cash in On Stephen's fortune from.

[Tracy Tarleton]

The time she started befriending Tracy Tarlton. That was her plan, to have Tracey Tarlton do her dirty work.

[Narrator]

Crucial to the prosecution's case of manipulation and murder is to prove Tracy's claims of a sexual relationship.

[Tracy Tarleton]

She needed me, and I know that that attracted me.

[Narrator]

That Celeste used sex to control Tracy.

[Judge or Court Official]

Well, they were very affectionate together, and they were holding hands.

[Narrator]

Brandi Whitten, a co worker of Tracy's, saw Tracy and Celeste together at a party just a few months before Stephen was shot.

[Celeste Beard]

At one point, Celeste was sitting on.

[Judge or Court Official]

Tracy's lap, and I saw Celeste nuzzle Tracy's ear.

[Interviewer]

Were you in love with Celeste?

[Tracy Tarleton]

Yes.

[Interviewer]

Did Celeste love you?

[Tracy Tarleton]

I believed that she did.

[Interviewer]

You once bought a card that said, to the one I love. And you didn't give it to Steven. You gave it to Tracy.

[Celeste Beard]

Right.

[Interviewer]

The one you love.

[Celeste Beard]

I did love Tracy as a friend. I cared very much for Tracy as a friend.

[Narrator]

And Dick DeGuerin says it was Tracy who was the manipulator. He claims Tracy would get Celeste high on alcohol or marijuana brownies and. And then try to seduce her.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Celeste came on to me as much as I came on to Celeste.

[Judge or Court Official]

Do you promise the testimony that you in this matter will be the truth, the whole truth, and then he meant the truth, so help you God?

[Tracy Tarleton]

Yes, I do.

[Narrator]

But when Tracy Tarlton takes the stand, Dick DeGuerin has a surprise for her and the prosecution.

[Dick DeGuerin]

You recognize this as a journal?

[Narrator]

DeGuerin has Tracy's secret journal. Her diary.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Were you truthful with yourself in your journals?

[Tracy Tarleton]

As far as I could be, I was truthful with myself, I would imagine, yes.

[Narrator]

In the pages of her journal, Tracy writes of her most private feelings.

[Tracy Tarleton]

I used it to spill out everything deep.

[Narrator]

But something important is missing.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Is there a single journal entry in which you say it finally happened, we finally had sex?

[Celeste Beard]

No.

[Narrator]

While Traci had trouble explaining her journal, she stuck to her story that Celeste told her Steven Beard was abusive.

[Tracy Tarleton]

I just saw this woman that I loved in a desperate situation, trying to find a way to survive this man that was so awful.

[Narrator]

Tracy wanted to help. She says Celeste had an idea.

[Tracy Tarleton]

She had a plan, and she wanted me to shoot him at Toro Canyon with my shotgun.

[Interviewer]

And what were you willing to do to help Celeste?

[Tracy Tarleton]

I was willing to shoot him, and I went in and did it.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Show us how you shot him. How'd you do it?

[Tracy Tarleton]

I went through the room and came over in front of his bed. When I stood there at the end of the bed, and raised the gun up and took aim where I was supposed to take aim and pull the trigger. What I was thinking about was Celeste's instructions. I was thinking about Celeste and why.

[Interviewer]

Did Tracy shoot your husband if not for love of you?

[Celeste Beard]

I don't know. I mean, I don't know why Tracy shot my husband.

[Judge or Court Official]

The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes, ma'.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Am.

[Narrator]

But this woman who shared a cell with Tracy for two months, does know why.

[Judge or Court Official]

She loved the Celeste, but Celeste didn't love her.

[Narrator]

Katina Lofton says Tracy was out to punish Celeste for refusing her sexual advances.

[Judge or Court Official]

She just said that Celeste wasn't going to live happily ever after while she rot in jail.

[Narrator]

While Katina Lofton's testimony gives Celeste hope, two other witnesses will leave her in despair.

[Judge or Court Official]

She would sometimes make comments like, why doesn't he just die already?

[Narrator]

Her own twin daughters take the stand for the prosecution.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Foreign.

[Celeste Beard]

What'S up, guys? It's Candice Dillard Bassett, former real housewife of Potomac. And I'm Michael Arsenault, author of the New York Times bestseller I Can't Date Jesus.

[Interviewer]

And this is Undomesticated, the podcast where.

[Celeste Beard]

We aren't just saying the quiet parts out loud. We're putting it all on the kitchen.

[Judge or Court Official]

Table and inviting you to the function. If you're ready for some bold takes and a little bit of chaos, welcome to Undomesticated.

[Celeste Beard]

Follow and listen to Undomesticated, available wherever.

