Celeste Beard Johnson Denied Parole Again for 2024 Murder of Husband in Austin, Texas
AUSTIN, Texas (August 2024) — WHAT: Convicted murderer Celeste Beard Johnson, 58, was denied parole for the second time in her life sentence. WHERE: The decision was issued by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles from the state capital in Austin. WHEN: The denial was announced earlier this week, with a next scheduled review set for 2028. WHY: Johnson was found guilty in 2003 of orchestrating the 2001 murder of her husband, millionaire television producer Steven Beard, who was shot in his Austin home. She is currently serving a 99-year sentence at the state’s Lane Murray Unit near Gatesville. HOW: Evidence from the original trial revealed she manipulated a vulnerable admirer, her former lover Tracey Tarlton, into committing the crime. The parole board cited the brutality of the crime and her continued lack of remorse as grounds for the denial.