11: Celeste Beard Johnson: She Asked Me to Revisit Her Case

Summary

UNMARKED: A True Crime Podcast
Episode 11: Celeste Beard Johnson – She Asked Me to Revisit Her Case
Release Date: February 25, 2026
Host: James Buddy Day
Guest: Susie Spencer

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Overview

In this gripping episode of UNMARKED, James Buddy Day delves into the notorious case of Celeste Beard Johnson, convicted of orchestrating the murder of her wealthy husband, Steven Beard, in 1999. Featuring deep analysis, rare documents, and a revealing interview with investigative journalist/author Susie Spencer (who wrote The Fortune Teller about the case), the episode unpacks not only the facts but also the psychology, manipulation tactics, and personal history behind Celeste. The discussion challenges self-serving narratives from Celeste and explores the impact of her actions on everyone around her.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Case Background and Susie Spencer’s Involvement

• Personal Connections:
  Spencer discusses her Texas roots and unexpected personal intersections with the Beard case, such as knowing Celeste’s relatives and attending the same summer camp as other key figures.

  “I grew up going to the same summer camp. Oh, really? And so I knew some of her relatives.” (01:54 – Susie Spencer)

• Author’s Motivation:
  Her interest stemmed from both the salaciousness of the crime and its ties to mental health issues.

  “I had been following the case for years because I’m always interested in cases that involve mental health issues.” (01:38 – Susie Spencer)

2. Celeste’s Campaign for Exoneration

• Flood of Documents:
  Celeste’s team sent Day a massive trove of files, aiming to prove her innocence. Day finds these materials only further solidify her guilt.

  “All of it is meant to do one thing. Exonerate her. And I want you to know that I’ve reviewed everything they’ve sent, and it doesn’t. Celeste Beard Johnson is as guilty as they come.” (05:39 – James Buddy Day)

• The Psychopath Profile:
  Day characterizes Celeste as a “primary psychopath”—highly manipulative, emotionally uninhibited, and unable to register normal boundaries.

  “A primary psychopath doesn’t collapse under pressure. They reconfigure over and over again.” (40:02 – James Buddy Day)

3. Celeste’s Early Life and Pattern of Serial Monogamy

• Troubled Upbringing:
  Adopted, Celeste reportedly suffered abuse at home and married young to escape. Susie Spencer affirms abuse claims, noting family corroboration.

  “Now, when she says she was sexually abused, do I believe that one? Yes, I do, because there are other family members that said she was abused…” (09:15 – Susie Spencer)

• Marriage as Escape:
  Each marriage serves as a step up—an escape from hard circumstances, setting a lifelong pattern.

  “It’s the first time she uses the social institution of marriage to escape her circumstances… It’s a lesson that will come to define her entire life.” (09:03 – James Buddy Day)

4. The Steven Beard Marriage: Motive and Manipulation

• Seeking Security:
  Celeste marries Beard, a 70-year-old millionaire, soon after his first wife’s death, using the custody of her twin daughters as leverage.

  “Steve’s wife died, and two weeks later, he asked Celeste out on a date… she was moving in with him and saying she was going to divorce Jimmy because her daughters, she’d lost custody to them.” (14:04 – Susie Spencer)

• Warnings Ignored:
  Celeste’s first husband warns Beard:

  “Get out of there. She’s deadly.” (16:07 – Susie Spencer)

• Lavish Spending, Emotional Turmoil:
  Celeste spends extravagantly and repeatedly fabricates crises to manipulate Beard.

  “She resumes sleeping with her ex-husband, Jimmy Martinez… Celeste at one point told him she had cancer, which, in fact, it’s something she told many people and she never did…” (17:35 – Susie Spencer)

5. Descent Into Crime: Failed Murder Attempts

• Repeated Attempts:
  Over months, Celeste tries to poison Steven, dilute alcohol, and even suffocate him with a plastic bag—with Beard surviving each attempt.

  “Celeste decides to obtain a more potent poison. She asks Tracy to order her a copy of the Poisoner’s Handbook…” (27:45 – James Buddy Day) “They were going to mix it into the hamburger meat for the chili… But it didn’t work.” (28:38 – Susie Spencer)

• Manipulating Tracy Tarleton:
  Celeste grooms and isolates fellow psychiatric patient Tracy Tarleton, manipulating her into an intimate relationship and then orchestrating Beard’s murder through her.

6. The Relationship With Tracy Tarleton

• Forming a Deadly Bond:
  Spencer knew Tracy from summer camp, adding another direct thread. They describe the bond as rooted in shared trauma but quickly co-opted by Celeste’s manipulation.

