- This footage hides a disturbing secret. The couple cheering in the stands is Celeste and Steven Beard. They're attending the high school graduation of their twin daughters, Jennifer and Kristina. Now, look closely at the woman sitting alone in front of them. Her name is Tracey Tarlton. From the outside, she looks supportive of the twins, clapping as they walk across the stage. But what the girls don't know is that just a few months before this footage was taken Tracey was released from a psychiatric facility and has been meeting with their mother in secret plotting a violent crime that will force the two teenagers to run for their lives. - She's very scary. There wasn't enough locks on the door for the two of us to feel safe. - We were scared to death. We thought she'd kill the girls. - It's 1993, 13-year-old Kristina lives with her mom Celeste and her stepdad Steven in Austin, Texas while Jennifer, Kristina's identical twin sister, lives with their biological father Craig in Washington state. The twins’ parents went through a lengthy custody battle after their divorce, which ended in the twins being separated between both parents. Living hundreds of miles away from each other was difficult for the girls because they were each other's best friends. - I missed her a lot. I missed Jen a whole lot. We were built-in friends with each other. - I would not know how to be a regular sibling. You know, it's always been nice to have someone that knows exactly what I'm going through. - It was definitely hard not to have my other half. - It's July, 1996. After three years of living apart, the twins have finally planned a summer trip together reuniting at their grandparents' house in California. They're really excited because it's the first time they have seen each other in over two years. - My sister and I never skipped a beat. - Laughing so hard that we were crying and I just couldn't believe that we were actually back together again. - However, things take a turn for the worse when Jennifer tries to call their father Craig to let him know they've arrived safely but no one is picking up the phone. They keep trying to call, but still no answer. After two days of not talking, the twins receive the news that their father has been found dead in his home, leaving behind a handwritten letter. He had been quietly struggling for years leaving his daughters asking themselves why he would do this. - I felt like I died that day. - The twins are in a state of shock. What was supposed to be only a two-week reunion turned into Jennifer suddenly moving in with Kristina, Celeste, and their new stepdad, Steven Beard, in Austin, Texas. At first, she had a hard time adjusting to the change but when she met Steve Beard, her new stepdad, he was surprisingly very welcoming and loving, showing a lot of attention to his new stepdaughter. - When I first met Steve he was just so sweet, which was a relief, you know, 'cause he was technically my stepdad. On Sundays, it was really special because Steve and I would always go to breakfast together. I was very grateful to have his relationship. - After years of living together, the new blended family–from the outside– appears to be living a happy life. The sisters have just started their senior year of high school and they, for once, have a stable father figure. Steven even formally adopted the twins giving them each a special family ring. - He had always wore his. - He just gave it to us after he adopted us and we thought it was the coolest thing. - I mean, I was definitely moved that he had this special ring made and I mean just the adoption alone, you know, I felt pretty connected to him. - But everything changes on October 2nd, 1999 at 2:30 a.m.. Jennifer is staying with her boyfriend while back at Steven's house, Kristina is asleep like any other night. When all of a sudden, Kristina's bedroom door swings open. - The lights turn on and my mom is running through the door saying, "Someone's at the door." And I'm like, "What is going on here?" I jump out of bed 'cause she's in a panic and I am on my way to that front door when I see these white flashing lights. - Kristina is in a state of shock not knowing who is outside or what they want so she runs to the phone and calls 911 in a panic. The girl tells them that there is someone banging on their front door and sirens are blaring outside with lights flashing all around their home. The 911 operator tells Kristina that the people outside are the police. Moments earlier, the dispatchers received this 911 call from someone else inside the house. - Kristina rushes to the front door to let the police inside. - I opened the front door and it's cops and they're like, "Is your dad home?" And I said, "Yeah, he's upstairs." - Kristina hurries to her stepfather's bedroom with the police as her mother frantically runs behind them. - The paramedics, they were already working on Steve by the time I- myself and the police officer got into the room. - This was a man who needed immediate medical attention and they needed to act quickly if he was gonna survive. - The paramedics try to stabilize Steve, but he's losing a lot of blood. While they scrambled to transport him to the hospital as quickly as possible, one of the police officers makes a shocking discovery: a shotgun shell on the ground next to his bed. - I'm like, "What? Are you telling me he was shot?" And they said ,”Yes.” And I just couldn't believe it. - Kristina calls her sister and tells her what is happening as Steve is airlifted to the nearest