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0:52

I want to tell you about my podcast called pretend it's about real people pretending to be someone else.

0:58

I interview real con artists, snake oil salesman, fugitives, anyone living a lie.

1:05

I wasn't even invited inside a cult and it was one of the few journalists to interview the cult leader.

1:10

So

1:10

if

1:10

you're

1:10

a

1:10

fan

1:10

of

1:10

Southern

1:10

fried

1:10

true

1:10

crime,

1:10

you're

1:10

going

1:10

to

1:10

love,

1:10

pretend

1:10

search

1:10

for

1:10

pretend

1:10

wherever

1:10

you

1:10

listen

1:10

to

1:20

podcasts. Southern

1:21

fried true crime covers cases that are not suitable for young listeners.

1:25

And there may also be some explicit language used listener discretion is advised.

1:31

The

1:31

case

1:31

of

1:31

Celeste

1:31

beard

1:31

is

1:31

infamous

1:31

so

1:31

much

1:31

so

1:31

that

1:31

I've

1:31

resisted

1:31

covering

1:40

it. It's a ridiculously salacious case.

1:43

A woman marries a man twice her age and then is too impatient to wait for him to die.

1:51

Naturally.

1:51

It's

1:51

not

1:51

just

1:51

that

1:51

her

1:51

husband,

1:51

Steven

1:51

Beard

1:51

gets

1:51

lost

1:51

in

1:51

the

1:51

lurid

1:51

details

1:51

of

1:51

Celeste

1:51

tangled

1:59

web. So does she?

2:01

She is an empty vessel, devoid of empathy, of caring of anything, but greed over the years, Celeste was diagnosed with all sorts of psychiatric disorders.

2:14

No one could ever help her because she had behind a mask.

2:19

She doesn't fit into any female archetypical boxes, except of course that she's a black widow, a femme fatale.

2:28

She is a caricature of a woman, but she was shaped by life, her own childhood.

2:36

And then her early leap into adulthood.

2:39

The

2:39

more

2:39

I

2:39

read

2:39

about

2:39

her,

2:39

the

2:39

more

2:39

intrigued

2:39

I

2:44

became. If you watch any crime shows, they often only skim the surface of who she really is.

2:50

And often they might end to her lies.

2:54

Welcome

2:54

to

2:54

episode

2:54

1

2:54

35,

2:54

the

2:54

infamous

2:54

case

2:54

of

2:54

Celeste

3:06

beard. Part one At 3:00 AM on October 2nd, 1990 9, 74 year old, Texas millionaire, Steven Beard called 9 1, 1 panicked and bewildered.

3:21

He said, my guts blew out of my stomach.

3:25

He didn't know what happened.

3:28

Just that he was literally holding his intestines with his hands.

3:32

A

3:32

Travis

3:32

county,

3:32

deputy

3:32

who

3:32

was

3:32

the

3:32

closest

3:32

to

3:32

the

3:37

scene. It was an opulent mansion in the exclusive gardens of Westlake neighborhood, a gated community on Toro canyon road in Austin, Texas.

3:46

He

3:46

was

3:46

soon

3:46

joined

3:46

by

3:46

another

3:46

officer

3:46

and

3:46

the

3:46

captain

3:46

of

3:46

the

3:46

Westlake

3:46

fire

3:52

department. The man on the nine one, one call said his wife was in another part of the house and asked the dispatcher to call her the officers called into dispatch, but found no one had answered the phone.

4:05

And now no one was answering the doorbell or their frantic knocks, not wanting to wait.

4:12

The officers walked around the back of the massive home until they were on a small patio through French double doors.

4:19

They could see a large man holding a telephone receiver in one hand with his other hand, holding his stomach.

4:27

The

4:27

deputy

4:27

had

4:27

to

4:27

bust

4:27

through

4:27

the

4:27

glass

4:27

to

4:27

get

4:27

inside

4:27

Steve

4:27

Beard's

4:32

bedroom. When he asked what happened to you?

4:35

Steve said, I don't know.

4:38

I woke up this way.

4:39

Steve beard was a very large man and his wide abdomen looked to have been shredded.

4:45

He was quite literally holding his guts in.

4:50

Did

4:50

you

4:50

have

4:50

surgery

4:53

recently? Did you bust your stitches open?

4:55

The deputy asked no.

4:58

Steve insisted before paramedics even arrived on scene.

5:02

The deputy called star flight, Travis county's own LifeFlight emergency helicopter to get Steve beard to a hospital as quickly as possible.

5:11

His injury was grave.

5:14

His face was pale.