  “Celeste is brilliant also, and Celeste has difficulty with the truth. And I think when she saw Tracy, it was like, this is someone I can make fall in love with me and do my bidding.” (22:35 – Susie Spencer)

• The Nature of Their Relationship:
  Despite Celeste’s denial, evidence and witnesses unanimously indicate a romantic and sexual relationship.

  “In one court document, her defense is summarized as follows… the defense, on the other hand, portrayed Tarleton as delusional and Celeste as the object of Tarleton’s obsessive behavior.” (24:13 – James Buddy Day) “Tracey and Celeste threw a party for Tracy’s employees… Celeste sitting in Tracy’s lap and nuzzling her ear.” (25:39 – Susie Spencer)

7. Murder of Steven Beard

• Planning the Act:
  Celeste orchestrates Beard’s murder down to the smallest detail.

  “Celeste had Tracy come over that day and walk through the house to show her where she wanted to enter.” (32:38 – Susie Spencer) “She told Tracy to wear her black tennis shoes, black clothes, a black hat.” (33:03 – Susie Spencer)

• The Killing:
  Tracy shoots Beard in the stomach while he sleeps. Despite critical injuries, Beard manages to call 911.

  “Help. My guts have jumped out of my stomach.” (34:21 – Susie Spencer, quoting 911 tape)

• Cover-up and Collapse:
  The police swiftly identify the connection between Celeste and Tracy through phone records and witness testimony, eventually linking the gun found in Tracy’s home to the shooting.

8. Aftermath and Justice

• Celeste Moves On:
  Celeste quickly remarries after Beard’s death, demonstrating her pattern of using and discarding relationships.

  “Steve died in January of 2000… Celeste at a bar, met a guy named Cole Johnson… and decided to get married.” (37:02 – Susie Spencer)

• Tracy’s Turning Point:
  Realizing Celeste used her, and seeing her move on so quickly, Tracy turns state’s witness, sealing Celeste’s fate.

  “Tracy was reading the newspaper… Celeste wasn’t at a hearing… because she was on her honeymoon… And that’s when Tracy went, I get it. I was used.” (37:48 – Susie Spencer)

• Trial and Sentencing:
  Celeste’s defense claims Tracy was obsessed and delusional. The jury finds otherwise, convicting Celeste of capital murder.

  “Her defense was Tracy and I were just friends. Yes, she had a crush on me… She’s just a crazy, obsessed woman… who killed my husband that I love dearly.” (38:59 – Susie Spencer)

• Psychopath's Adaptation:
  Day closes by reinforcing his assessment of Celeste as a primary psychopath, expert in creating narratives to suit changing needs.

  “Whatever she says is real in the moment. Whoever she’s facing matters most. Until they don’t.” (41:40 – James Buddy Day)

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Memorable Quotes

• On Celeste’s Manipulative Charm:

  “I was almost charmed. She was hysterically funny and smart and just fun to be around… I didn’t want to leave.” (07:17 – Susie Spencer)

• On Substance and Motive:

  “Celeste beard Johnson is as guilty as they come.” (05:39 – James Buddy Day)

• On the Nature of Psychopathy:

  “They do whatever it takes to get what they want, no matter the cost.” (08:27 – James Buddy Day)

• On Tracy’s Betrayal:

  “I was used. She never loved me.” (37:48 – Susie Spencer)

• On Celeste’s Perpetual Manipulation:

  “Whatever she says is real in the moment. Whoever she’s facing matters most. Until they don’t.” (41:40 – James Buddy Day)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:38 – Susie Spencer outlines her personal connection to the case
• 04:12 – Celeste’s letter to Day and assessment of her “unfair” publicity
• 07:17 – Spencer describes Celeste’s remarkable charm, despite her crimes
• 09:15 – Claims of Celeste’s childhood abuse and family corroboration
• 12:17 – In-court debate about Celeste’s salacious nickname for her third husband
• 14:04 – Beard and Celeste begin their relationship
• 17:35 – Fabrications, spending, and escalation in the Beard marriage
• 19:32 – Introduction of Tracy Tarleton and the meeting at the psychiatric facility
• 22:35 – Establishing intimacy and manipulation between Celeste and Tracy
• 24:13 – The dispute over the nature of the Celeste-Tracy relationship
• 27:45 – First murder attempt using drugs and poison
• 34:21 – Beard’s desperate 911 call after being shot
• 37:02 – Celeste’s rapid remarriage after Beard’s death
• 37:48 – Tracy’s realization of betrayal
• 39:21 – Celeste’s “obsessive lover” defense at trial
• 40:02 – Day summarizes Celeste’s psychopathic adaptability

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Conclusion

This episode demonstrates how Celeste Beard Johnson masterminded and manipulated those around her to fulfill her own needs, with chilling effectiveness. By weaving together firsthand accounts, court records, and expert commentary, Day and Spencer reveal not just the facts of the case, but the human vulnerabilities Celeste exploited. The episode closes with a call for nuanced thinking about complex criminal cases and a warning: Celeste continues to reinvent herself, just as she always has.

