| Celeste Beard Johnson | |
|---|---|
| Conviction(s) | Murder, injury to an elderly individual, and conspiracy to commit murder |
| Penalty | Life in prison |
| Status | Incarcerated |
| Occupation | Inmate |
| Spouse | Craig Bratcher (divorced) Henry Wolfe (divorced) Jimmy Martinez (divorced) Steven Beard (widowed) Spencer Cole Johnson (divorced) |
| Children | Jennifer and Kristina |
Celeste Beard Johnson, (born on February 13, 1963) is a convicted American murderer currently serving a life sentence at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. She is Texas Department of Criminal Justice offender #1157250.
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One of the reasons cited by the prosecution for the murder was that Steven Beard, a wealthy former television executive, had grown tired of paying for Celeste's extravagant lifestyle.[1] Steven worked in radio and advertising in Dallas in the 1950s and 1960s, starting at the bottom and climbing steadily up the business ladder. He switched to television in the 1970s, and by 1981 had found financial success as a partner and general manager of KBVO in Austin. In 1985, the station became one of the original affiliates of the fledgling Fox network. It grew in value and stature over the following decade, and on October 3, 1994, a year after his first wife's death, Beard sold his share of the station for a small fortune.[2]
On February 18, 1995, Celeste and Steven were married at the Austin Country Club.
Celeste ordered her lover to shoot her husband, Steven Beard,[3] a retired Fox network television executive and self-made multi-millionaire. The event took place on October 2, 1999.[4] Steven died in a hospital on January 21, 2000 as a result of the gunshots. Beard's accountant would later reveal that Celeste spent $321,000 during October and November 1999, followed by an additional $249,000 by December 10, and another $100,000 in the six weeks ending March 31, 2000. According to the prosecution Celeste only married Steven Beard for his money. In 2003 Celeste was sentenced. Celeste received a mandatory life sentence and will be eligible for parole in 2043,[5] serving at least 40 years for the crime. Despite her conviction, Celeste maintains her innocence.
Crime author Kathryn Casey covered the Celeste Beard case in her mass-market paperback, She Wanted it All: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and a Texas Millionaire.[6] Also, author Suzy Spencer wrote a book, The Fortune Hunter, about the case.[7]
The case has been covered in a one-hour show of Dominick Dunne's investigative programme, Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice, and the crime series American Justice aired an episode on the case, titled "For Love Or Money." The case was also profiled on the Oxygen Network's series Snapped, which profiles women who kill. The CI network also covered the case in an hour-long show.[4] Law & Order had an episode, "Obsession," during season 15, taking a headline from news coverage of the case, and on the Investigation Discovery Network's series On the Case with Paula Zahn.