5:16

It was amazing.

5:17

He was still alive at all.

5:19

One

5:19

of

5:19

the

5:19

officers

5:19

made

5:19

their

5:19

way

5:19

through

5:19

the

5:19

house

5:19

so

5:19

they

5:19

could

5:19

get

5:19

opened

5:19

the

5:19

door

5:19

for

5:19

the

5:25

MTS. As he walked through the living room, he found a woman and a teen girl coming from the opposite wing of the house.

5:33

18 year old, Christina Beard had a woke into flashing blue lights.

5:37

Her mother Celeste had been sleeping in her room.

5:41

What's going on? She cried.

5:43

Her mother said someone's at the door and then shoved the frightened teenager into the hallway, telling her to go find out what was going on.

5:51

Christina ran into the guest room and called 9 1 1.

5:56

The operator told her it was the police at EMS at her door.

5:59

And that her father had called 9 1 1 as Celeste and Christina ran into the deputy.

6:06

He told them there was a medical emergency and asked if Steve had had surgery recently.

6:11

No, they both insisted.

6:13

Christina tried to comfort her mother who seemingly went into hysterics screaming.

6:19

Don't let my husband die.

6:21

And then the teenager bravely walked into the master bedroom to see her dad.

6:26

She couldn't get to her father, but she was able to look him in the eyes.

6:31

And he said, is your mother, all right?

6:33

She said, yes, we love you.

6:37

I love you.

6:38

Her mother was just fine.

6:40

She was now sitting on the porch, steps, smoking a cigarette as her teenage daughter cried and kept running in to check on her dad later, officers and MTS would give varying accounts of Celeste Beard's demeanor.

6:55

She was frantic.

6:56

She was calm.

6:58

She was upset and demanding.

7:00

She was crying.

7:02

She was crying, but there were no tears.

7:05

As one officer would later testify, her husband of 10 years was hanging on to life.

7:12

His injury was so grave that paramedics worked on him as they carried the stretcher out of the house, desperately applying gauze and tape, trying to hold in.

7:22

Steve's massive wound inside the master bedroom.

7:26

One of the deputies noticed a yellow shotgun shell on the floor and declared the room, a crime scene.

7:32

Christina and the other officers were cleared out of the room as the deputy called in crime scene.

7:37

Investigators on the porch steps with cigarette smoke billowing around her.

7:43

The first deputy who had been on the scene walked past Celeste.

7:47

As she said, this is perfect timing.

7:50

We were supposed to leave for Europe tomorrow.

7:53

I'm

7:53

going

7:53

to

7:53

pause

7:53

now

7:53

for

7:53

a

7:53

short

7:53

commercial

7:53

break

7:59

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8:05

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9:19

Austin. As the state capital of Texas, an inland city bordering the hill country region home to the university of Texas flagship campus.

9:28

Austin is known for its a collectic live music scene.

9:31

It's many beautiful lakes and parks and it's diverse mix of just under 1 million citizens.

9:38

Austinites are from all walks of life, college students, government workers, musicians.

9:44

And of course high-end tech workers that came with Dell technologies founded in 1984 by Michael Dell.

9:52

The company is the third largest personal computer vendor.

9:55

California has Silicon valley.

9:58

Austin has Silicon Hills.

10:00

The city's official slogan is the live music capital of the world, promoting its many musicians and live music venues as well as the long running PBS concert series, Austin city limits keep Austin weird campaign began in the year 2000 aimed at protecting small local businesses from the large corporations.

10:21

Moving in Austin has also long been known as the city of the violet crown because of the gorgeous, colorful lights glowing across the Hills.

10:31

After sunset Steven Beard Jr.

10:34

Moved with his wife to Austin in 1982, when he won a bid to found a new independent television station in the city in the days before Fox and way before digital and streaming services, there were the three big networks and in some cities, a local channel, Steve beard would make his new station called Bebo after the university of Texas football's beloved mascot, a huge success born in Dallas in 1924, Steve never had a relationship with his own father.

11:07

Steve Sr, at least as far as his own children ever knew, but he was close to his mother.

11:12

He floundered a bit after high school, majoring in marketing and advertising.

11:17

He eventually earned a chiropractic degree though.

11:21

He never practiced.

11:24

Instead. Uncle Sam came calling.

11:25

He joined the Navy in world war II and trained as a pilot and engineer.

11:30

After the war work, wasn't easy to find with so many soldiers returning to the workforce.

11:35

He landed a job as a shoe salesman and the Neiman Marcus department store in Dallas making $15 a week.