hospital. - I just couldn't believe what what he just said. I'm panicked. I'm definitely panicked. - Back at the Beard household the crime scene is blocked off as investigators conduct their initial walkthrough. It seems like someone went through a side door, which was left unlocked, and went up to Steve's bedroom to fatally shoot him. But before they can start investigating their theory, they need to take DNA a swabs of everything including all family members who could have been in the house at the time of the crime. Kristina, Jennifer, and their mom, Celeste. - So at that point, I'm shocked that, first off, Steve had been shot, but I wouldn't have even thought who could have done it. I was wondering if it was a burglar or random, but as soon as we walked out of the house, Celeste whispers to me, "If the police ask you who might've done this don't mention Tracey's name." - Why would Celeste say, “Don't mention Tracey's name?” - Tracey Tarlton. Six months before the night of the attack Celeste met 45-year-old Tracey. She was the manager of a local bookstore in Austin and had recently become close friends with Celeste. She would often get invited by the twin's mom for dinner and birthday parties and even attended their high school graduation. - They had this weird friendship. - I just remember thinking that this lady wants more from our mom than just a platonic relationship. - The twins are on their way to the hospital as they try to understand what's happening. They are confused because they were told by their mother not to mention Tracey, but that only raises suspicions in their mind. - I was thinking, maybe she's protecting Tracey because she thought it was Tracey. - After getting in the hospital and talking to the detectives they asked me, "Who do I believe shot my father?" And I said, "My mom doesn't want me to mention this, but I'm not supposed to say Tracey Tarlton. - Tracey Tarlton is investigated and her closeness to the Beard family makes her the prime suspect. But something is off. Without any clear motive, detectives have suspicions that someone else is involved. - There was no reason for Tracey to do this completely on her own. - Police quickly obtained a search warrant for Tracey Tarlton's house based on compelling evidence: a 20-gauge shotgun shell, the very bullet that had wounded Steven Beard. They then proceeded to Tracey Tarlton's home and knock on her front door. - Ms. Tarlton was asked if she owned a shotgun. She said "Yes." I asked if I could see it. She thought for a few minutes and she said, "Okay, you can see it." She gave us a Franchi 20-gauge shotgun. Had her name inscribed on the weapon itself. - Law enforcement take possession of the shotgun bringing it in for further analysis. Days go by and everyone is left waiting for news from the investigators until finally the detectives have the results. - And that shotgun turns out to be the shotgun from which the bullet that injured Mr. Beard was fired from. - October 8th, 1999, five days after the shooting of Steven Beard Tracey Tarlton is arrested and charged with attempted murder, but investigators are not satisfied. Tracey is refusing to talk about why she did this and they know there's more to this story than they have so far. Detectives continue to ask questions because they believe Tracey did not act alone and there might be someone else responsible who currently walks free, but she remains completely silent. Meanwhile, Steven is in the hospital, and after a painful few months of fighting with the twins by his side, Steve passes away from his injuries related to the shooting. - We loved Steve. He never wanted us to worry about anything. He just wanted us to be loved and enjoy our lives. - Coming from Washington state, losing my father, he filled that role for me that that I'll never forget. - As the sisters try to cope with their father's death, they're only left with pain and more questions than ever. Why would someone want to hurt him? Their mother, Celeste tries to be there for them and goes with the girls to prepare for the funeral and buy a casket for him. But the twins never expected what would happen next. - A lot of crying's going on. We just lost a loved one. - And while we were there, she purchased two pink caskets for Jen and I and she's like, "I'm gonna get these for you guys." - The confusing part to me was Celeste suggesting that 18-year-olds needed to pick out a casket. And in the back of my mind I thought, "Am I going in this casket soon?" - Local newspapers and television networks start publishing the story and everyone starts to worry that the real killer might still be walking free. But without any concrete evidence, the investigators are at a standstill. In the midst of it all, the twins notice their mom's behavior is becoming increasingly disturbing and erratic. - We're all crying and Celeste is just laughing. - She kind of had like these crazy eyes, kind of manic, very loud and emotional, but didn't really seem real. - But things reach a breaking point on February 16th, 2000 when no one could imagine what was in store for two young twins. - She then said, "Hey, why don't we all kill ourselves?" - And all of a sudden she pulls out a knife. - She's holding it like this and she goes to like kind of lunge. - She just stabs herself in the leg. - Blood starts gushing everywhere. - I was like, "What is happening?" - The twins call 911 in a panic begging for immediate medical attention for their mom. As the ambulance arrives, the paramedics rush to start