Celeste Beard Johnson Denied Parole Again: 5 Things to Know About the Killer Socialite
- She was convicted of conspiring to murder her millionaire husband, Steven Beard, in the early 2000s, using a female lover as the triggerman in a plot driven by greed and manipulation.
- Her latest parole denial came after the board cited her continued lack of remorse and failure to accept full responsibility for the 1999 slaying of the 68-year-old media heiress’s son-in-law.
- The case became a viral true-crime sensation after being featured in multiple documentaries, including "The Real Story with Maria Elena" and a Smithsonian Channel special.
- Beard's "celestial" defense—claiming she was a psychic who had visions of the murder—was rejected by the jury, who instead pointed to the $4 million life insurance policy she stood to collect.
- Her accomplice and former lover, Tracey Torme, was released from prison in 2017 and has since recanted key testimony, though prosecutors maintain Beard was the mastermind behind the hit.