11:43

He would later consider this job.

11:47

His biggest lucky break as he met his future wife there, Elise Adams, who was a model for Neiman Marcus though, maybe an odd couple in appearance.

11:57

They were a very good match.

12:00

Steve was always wide shaped.

12:02

They're not as heavy then.

12:04

And Elise was petite and beautiful.

12:05

She may have been a knockout beauty, but she was also a tomboy.

12:10

She rode horses.

12:11

She loved to camp and fish and she matched.

12:14

Steve's never ending energy.

12:16

He soon got a job at Dallas's KRLD radio, a long time dream of his.

12:22

He literally worked his way up from sweeping the floors to becoming a top ad executive.

12:28

Soon he was producing TV commercials and was highly sought after in the industry.

12:33

He was stable, but always hungry for the next big opportunity.

12:37

S Steve climbed the corporate ladder.

12:40

Elise made a home and bought him three children starting in 1948 with Steven, the third daughter, Becky in 1950 and their youngest son, Paul in 1953, Steve was considered an old fashioned, Texas businessman.

12:55

His handshake meant everything and he built his fortune buying nice homes, cars, and everything for his family.

13:04

While also frugally saving.

13:06

He

13:06

was

13:06

in

13:06

his

13:06

late

13:09

fifties. When he won the Austin TV station bed, his children were grown.

13:13

He

13:13

and

13:13

Elise

13:13

moved

13:13

to

13:13

Austin

13:13

and

13:13

bought

13:13

a

13:13

home

13:13

on

13:13

Westlake

13:13

Hills

13:13

situated

13:13

on

13:13

one

13:13

of

13:13

many

13:13

of

13:13

Austin's

13:13

hillside

13:13

Bluffs

13:13

with

13:13

gorgeous

13:13

views

13:13

of

13:13

the

13:13

city

13:24

skyline. The couple lovingly renovated the home into a real showplace, almost 5,000 square feet, nicknamed Lexus land.

13:34

Steve and Elise had chosen one of the most beautiful and expensive neighborhoods in Austin with the kind of privacy only his kind of money could buy known as Austin's Hollywood Hills, Sandra Bullock and Matthew McConaughey own homes nearby.

13:50

They joined the Austin country club where at the time a membership cost $50,000.

13:56

Elise

13:56

beard

13:56

never

13:56

had

13:56

trouble

13:56

making

13:56

new

14:00

friends. She was as gregarious as her husband and soon she reveled in winning golf tournaments at the club and had a huge circle of friends, always athletic and young at heart.

14:12

She fit right in by then.

14:14

Steve had gained a lot of weight.

14:16

He loved to eat and drink, and it caught up with his body type, but at least didn't care.

14:22

And Steve didn't care either and joked about his own weight sing.

14:26

As long as Elise loved him, it didn't matter.

14:28

By 1986, Steve broker to deal to make his TV station a Fox affiliate.

14:34

He and Elise were happy in their chosen home city.

14:38

She bought him a dog, a sweet girl named Megan, the lab golden retriever mix followed Steve everywhere.

14:46

He went and slept at his feet at night.

14:48

Their sons had moved away, but Becky was close by in Dallas.

14:53

But

14:53

in

14:53

early

14:53

1993,

14:53

the

14:53

beards

14:53

charmed

14:53

life

14:53

came

14:53

to

14:53

an

15:00

end. When Elise became ill, she had a brain tumor.

15:03

She suffered terribly through chemo and radiation and Steve never left her side.

15:09

She was in remission by that summer.

15:12

And the couple took a cruise for their 45th wedding anniversary.

15:15

But

15:15

in

15:15

September,

15:15

her

15:15

cancer

15:15

was

15:15

back

15:15

and

15:15

it

15:15

spread

15:15

quickly

15:15

and

15:15

unmercifully

15:15

Elise

15:15

Adams

15:15

beard

15:15

died

15:15

the

15:15

next

15:15

month

15:15

on

15:15

October

15:15

13th,

15:15

1993,

15:15

Steve

15:15

was

15:15

almost

15:32

inconsolable.

15:32

He

15:32

was

15:32

a

15:32

depressed

15:32

man

15:32

admitting

15:32

to

15:32

a

15:32

friend

15:32

that

15:32

he

15:32

was

15:32

a

15:32

man

15:32

who

15:32

needed

15:32

to

15:32

be

15:39

married. Steve Baird was the kind of man who wanted to take care of someone and he had no taste for the wealthy older women who constantly hit on him.