working on Celeste, attempting to stop the bleeding from her leg. The girls are in a state of shock as their mom is quickly brought into an ambulance and driven to the closest hospital. Over the next weeks, while still in the hospital, Celeste continuously calls both sisters becoming more and more unhinged and disturbing. - And she's yelling and screaming at me over the phone. - Would go from normal to screaming back to normal. - That's when Kristina has an idea that will later give investigators the evidence they need to finally uncover Steve Beard's real murderer. - And then I thought, "Hey, you know what? I'm gonna start recording her conversations 'cause I wanna play them back to her. And she'll then hear like from my perspective what I'm hearing and think, 'Oh, that's awful. I can't believe I'd do that.'" - But then, just as Kristina is about to stop recording, Celeste exposes a crucial piece of evidence that will change the investigation forever. - She says, "I hired somebody to kill Tracey." I froze. It made it all real and it made it all unsafe. - The twins are terrified. Realizing that the pink coffins she bought, the recurring, bizarre and violent outbursts, the suspicious death of their father, and now her murder plot for Tracey are all leading to one thing: they will be next on her list. - Hearing that sealed it for me, like any sort of doubt that I ever had that Celeste was involved with our father's murder, I don't have any words. - And things get worse from here on. Their mom has been released from the hospital and now the twins are in more danger than ever. At that moment, Jennifer and Kristina's last chance to survive is to go into hiding and make sure their mom can't find them. - I cleared out my bank account for Kristina and I to go on the run and not have any trace. We stayed in motels. Everything we did, we did with cash. Celeste was trying to find us, every day trying to find us. All I kept replaying in my head was, "We are in danger." It was definitely terrifying like we're not coming home from this. - As Celeste is on the hunt for her daughters, the twins, armed with the taped conversations of their mother's threats, go to the police to obtain a family violence protective order which is granted. However, their suspicions of their mother's involvement in their stepdad's death can only be confirmed by one person, Tracey Tarlton. - This whole entire time Tracey was keeping her silence that she acted in this alone. - Tracey, who was in prison awaiting a trial for her role in Steve's murder, kept silent until March 2002 when she reads that the twins received a family violence protective order against their mother in the newspaper. In that moment, she breaks her silence and decides to cooperate with investigators revealing to detectives the truth behind her motive, what investigators have been waiting to hear since the night of the murder that she did not kill Steve on her own but in fact it was Celeste's plan all along. Now, with Tracey's crucial statement and the twins’ incriminating audio recordings, investigators finally have enough evidence to arrest Celeste for capital murder on March 28th, 2002. However, just because Celeste is arrested doesn't mean a jury will find her guilty. - I felt like if she doesn't go to jail I was gonna be living underground forever and I wasn't gonna feel safe until she was in jail. With her on the street, nobody's safe. - The twins begin to work with prosecutors, lawyers, and Tracey Tarlton, the woman who pulled the trigger, to take down their mother and ensure she never gets out of prison. February 3rd, 2003, the trial begins of Celeste Beard. In front of their own mother, the sisters need to take the stand. - I felt like I don't want to be in the same room with her. I was afraid. "Oh my gosh, how do I stay strong enough to not waver?" - Worst thing I've ever had to do in my life is see Celeste staring back at me when I had to sit on the stand and testify to everything that I knew she did. I was conflicted because she's my mom but I just wanted to make sure that Steve got justice. - The twins described that throughout all their lives their mom has had severe mental health problems causing violent outbursts and an overall traumatizing childhood. - Growing up, her emotions were all over the place. There was a lot of yelling and screaming and nasty phone calls. It seemed normal to us. - Jennifer reveals that when Celeste married 69-year-old retired TV executive and multimillionaire Steve Beard, it wasn't out of love, but it was to gain access to his large inheritance. - Did the defendant ever talk to you about her feelings about Steve Beard? - Yeah, she said she married Steve for money. - Did she tell you about what would happen if Steve Beard died? - Yeah, she would get it all. she would say, “Why won’t he die already?” -Did it appear that she was looking forward to that or? -Yes - Investigators uncover that after only six months of marriage, Celeste had spent over $500,000 of her husband's money, secretly buying all kinds of clothes, jewelry, and artwork. The twins even noticed that Celeste had put sleeping pills in Steve's food on multiple occasions and once he fell asleep, she would sneak out of the house. In February 1999, eight months before Steven Beard's murder, Celeste also had a psychotic breakdown, taking a gun, pointing it at her own head and threatening Kristina's life. Because of that incident, she had to be forcibly checked into the St. David’s Psychiatric Mental Hospital in