Celeste Beard

On October 3, 1999, Steven Beard, a retired 75-year-old television executive with a net worth of about $12 million (equivalent to $ million in ), was shot in the stomach with a 20-gauge shotgun while asleep at his home in West Lake Hills, Texas a suburb of Austin. He survived the shooting and called the police emergency line himself to obtain help. He progressed toward recovery with the assistance of his 37-year-old second wife, Celeste Beard, but he then developed a blood clot and died nearly four months later on January 25, 2000. The weapon was traced to Tracey Tarlton, the manager of Austin's largest independent bookstore, who had been having an affair with his wife after they had met each other in a psychiatric treatment program. Tarlton said Celeste had told her Steven Beard was an abusive husband who had to be killed to free Celeste from her oppressive marriage.

Tarlton testified against Celeste Beard and received a reduced sentence of 20 years in prison; she was later released on parole in August 2011 and lives in San Antonio. Celeste Beard (who remarried six months after her husband's death and changed her name to Celeste Beard Johnson) was convicted of capital murder under the Texas law of parties and received a life sentence, which she is serving at a facility in Gatesville, Texas. Under Texas law, she is required to spend at least 40 years in prison and will be eligible for parole on April 1, 2042, at the age of 79.

Victim Steven Beard (born 1924) had begun his career in radio and advertising after serving in the U.S. Navy and attending college at Texas Christian University and Southern Methodist University, and eventually had become a television executive and partner co-owner of the KBVO television station, a Fox Network affiliate station broadcasting to the Austin area. They had been married 45 years. One major point of contention was money, as Celeste proved to be a heavy spender. Before getting married, the couple signed a prenuptual agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, she would receive $500,000 if their marriage ended in divorce. When she pressured him to spend more than he thought was reasonable, he simply gave her the agreed $500,000 to nullify the future obligation and remove the point of contention, but she spent it all within six months.

Shooting On October 3, 1999, Steven Beard was shot in the stomach with a 20-gauge shotgun Beard asked the operator to try to call his wife Celeste, who he thought was sleeping in another room of their home, but she did not answer when they tried to call.

Tracey Tarlton When police investigators asked people who knew the family about who could have committed the shooting, many people (later said to be basically everyone except Celeste) suggested investigating Tracey Tarlton, the manager of Austin's largest independent bookstore, who they knew as a close friend of Celeste. Celeste had met Tarlton at Saint David's Pavilion, a mental health facility, after Celeste was admitted there for depression. The police also began to hear that Celeste had spoken negatively about her husband. The Beards' attorney, David Kuperman, refused to allow police to interview Steven Beard while he was hospitalized.

When questioned, Tarlton admitted that she owned a shotgun given to her by her father that she used for skeet shooting. Celeste vehemently denied asking Tarlton to kill Steven, and has continued to deny it since then.

Tarlton received a reduced sentence of 20 years in exchange for testifying against Celeste, and she was released on parole in August 2011 and lives in San Antonio.

Celeste Beard