15:49

Rich widows, looking for someone not out for their own money, seemed to come out of the woodwork for a man like Steve beard, but he wasn't interested.

15:59

Those women didn't need him.

16:02

He would soon meet one who did almost every night.

16:07

Steve ate dinner at the Austin country club alone.

16:10

He drank exactly two vodka martinis with dinner before he would quietly make his way home, home to his beautiful custom mansion.

16:20

All too quiet and dark without his beloved Elise.

16:24

One night he asked around the club, if anyone on the wait staff would be interested in being his house manager on top of losing the love of his life.

16:35

Steve didn't know how to take care of the home.

16:37

A-list at all that she took care of the home and he took care of her.

16:43

Now he was lost.

16:44

Maybe a housekeeper would help cheer up the gloominess of that big house and take care of his affairs.

16:51

A

16:51

30

16:51

year

16:51

old

16:51

waitress

16:51

named

16:51

Selise

16:51

Martinez

16:51

was

16:51

all

16:51

too

16:51

happy

16:51

to

16:51

take

16:51

him

16:51

up

16:51

on

16:51

the

16:59

offer.

16:59

I'm

16:59

going

16:59

to

16:59

pause

16:59

now

16:59

to

16:59

hear

16:59

a

16:59

word

16:59

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16:59

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19:35

The pretty young blonde who approached the lonely millionaire had come a long circuitous route to the Austin country club.

19:42

Celeste Marie Johnson was born on February 13th, 1963 in Los Angeles county.

19:49

She was adopted at birth by Edwin and Nancy Johnson.

19:54

The Johnson's had met late in life in Ohio, in their mid fifties.

19:59

After Edwin had left the air force, both were religious and rather stuffy.

20:04

So they seem to have some things in common.

20:07

They married and soon moved to Kimario.

20:11

California. Edwin opened a Volkswagen repair shop, and the couple started trying to have children, but into their fifties, Nancy kept having miscarriages and they soon knew that adoption was the only way they would have a family.

20:24

So they put the word out.

20:27

As Nancy later explained, this was before the pill and legalized abortion.

20:32

So there were so many infants who needed homes and lots of ways around adoption laws.

20:38

They

20:38

adopted

20:38

four

20:38

babies

20:38

in

20:38

four

20:38

years,

20:38

a

20:38

boy

20:38

named

20:38

Cole

20:38

then

20:38

Celeste

20:38

in

20:38

1963,

20:38

when

20:38

she

20:38

was

20:38

just

20:38

two

20:38

days

20:38

old,

20:38

her

20:38

sister

20:38

Currys

20:38

came

20:38

less

20:38

than

20:38

a

20:38

year

20:38

later

20:38

followed

20:38

by

20:38

the

20:38

youngest

20:38

Johnson

20:38

named

20:38

after

20:38

his

20:38

father

20:38

and

20:38

called

20:38

Eddie

20:38

on

20:38

the

20:57

outside. They seem to be the perfect traditional 1960s, family, hardworking father loving but strict homemaker mother and stair-step children on the inside.

21:09

Edwin had never come to terms with his own tragic upbringing.

21:13

His father had taken his own life after the accidental drowning of Ed's brother Nancy's upbringing is more obscure, but she did spend time in a psychiatric hospital.

21:24

When Cole was about five years old, he told author Katherine Casey, that he remembered his mother holding the children underwater in the bathtub.

21:32

She said she was rinsing their hair, but he remembered it as a frightening experience.

21:38

Whatever

21:38

really

21:41

happened. Nancy was checked into a psych ward.

21:43

She said she had a nervous breakdown brought on by diet pills and exhaustion with four kids under five years old, her exhaustion is understandable, but it wasn't just this incident that colored their lives.

21:58

All the Johnson kids attended a private Christian school, even though already the Johnson's struggled financially.

22:05

Things

22:05

only

22:05

grew

22:05

worse

22:05

when

22:05

Edmond's

22:05

business

22:09

failed. And he decided to go to college on the GI bill instead of finding work resentment boiled over as soon, Nancy was working two jobs to support the family of all the Johnson children.

22:22

Celeste was daddy's girl.

22:24

He adored her.

22:25

And so he seemed genuinely shocked and hurt.

22:29

When she later repeatedly accused him of molesting her Celeste was 11.

22:35

When her dad lost his business, she and her siblings all then enrolled in public school.

22:41

A girl who had once been a gifted student, began acting out anything for attention.

22:47

And it didn't take long for Nancy to kick ed out of the house.

22:51

Ed seemed to have been suffering some kind of breakdown himself.