Austin, Texas. And while staying at that psychiatric facility, that's when Celeste met Tracey Tarlton. Their mother quickly started to show her a lot of attention, spending time with her, and ultimately developing a close intimate relationship. After building all that trust, Celeste's real plan can be put into action. She could now manipulate Tracey. - She stressed to me that she wanted a sexual relationship with me, which I also wanted. - Celeste had been setting up Tracey saying, "Steve is abusive to me. He's so horrible." And Tracey believed that Celeste was really in trouble. - Celeste Beard, I don't think, think ever loved, maybe didn't even like Tracey Tarlton, but she was willing to engage in a lesbian relationship in order to get what she wanted. - I just saw this woman that I loved in a desperate situation, trying to find a way to survive this man. That's so awful. - Celeste said to Tracey, "I cannot live any longer with this abusive husband." But Steve wasn't abusive. - That's when, in front of the twins and the jury, Tracey described Celeste's plan for the murder of her husband. - You know, she said, "He's an old man, he's going to die soon. But not soon enough." She had a plan and she wanted me to shoot him with my shotgun. Show me where to enter the ground, where to park. And then we walked through how to exit my car where I would enter the house. How I would approach the bedroom. And I walked into the building. I saw him, and I hold up, and I shot him. - You shot him once? - I shot him once. - The courtroom stays quiet after the shocking revelation. Celeste coldly watches Tracey on the stand, shaking her head and even laughing occasionally, but her smile disappears when her own daughters walk up to the front of the courtroom and now have their turn of revealing one of the most incriminating pieces of evidence they have: the audio recording of her murder plot against Tracey, as well as her constant threats to the girls. - On the tapes, she was histrionic. It was difficult to think that any mother would talk to a child that way. - The trial went on for weeks. Until on March 19th, 2003, after deliberating for three days, the jurors finally come back with their answer. This will finally determine if Celeste will remain in prison for the murder of her husband, or if she will walk free to forever haunt the twins for their whole lives. - Before we bring the jury out, if there is anyone in the courtroom who feels that they may have an emotional outburst, I would ask that you please leave the courtroom at this time. Ms. Johnson, would you please stand? - Truly, we've been waiting for this for three years now. And so yeah, it's very emotional and you can't really know what 12 people that you've never met, what they're gonna do. - Madam Foreperson, please read the entire thing. - State versus Celeste Beard Johnson, verdict of the jury. Verdict form one, capital murder. We the jury, find the defendant, Celeste Beard Johnson, guilty of the offense of capital murder. - Well, I had a flood of emotions, you know. I wasn't expecting to get so worked up. She is our mom. And it's just like, she's going to jail for the rest of her life. - Finally, the sisters get justice for their father's murder. And to conclude the trial, Kristina bravely takes the stand once more but this time to directly speak to her mother and put an end to the fear she has been living with for over two years. - What did I ever do to you except love you? And that's just how you treated us like trash. You say we turned on you when you turned on us. You 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. Shame on you. - Celeste Beard is sentenced to two consecutive 40-year prison terms and she won't have the possibility of parole until she's 79 years old. The twins can finally breathe a sigh of relief, as now, they don't need to stay in hiding. They can live their lives to the fullest. After court is adjourned, Tracey asks to meet with the twins and apologizes to them directly for the pain she has caused the sisters. - I mean, that's not an easy thing to do. Sit in the room with the person that actually pulled the trigger. She said that she felt really guilty for killing our father and that she was really sorry. I remember that. - She thought she was agreeing to kill an evil man. I feel really bad for her. I could really relate with the fact that she was a victim here too. - The twins say that for them, this sincere moment of forgiveness helped them begin their long process of healing. Now, 20 years after the trial their sisterly bond only became stronger. - I have Kristina. Like Kristina's my strength. We don't live close to each other, but any chance we can get to go visit each other, we will. - The twins are now 42 years old. Jennifer has a good job, which she enjoys and spends her time focusing on her mental health. Kristina got married and is a loving mother of two children. She is proud to give her kids the life, attention, love, and nurturing she never received growing up. - Gonna be the mom that I wanted. They get to do life like I wished I got to. - Celeste never expected that her downfall would come from her own daughters, and even though it took years for Jennifer and Kristina to heal from the wounds created by their mom, they show that their love for each other is stronger than their mother's hatred. Living their best lives, spending quality time together with their loving families is their best revenge. They're living proof that even after tragedy, there's a life worth living.