Transcript

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[Susie Spencer]

I had been following the case for years because I'm always interested in cases that involve mental health issues.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Susie's a Texas girl, and in this case, she's woven into the story in ways that still catch me off guard.

[Susie Spencer]

I grew up going to the same summer camp. Oh, really? And so I knew some of her relatives.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

This isn't just a case Susie researched, it's one that's followed her.

[Susie Spencer]

I had friends come to me and say, I know your next book you have to write.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

The book Susie wrote is called the Fortune Teller, and it's about a woman that I've also been corresponding with, Celeste Johnson, sometimes Celeste Bratcher, sometimes Celeste Beard, sometimes Celeste Martinez. Regardless of her last name, she was convicted of capital murder for the bizarre death of her husband, Steven Beard.

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[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

In the letter she sends me, Celeste claims she's been, quote, vilified by the media. But what she means is that she's innocent. To me, she writes, quote, as you're aware, my case has been unfairly publicized. We have made available to you all my trial transcripts, depositions and appeals on a thumb drive. I've gone through everything. But before we get too deep, know that I've heard this before. In fact, I've rarely spoken to an inmate who didn't claim they were railroaded. A Texas jury found Celeste Beard Johnson guilty of capital murder in the death

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of her elderly husband.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Celeste isn't a one time predator. She's a serial monogamist. And in her case, serial monogamy doesn't look like violence. At least not at first. Not until you trace the line backwards. Because with Celeste, when death finally arrives, it doesn't come out of nowhere. I'm James. Buddy Day. This is unmarked. I've been spending my weekends with Stacks of letters, articles, court documents, photocopies, boxes of material I've been sent by Celeste and her team. And yes, Celeste has a team. Now, I know that sounds strange, but that part actually isn't unusual. You see, when I get in contact with an inmate, it usually goes one of two ways. They either have a single person on the outside, Someone they trust to manage correspondence, handle affairs, things like that. Or they have something more organized, A team dedicated to getting them out. And Celeste falls into the second category. There's a small group around her that's been sending me packages, carefully assembled, labeled with notations. All of it is meant to do one thing. Exonerate her. And I want you to know that I've reviewed everything they've sent, and it doesn't. Celeste beard Johnson is as guilty as they come. Here's what you need to know. On October 3, 1999, Celeste orchestrated the murder of her fourth husband, Stephen Beard. The plan was hers, and the act was carried out by her lover. And it came after a series of failed attempts that read less like true crime and more like dark satire. I've clicked through hundreds of court transcripts provided by Celeste. At times, the testimony feels surreal, almost absurd. Honestly, parts of it read like a Coen brothers movie, but the outcome wasn't funny. Celeste was later convicted of injury to an elderly person and capital murder. When I sit down with Susie, Spencer, and Austin, we trade stories about Celeste, about the version of her that exists on paper and the version people encounter in person.

[Susie Spencer]

When I would hear the stories about Celeste and all the terrible things that she had done, I'd go, how could anybody like her want to be around her? Enjoy. I don't get this. I don't get this. Until I went to prison and interviewed her, I was almost charmed. She was hysterically funny and smart and just fun to be around. And when the interview was over and they're kicking me out of prison, I didn't want to leave.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Despite the document dump, Celeste provides me with no formal psychological diagnosis of any kind. I don't know if she's ever seen a doctor in prison. But everything I've experienced, everything people describe when they meet her, points towards what psychologists refer to as primary psychopathy. In that profile, fear doesn't condition behavior the way it does for most people. Stress doesn't register as a break. Emotion exists, but it doesn't integrate. People like Celeste can read others. They understand the consequences. They understand moral rules. But the internal warning signs, the ones that tell most people when to stop, never fully engage. So they keep crossing boundaries, they keep pushing. They do whatever it takes to get what they want, no matter the cost. The best place to begin is 1980. Celeste Johnson is 17 years old, a teenage bride, born and raised in California, one of four adopted children. Her adoptive mother struggles with severe mental health issues and is institutionalized multiple times throughout Celeste's youth. Later, Celeste will claim she was abused by her adoptive father and her older adoptive brother.