[Judge or Court Official]

You get your podcasts. Stakeholders, call your next release. Stake calls Jennifer Beard. Ms. Meredith, raise your right hand. Do you promise the testimony in this matter will be the truth, the whole truth? And I will put the truth to help you.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Come.

[Judge or Court Official]

Yes, sir. Please have a seat and witness stand.

[Narrator]

One by one, the two people whose testimony may determine Celeste Beard's fate. Take the stand. Her own twin daughters.

[Judge or Court Official]

Will you please state your name? Christina Beard. Is Celeste Beard your mother? Yes.

[Narrator]

But according to their mother, Christina and Jennifer aren't here to defend her. They're out to destroy her.

[Judge or Court Official]

She said that she married Steve for his money. She would sometimes make comments like, why doesn't he just die already?

[Celeste Beard]

I just can't imagine any child getting up on the stage and being able to do that to their mother.

[Judge or Court Official]

I decided that a relationship with my mother was unhealthy and that I did not want to be around her anymore.

[Celeste Beard]

Obviously, I was a horrible mother. I mean, I have to admit that, because my kids wouldn't be like they are today if I wasn't a bad mother. But I did the best I Knew how?

[Narrator]

During several days of detailed testimony, Celeste. The twins describe their hard life with Celeste. Born when their mother was a teenager, the twins lived through three failed marriages, two stepfathers, and a mother who they say didn't seem to care.

[Judge or Court Official]

It was kind of hard to keep up because she was always lying about something.

[Narrator]

The twins also backed up many of Tracy Tarlton's claims, beginning with their mother's true feelings for Stephen.

[Judge or Court Official]

She would say that he disgusted her.

[Narrator]

The girls also said they had suspicions about Celeste and Tracy's friendship.

[Judge or Court Official]

Have you observed some things that caused you to wonder about the nature of their relationship? Yeah, just that Celeste would sneak out and go over to Tracy's house at night. How would she sneak out? She'd get Steve really drunk.

[Narrator]

Jennifer also said she witnessed her mother drugging Steven.

[Judge or Court Official]

I saw her break apart the sleeping pill and put it in his baked potato.

[Celeste Beard]

No, that's not true.

[Interviewer]

Your daughters say it's true.

[Narrator]

Well, that, in fact, Celeste says her girls are lying about everything. Even their claims that they love Steven.

[Celeste Beard]

They hated Steven.

[Interviewer]

Why?

[Celeste Beard]

They thought he was old. You know, no fun. I used to beg them, call him dad. You know, he would love for you to call him dad. He just adopted you. And they refused.

[Interviewer]

Why did your daughters turn on you?

[Celeste Beard]

I hate to admit it, but the only reason why they could have turned on me was for the money. I mean, I have to face that fact.

[Narrator]

Celeste says that if she is convicted, the twins will get a share of her inheritance, an estimated $2 million each. If Celeste goes free, Stephen Beard's will calls for the girls to get significantly less money.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Put it real simply, if Celeste is convicted, the twins get the money.

[Judge or Court Official]

I do not agree for a minute that they're motivated by money. I think those girls, the growing up that they had with the defendant, is just something that's almost too horrible to imagine.

[Narrator]

To give the jurors a sense of what life was like in the Beard.

[Celeste Beard]

House, you better get your ass home tonight.

[Narrator]

The prosecution plays a recording of a telephone conversation between Celeste and Christina. Christina says she recorded it in hopes of one day playing it back to Celeste so she'd understand how verbally abusive she could be.

[Tracy Tarleton]

You know, when she was angry, she would say, you know, they're just little. Little bitches and little whores.

[Judge or Court Official]

And I'm sorry.

[Celeste Beard]

I have all these mental problems, because.

[Tracy Tarleton]

As soon as I get home, I.

[Celeste Beard]

Thought, I'm just taking a knife down.

[Tracy Tarleton]

My throat, you bitch.

[Judge or Court Official]

It's real clear who the emotionally abusive one is and who the bad guy in the relationship is. And it's not these girls.

[Interviewer]

The prosecutor says that's the real Celeste Beard on that tape.

[Celeste Beard]

I disagree. There's no excuse for what I did, and I'm sorry that I talked to my daughter that way. You know, I used to say that if I didn't cuss her out and didn't talk to her like that, that I wouldn't be sitting here.

[Judge or Court Official]

Your Honor, ladies and gentlemen, jury, at this time, the state of the Texas.

[Narrator]

Rest our case in chief Dick DeGuerin decides not to put Celeste Beard on the stand, but he brings in some of her friends.

[Judge or Court Official]

It was a good relationship. It was loving. I think that Steve definitely loves Celeste and Celeste definitely loves Steve.