[Susie Spencer]

Now, when she says she was sexually abused, do I believe that one? Yes, I do, because there are other family members that said she was abused, and she talked about that when she was a little kid. Her father denies that she was abused, but most people believe her.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

What's striking is this. The extensive documentation Celeste has sent to me speaks to none of this. Once again, and across sworn civil testimony, Celeste Beard never talks about her childhood at all. This isn't an omission in storytelling. It's deliberate restraint, because her childhood shapes her, as evidenced by records showing that when Celeste is 17, she marries another teenager named Craig Bratcher. The marriage follows a pregnancy, and Shortly after her 18th birthday, Celeste gives birth to twin girls, Christina and Jennifer. Now, this time in Celeste's life is very significant. It's the first time she uses the social institution of marriage to. To escape her circumstances. At home. She's pregnant, reportedly abused, and feels like an outsider. Adopted, unstable, unprotected. But all of that changes the moment she gets married. It's a lesson that will come to define her entire life. Now, even though marriage solves problems for Celeste in 1980, it doesn't do the same for those around her. Years later, the twins will testify against her at a murder trial. Christina and Jennifer later recall a household marked by instability, physical and emotional abuse. In the 80s, both girls are removed from Celeste's care and placed into foster homes. It's another pivotal moment, one that directly shapes the crime Celeste carries out decades later. In the late 80s, after losing custody, Celeste and Craig Bratcher divorce. She marries again, briefly, to an Air Force mechanic named Harold Wolf. But that marriage also ends in divorce in 1991, and Celeste flees to Arizona, where she struggles to make ends meet and is convicted of insurance fraud after burning a car she had reported stolen. She serves three months in prison, and after her release, she marries for a third time.

[Susie Spencer]

Jimmy Martinez was her third husband, who she met in a bar in Arizona. And if there is a love of her life, I would think Jimmy Martinez comes to the closest. Jimmy's a good looking guy. He's young, he's fit. She referred to him as BMW, Big Mexican wiener. And he loved that. He tried to sneak that phrase into court. So everyone knew about that.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Now, I've gone back to the court records trying to locate what Susie is referring to here, and I found it. In volume 36, there's a lengthy exchange where the judge, the prosecutor, and the defense counsel debate whether the crude phrase big Mexican wiener should be admissible in court. To them, it's not a punchline, it's evidence. And at one point, the judge pauses the arguments and says, quote, my first impression of why it should be admissible is because having a nickname for somebody's penis tends to show that they're very familiar with them at that particular time. Familiar enough to have a nickname for it when talking to other people. This is the kind of moment that defines something. Celeste's case, it's riddled with absurdities, not because the crime is absurd, but because her behavior is, as evidenced by her next marriage to a man more than 35 years her senior. It's 1993, and Celeste is working as a cocktail waitress at the exclusive Austin Country Club overlooking the Colorado River. She's still married to Jimmy Martinez at this time, though she manages to meet her next husband, Steven Beard. Now, Beard is nothing like her other husbands. He's a former Fox Broadcasting executive and co founder of Austin's KITV. By 1985, the station was one of the original Fox affiliates, and Beard eventually sold his shares for a small fortune. And when Celeste meets Steven Beard, he's been married for 42 years to a woman named Elise, who was stricken with cancer at the time.

[Susie Spencer]

Steve's wife died, and two weeks later, he asked Celeste out on a date. By around December, she was moving in with him and saying she was going to divorce Jimmy because her daughters, she'd lost custody to them. And Steve said, I'll help you get your daughters back.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

To be clear, I've seen no records that Celeste sought custody of her daughters prior to April of 1994, when they would have been 13 or 14. But she uses this ruse to ingratiate herself with Beard, and once she moves in with him, she files for divorce from Jimmy Martinez. Within a year, on February 18, 1995, Celeste is remarried. She and Steven Beard hold the reception at the Austin Country Club where they met.

[Susie Spencer]

When people would say, steve, why are you doing this? He'd say, because I couldn't help my wife Elise when she was dying of cancer. The least I can do is try to stop save Celeste. Then he was crazy about her children. And here's this mother who says she wants her kids so back. So let me come save you and get your kids back, and we can all be a big happy family. Let me adopt.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

At first, Steve's money solves a lot of problems for Celeste. Once again, she's able to use this social institution of marriage to escape her circumstances. Beard pays off a $20,000 restitution bill still hanging over Celeste from her Arizona conviction. He bankrolls her custody fight. He relocates one of the twins, Christina, to Austin. The other, Jennifer, remains with her biological father, Craig Bratcher, Celeste's first husband. And ironically, through all of this, it's Craig who sees the danger immediately.

[Susie Spencer]

Craig Bratcher Celeste's FIRST HUSBAND when she found out that Steve and Celeste were involved, he tried and tried to get in touch with Steve, saying, you don't know what you're getting yourself into. Get out of there. She's deadly. She's, you know.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

The warnings are ignored. And when the twins enter ninth grade, it's Craig Bratcher who tragically takes his own life. Steve legally adopts both girls, reuniting them with Celeste, and showers her with gifts. A $16,000 diamond cocktail ring, a $3,000 wristwatch, a new Ford Explorer.

[Susie Spencer]

And Steve, he was enamored. He was like 70 years old, obese and grief stricken about his wife dying. His daughter was in Dallas. He had a son in Virginia, another son in Chicago. He didn't have any family.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

For Steve's part, he's grieving, isolated, lonely, and deeply invested in Celeste. Within a year, things begin to unravel. Celeste is burning through cash, reportedly half a million dollars in six months. She resumes sleeping with her ex husband, Jimmy Martinez, and she begins telling increasingly outrageous lies to cover her tracks.

[Susie Spencer]

Celeste at one point told him she had cancer, which, in fact, it's something she told many people and she never did, as far as I know.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

The discrepancies settle into a familiar pattern. Celeste acts out. Steve gets angry. Celeste returns in tears, apologetic, remorseful. And she frames her behavior as the fallout of longstanding mental health struggles tied to a traumatic childhood.

[Susie Spencer]

But always, Celeste will come to him weeping and saying, I love you so much. I'm so sorry. You know, I'll cut back, or it's just because I'm so depressed and she'll go off to another mental health facility, and he would just always be suckered back into it.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

By 1998, the behavior escalates.

[Susie Spencer]

Celeste had stolen some of his wife's jewelry and silver and hawked it. And at that point, I believe that was the first time he filed for divorce.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

When Steve threatens divorce, Celeste threatens self harm. In one study, I found primary psychopathic offenders threaten self harm about 40 to 60% of the time, which is high. But only a fraction of that, 5 to 10% in most cases make a medically serious attempt.

[Susie Spencer]

She put a gun to her head, but it wasn't loaded. And that would be sort of typical to Celeste. I'm going to blow my brains out, but oh, gee, the gun's not loaded. Oh, wow, I don't know how to load the gun.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

After the incident, Celeste agrees to be voluntarily admitted to St. David's Pavilion for psychiatric treatment in Central Austin. And it's there, inside the mental health facility that something happens. Celeste meets another patient. Her name is Tracy Tarleton. This is the woman that Susie Spencer knew both personally and professionally.

[Susie Spencer]

I had been following the case for years because I'm always interested in cases that involve mental health issues. But also the fact that Tracey Tarlton worked at Book People, which is an important store to authors in Texas.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

If you spend time in Austin, you've almost certainly been the Book People. It's one of those places that doesn't just sell books. It anchors a community. And at the time, Tracy is a respected figure.

[Susie Spencer]

I don't think Book People has been run as well as managed as well as it did when Tracey Tarleton was there.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

The woman is brilliant, but throughout her life, Tracy struggles. Like Celeste, Tracy carries deep trauma, but the shape of it is different. When I'm speaking with Susie, she remembers this from attending summer camp with Tracy.

[Susie Spencer]

When I go back and look at our summer camp annuals, you see Tracy is a little girl and she just looks so happy and everything. And then around age 10, 11 or 12, you can see her demeanor change. And her mother was physically, emotionally and sexually abusive to Tracy.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Despite difficulty in her upbringing, Tracy finds acceptance in college.

[Susie Spencer]

When Tracy was attending the University of Texas, she told my friend who was her mentor that she was gay. So she's been pretty much out with this since college. She ended up graduating from Texas A and M University with a degree in biology and then went out and did research. And she worked for the bat conservatory. And so all of that was well and good. The only thing that kept popping up in her life causing problems was her mental health issues.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

If you drive across the Congress Avenue bridge at dusk, you'll see it. The flight of the bats rising from under the bridge. It's the same colony Tracey Tarleton once studied while tormented by depression. One court record I found documents numerous Occasions in which Tracy played Russian roulette with a loaded revolver in moments of despair.

[Susie Spencer]

Book People said, you're having a nervous breakdown. Get help. And so it was because of book people's encouragement that she went to the mental health facility. She ended up at St. David's Pavilion.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

It's 1999. And Celeste's daughter, one of the twins, Christina, introduces Celeste and Tracy inside St. David's Pavilion. the time, Tracy is heavily medicated and

[Susie Spencer]

deeply isolated because Christina would visit Celeste and go, oh, look at that poor girl and everything, and she'd want to help her out. So she started bringing in pizzas and stuff. And then Celeste and Tracy started talking.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

At St. David's Pavilion, the two women share stories of trauma, often spending nights talking for hours.