[Dick DeGuerin]

I'm Dr. Bernard J.

[Narrator]

And Daguerin calls three mental health experts to the stand who had been involved with Tracy Tarleton over the years. They say Tracy can't be believed.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Tracy had a need to believe that Celeste was the one who loved her.

[Interviewer]

She clearly persisted in a delusional belief.

[Narrator]

After more than one month of testimony, both sides present their final arguments.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Was she in a relationship with Tracey Tarlton? And did that relationship lead two tracer Tarleton, at Celeste Beard's encouragement, to shoot Stephen Beard? I think the evidence is overwhelming on that.

[Narrator]

And co prosecutor Gary Cobb says Celeste wanted Stephen dead because she would inherit millions. A divorce would have been an entirely different financial picture.

[Tracy Tarleton]

But I'm gonna show that to you right now. Here it is, right here on the back.

[Celeste Beard]

Look.

[Tracy Tarleton]

She would have had a big pocket full of empty. She would have had absolutely nothing.

[Narrator]

Prosecutor Allison Wetzel summed it all up.

[Judge or Court Official]

Folks, if you say that Celeste Beard is not guilty with all of this evidence, then you're going to tell her that her money can buy anything.

[Dick DeGuerin]

This soap opera that we went through for four weeks does not prove Celeste is a killer.

[Narrator]

Defense attorney Dick DeGuerin tells the jury that money had nothing to do with Steven Beard's murder.

[Dick DeGuerin]

Steve Beard was shot because Tracy Tarleton saw him as the barrier to her happiness.

[Narrator]

Rather, it was one woman's obsession.

[Dick DeGuerin]

The only evidence they have is Tracy Tarleton. And Tracy Tarleton can't be believed. She can't be believed because she's a crazy woman.

[Interviewer]

People wonder, why should you be believed? You're mentally ill. Should I be believed.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Because of my mental health? I don't know about that. All I know is that I'm telling you the truth.

[Narrator]

But who will the jury believe?

[Judge or Court Official]

You may be excused to deliberate.

[Narrator]

After two and a half days of deliberation.

[Judge or Court Official]

Have you reached a verdict? Yes, you, Honor. We have.

[Narrator]

The jury has decided Celeste Beard's fate.

[Interviewer]

What are you seeing on their faces.

[Celeste Beard]

As they walk in hatred.

[Judge or Court Official]

We, the jury, find the defendant Celeste speard Johnson guilty of the offense of capital murder.

[Celeste Beard]

My life is over. I'm devastated.

[Dick DeGuerin]

We're all very, very disappointed. We believe sincerely in Celeste's innocence. We believe that this conviction is wrong.

[Narrator]

The next day, Celeste is sentenced.

[Judge or Court Official]

The court hereby sentences you to confinement for life.

[Narrator]

The prosecution had agreed not to seek the death penalty.

[Celeste Beard]

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.

[Judge or Court Official]

If you could just have a seat in the witness stand, Ms. Beard.

[Narrator]

But there's one last punishment yet to come. Celeste's daughter, Christina, takes the stand and speaks directly to her mother for the first time in nearly three years.

[Judge or Court Official]

What did I or Jen ever do to you except love you? And this is how you treated us? Like trash. You say we turned on you, but you turned on us. He turned on the whole Beard family. He let you into his home, loved you, honored, obeyed you. And you violated him and murdered him. You are guilty.

[Interviewer]

You've lost your husband, you've lost your homes, you've lost your freedom.

[Celeste Beard]

And I've lost my children.

[Interviewer]

And who honestly, is responsible for that?

[Celeste Beard]

I feel responsible in the fact that I brought Tracy into our lives. But am I responsible for Tracy going in the house and shooting Steven? No, I'm not responsible for that.

[Narrator]

Tracy Tarleton was released from prison in 2011. Now streaming on Paramount Plus.

[Interviewer]

Someone is trying to frame us until our names are clear.

[Celeste Beard]

More fugitives from interval.

[Narrator]

Like Bonnie and Clyde with better snacks. Ncis Tony and Ziva. Now streaming on Paramount plus. Now streaming. Everyone who comes into this clinic is a mystery.

[Judge or Court Official]

We don't know what we're looking for.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Their bodies are the scene of the crime.

[Narrator]

No symptoms in history or clues.

[Judge or Court Official]

You saved her life.

[Narrator]

We're doctors and we're detectives.

[Celeste Beard]

I kind of love it, if I'm being honest.

[Narrator]

Solve the puzzle.

[Tracy Tarleton]

Save the patient, Watson.

[Interviewer]

All episodes now streaming on Paramount plus.