[Susie Spencer]

I mean, Celeste talks about how Tracey was the first person she ever felt comfortable with talking about her sexual abuse. So that was a bond. But Celeste is brilliant also, and Celeste has difficulty with the truth. And I think when she saw Tracy, it was like, this is someone I can make fall in love with me and do my bidding.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

What Susie's describing is textbook calibration of a primary psychopath. Celeste doesn't bond with Tracy because she's overwhelmed by this shared trauma. Instead, she bonds because she recognizes access. Tracy's history, her depression, her isolation, those are all openings for Celeste. So once that bond is formed, the question for Celeste isn't whether it will be used, it's how far it can be taken. And predictably, Celeste wastes little time. She convinces Tracy to join her in being transferred to Tyrann Timberlon Hospital in Dallas, three hours away from Steve. There they share a room, and according to Tracy, the relationship turns intimate.

[Susie Spencer]

After Tracy and Celeste left St. David's they went to Timberline, a psychiatric facility in the Dallas Fort Worth area. And there the nurses walked in on them when Celeste was topless and Tracy was sitting on top of her, giving her a massage.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Now, here's the crazy part. In the documents, letters, and depositions that Celeste has provided me, she denies anything romantic ever occurred between her and Tracey Tarleton, a claim that was a core part of her defense. In one court document, her defense is summarized as follows, quote, the nature of the relationship between Celeste Johnson and Tarleton was a matter of dispute. At trial, Tarleton, a lesbian, testified that she loved Celeste and believed Celeste loved her. The defense, on the other hand, portrayed Tarleton as delusional and Celeste as the object of Tarleton's obsessive behavior. So let's look at the evidence. Traci testified that after Timberlon, both women returned to Austin, where they continued seeing each other regularly through the fall of 1999. Prosecutors corroborated these encounters with receipts and witnesses from the Red Roof Inn and a La Quinta in Waco, Texas.

[Susie Spencer]

Tracey testified to the orgasms that Celeste had at Tracy's. How do I phrase that? Handiwork. Whatever, you know.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

And the evidence of their affair does not end there. In fact, it was witnessed by numerous people.

[Susie Spencer]

Tracey and Celeste threw a party for Tracy's employees at Book People. At the party, everyone saw Celeste sitting in Tracey's lap and nuzzling her ear. At the end of the party, well, it was still going on, but Tracy and Celeste said good night and went to the bedroom together. Everyone at Book People believed Tracey and Celeste were lovers.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

At one point, Tracy is invited to Celeste's home for a barbecue, where she meets Steven Beard for the first time. According to witnesses, Tracy gets drunk while the family dines on hamburgers, leading to an altercation.

[Susie Spencer]

Tracey started kissing Celeste. Christina saw it, and I believe at some point they told Steve, and Steve supposedly blew up and said, tracy, get out of here.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

As Tracey Tarleton would later testify, this is the point where Celeste reframes her marriage entirely. She tells Tracy that she married Steven Beard to regain custody of her two daughters. But now she feels trapped in a loveless, suffocating relationship.

[Susie Spencer]

Celeste would constantly say, all he does is put me down. He abuses me emotionally. We fight. He won't give me any money. He won't let me do this. He won't let me do that. It was just Steve was this horrible human being. And Tracy would say, divorce him.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Digging through trial testimony, I found this excerpt from Tracy, who says, quote, celeste's portrayal of what was going on was that she felt trapped by this man who was slowly killing her. She couldn't get out from under him psychologically or emotionally.

[Susie Spencer]

And she would say, he'll hunt me down. He has so much money, he'll hunt me down. There's no way. She kept emphasizing that over and over. He'll hunt me down. We gotta kill him.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

That's the tipping point. The moment Celeste stops talking about escape and starts talking about violence. It begins with poisoning, of all things. Celeste lobbies Tracy to buy her 10 ecstasy tablets that she grinds up and puts in Steven's drink while they're at a jazz club. She's trying to make it look like his drink was spiked by a stranger, but it doesn't work. In fact, Celeste reports to Tracy that the drugs have no effect at All. And what follows plays out with a kind of grim absurdity. Celeste decides to obtain a more potent poison. She asks Tracy to order her a copy of the Poisoner's Handbook, a controversial, quasi, self published guide from the 1980s and early 90s focused on plant, animal and chemical poisons.

[Susie Spencer]

So they got a poisoner's Handbook and learned how to meet botulism. And they were going to mix it into the hamburger meat for the chili and then put it on chili cheese dogs. And Steve would eat it and it'd die. But it didn't work.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Steven Beard, it turns out, has the stomach of a furnace. But that doesn't deter Celeste. It doesn't slow her down. It doesn't prompt doubt. It just forces escalation.

[Susie Spencer]

She would put sleeping pills into his food or his orange juice. She would hope that the combination would kill him. Steve was a heavy drinker and he liked cheap vodka. And she would dump out the vodka and pour Everclear in it, which is a higher proof, hoping that would kill him.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

After one such attempt, in the fall of 1999, Celeste calls Tracy and asks her to come over to the house. When Tarlton arrives, she finds Steven Beard unconscious at the dining room table. Together they move him to the floor. Celeste then places a plastic grocery bag over his head in an attempt to suffocate him.

[Susie Spencer]

And Tracy said that she was holding the bag around his neck and should see the bag going in and out with his breath.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Both women take turns with the plastic bag, but once again it does not work. And after their arms tire, Tracy leaves and Celeste calls an ambulance. According to medical records, in September 1999, Steven Beard is then admitted to the hospital with a blood alcohol level of.170,68 milligrams per deciliter. Celeste lies, telling the doctors she found him passed out on the kitchen floor. But at the same time, she's making plans for the future. She contacts a travel agent at the Davenport shopping center and books a last minute 28 day tour of Europe for herself and Steve at a cost of more than $50,000. They're scheduled to leave on Sunday, October 3, 1999. Then, just days before the trip, Celeste shows up at Tracy's place unannounced. Celeste is frantic, tearful, desperate. She pleads, saying, quote, I can't make it anymore. I can't do it. I'll never make it back from Europe. He will kill me over there. He'll get me at trial. Tracey later clarifies what Celeste meant. That Steve wasn't threatening her directly. But that his emotional abuse would drive her to kill herself. Remember, on paper, Celeste is planning a month long European vacation. In private, she's describing herself as trapped and doomed. That contradiction isn't confusion, it's calculation. She asks Tracy to kill Steve with a shotgun. That Tracy has over her mantle. Years later, in a letter Celeste sends me, she points to a new witness. Two friends of Tracy's from AA who she claims will confirm that Tracey acted alone. Celeste writes, quote, tracey told them, I am not a party to her shooting. One is a sworn deposition from Celeste's cellmate who claims that Tracy offered an unprovoked confession in prison with no corroboration. But the record tells a drastically different story. I've seen the phone records and between August 29th and October 1st, 1999, there are 98 calls between Celeste and Tracy Tarleton. 336 minutes of conversation. On the day of the shooting alone, there are eight calls totaling 15 minutes.

[Susie Spencer]

Celeste had Tracy come over that day and walk through the house to show her where she wanted to enter.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

At trial, Tracy testifies, quote, she showed me where to park, where to enter the grounds, and then we walked through how I would exit my car, where I would enter the house, how I would approach the bedroom, how I would exit the house and exit the grounds.

[Susie Spencer]

Celeste gave Tracey plastic to put on the floorboard and seats of her car. She told Tracy to wear her black tennis shoes, black clothes, a black hat.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

That night, shortly after 2am Tracey Tarlton drives to the Beard residence.

[Susie Spencer]

She got in her car, turned on the radio, rolled down the window, lit a cigarette and started driving. She pulled in to the backside of the house. Tracy remembers her tires crunching on the gravel.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

The gate is open, just as planned. She enters through an unlocked door near Steven Beard's room.

[Susie Spencer]

Celeste had made sure the alarm wasn't on. She'd made sure that Stephen, Steve's dog Megan, who barked at strangers, wasn't there.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

At the house, Tracy finds Steven Beard asleep in bed. She wastes little time, walks up within five or six feet and pulls the trigger. The shot hits Steve in the stomach. He jerks awake and starts grasping for a panic button that he keeps on his side table. Tracy sees him moving, believes he's reaching for a gun, and she runs.

[Susie Spencer]

Steve has no idea what's happened. He can't get ahold of Celeste, who's supposed to be in the house. The panic button alarm isn't working. He finally some way gets on the phone, calls 911 and says, Help. My guts have jumped out. Of my stomach. I said, what? Help.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

What is going on there? I'm in bed.

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[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

My wife is somewhere in the house. Like it's right there.

[Susie Spencer]

When the police arrived, they smashed through the door with a baton.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

At first, even EMS don't understand what they're seeing.

[Susie Spencer]

When EMS arrived, they thought maybe Steve had had surgery and had busted his stitches. Finally, they saw a shotgun shell. One of the cops picked it up with his bare hands and said, oh, I think we may have a murder scene here.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Beard is rushed to hospital where he undergoes multiple surgeries, his life hanging by a thread. At the same time, police see the excessive phone activity between Celeste and and Tracy Tarleton and visit Tracy at her house, where they see the shotgun in plain sight.

[Susie Spencer]

They smelled it. They noticed it smelled of fresh oil, like it had just been cleaned.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

Tracy willingly allows police to take the gun for examination, unaware that they've recovered the shell from Steven Beard's bedroom. Two days later, ballistics come back a match. Traci is arrested and initially charged with injury to an elderly person.

[Susie Spencer]

Tracy's attorneys had been trying to get her to make a deal with the state, and that was the state's goal. Tracy would not rat on Celeste because she still loved her.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

In the hospital, Steve begins to recover. And on January 18, a little more than three months after the shooting, Beard is sent back home with Celeste. The next day, Celeste calls Beard's doctors and insists he be readmitted. After examining him, the doctor agrees. And once in the hospital, Steven Beard's condition deteriorates rapidly. And on January 22, 2000, Steven Beard succumbs to his injuries and dies. The cause of death is listed as a blood clot directly linked to the shotgun wound.

[Susie Spencer]

After Steve died in January of 2000. And one night, Celeste at a bar, met a guy named Cole Johnson, a young, good looking blonde guy who rode a motorcycle. She and Cole were driving to Oklahoma and decided to get married.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

You really have to step back and picture what's going on at this point. Steven Beard has just died. Tracy Tarlton is now in prison, charged with his murder, awaiting trial and still refusing to cooperate with prosecutors willing to take the blame, all to protect Celeste. But Celeste has completely moved on. She's used marriage to get away once again.

[Susie Spencer]

Until Tracy was reading the newspaper in the summer of 2000 and reads that Celeste wasn't at a hearing, a court hearing, because she was on her honeymoon with her husband, Cole Johnson. And that's when Tracy went, I get it. I was used. She never Loved me. I was used.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

For Tracy, the illusion finally collapses, and once it does, everything else follows. In the end, the case turns the way most of these cases do. In exchange for a plea bargain, Tracy agrees to testify that Celeste was the one who planned the murder.

[Susie Spencer]

Tracey pled guilty with the stipulation that she would testify against Celeste and testify truthfully, and then in return, she would get 20 years, of which she served 10. They announce a plea agreement, and Celeste is arrested.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

At trial, Celeste's defense is simple and familiar.

[Susie Spencer]

Her defense was Tracy and I were just friends. Yes, she had a crush on me. She. She was obsessed with me. She stalked me. She was delusional in imagining that we had a relationship. She's just a crazy, obsessed woman who killed my husband that I love dearly.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

It's a weak reversal. The woman she once confided in became unstable. The relationship she cultivated became imaginary. In letters she sends me years later, she still insists that she was never part of the plan. But the record tells a different story.

[Susie Spencer]

When Tracy cries over the crime, she is truly weeping. When Celeste does it, Celeste will pull down her eye and wipe with a tissue. And then she wipes her eyeball itself, not tears. And then that makes her eyes turn. Turn red so that it looks like she's crying.

[Narrator / James Buddy Day]

That's where this case ends. Not with mystery, but with clarity. Celeste Beard Johnson is found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. A primary psychopath doesn't collapse under pressure. They reconfigure over and over again. When 1mmon stops being useful, it's discarded. When one narrative fails, another replaces it. There's no rupture, no reckoning, just movement. I'm not the first journalist Celeste Bier Johnson has reached out to, nor will I be the last. She will find people to be part of her team to grasp onto any shred of so called evidence to show anything other than the truth. In one of her letters, Celeste writes, quote, I think only you can do my case the justice it deserves. After everything I've learned, I'd have to be foolish to hear that as sincerity. Whatever she says is real in the moment. Whoever she's facing matters most. Until they don't. Before we wrap, I want to take a second to acknowledge you. This community is growing faster than we honestly expected. And that only happens because people are listening closely. They're thinking critically, and they're sticking around for the conversations that don't end when the story does. The comments, the debates, the pushback, even the disagreements they matter. We read them and they shape where this show goes next. If you're new here, welcome. And if you've been here since the early episodes, thank you for helping us build something that values nuance over noise. This episode of Unmarked was produced by John Nadeau and edited by Dave Alderson. Our additional producer is Jesse Demarais. We've much more coming soon and if you're still here, you're already part of what makes this work.

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