22:55

He had begun calling himself Jedediah spouting a lot of biblical nonsense.

23:00

Celeste

23:00

siblings

23:00

would

23:00

later

23:00

agree

23:00

that

23:00

she

23:00

changed

23:00

in

23:00

middle

23:06

school. When her parents divorced, she had always been the family instigator, but now she became more violent with her brothers.

23:14

The Johnson's were also a waging, a brutal custody war for the kids.

23:18

Eventually the boys went to live with ed while Celeste and Carisse stayed with Nancy.

23:24

Celeste testified against her father about physical abuse, but not sexual, but still she said he stabbed her in the face, but then claimed the scar had already faded.

23:35

Once she was further questioned, friends and family were baffled at her testimony.

23:41

Nancy

23:41

later

23:41

said

23:41

the

23:41

cops

23:41

often

23:41

called

23:41

for

23:41

Celeste

23:41

violence,

23:41

including

23:41

putting

23:41

her

23:41

fist

23:41

through

23:41

a

23:49

window. She was given community service in order to go to counseling.

23:53

But by then, Nancy claimed she was already taking her daughter to psychiatrists who couldn't figure out what was going on with angry teen by high school, Celeste was a knockout, tall, long legged with blond Farrah Fawcett, hair and vivid blue eyes.

24:10

She was very popular with the boys and despite her behavior issues, she did well in school.

24:16

She was on the varsity swim team, as well as the debate team, but still she was known as a wild child.

24:23

And as soon as she got her driver's license, she tore down her neighborhood streets at breakneck speeds and our families VW bug.

24:30

And though she dressed very conservatively, probably her mother's doing, she was already quite the femme fatale, not merely promiscuous.

24:39

She was purposely provocative.

24:41

Other girls hated her, but the boys boy did.

24:46

They love her when she was 15 years old, she met a 17 year old guy named Craig Bratcher in a bar by then Celeste has started skipping school.

24:56

She smoked pot, hung out at the beach and basically did whatever she pleased.

25:01

So she and Craig moved in together.

25:04

And by the time she was 17, Celeste was pregnant with twins.

25:08

And what would become a habit?

25:10

Celeste began lying about her health.

25:13

She told her friend that it was a miracle that she had become pregnant.

25:16

A doctor had supposedly said she couldn't Celeste would also later claimed that Craig didn't want the babies and punched her in the stomach, trying to make her miscarry.

25:26

She accused him of all kinds of abuse, but on December 6th, 1980, when Celeste was seven months pregnant, she married Craig Bratcher and a small home ceremony though.

25:38

She had been advised to go on bed rest.

25:40

She refused and gave birth to her twins two months early on February 6th, 1981, Christina in and Jennifer Lynn weighing less than three pounds spent three months in the hospital, beginning on respirators to help them breathe.

25:55

Once they came home, the young couple struggled, often living with friends and their fights became epic.

26:02

Craig would later admit to being an alcoholic that said Celeste was violent.

26:07

She threw things and would often intentionally hurt herself and then blame him.

26:12

He also said she frequently took off and left him with the babies, but she always came back blaming her behavior on her childhood sexual abuse.

26:21

She had now started claiming that her father raped her.

26:24

And one of her brothers molested her Craig always feeling sorry for her would take her back when she didn't want to have sex, he was frustrated, but understood later in life, Celeste would insist.

26:37

Craig had been a very abusive man who stalked her and raped her.

26:41

He to having a temper and there was a police report.

26:45

And then a restraining order.

26:47

When he found her in bed with a neighbor, he saw them through a window and a gun at them and then broke the window.

26:53

He spent four months in jail for brandishing a firearm.

26:56

It came as no surprise when the young couple divorced in may of 1982, just 18 months after marrying, when the twins were barely over a year old after their divorce, Celeste often left the babies with Craig and would take off.

27:11

She moved in with a friend briefly with the babies, but her friends soon became tired of being taken advantage of.

27:18

And Celeste also had become weirdly possessive.

27:21

When the friend moved out, Celeste called the cops, accusing her of stealing her purse.

27:26

The purse was found on the side of the road, but it was just another link in the chain of lies.

27:32

Celeste would tell about the people in her life, more interested in partying.

27:37

She gave up Christina and Jennifer to foster care.

27:40

It is fair to say that she was an incredibly young mother and one without much of a support system though.

27:48

She and her mother would later collect in her own life.

27:51

Nancy was never in the twins lives.

27:53

In fact, Celeste told them she was dead at one point.

27:57

She and Craig reunited briefly long enough for her to regain custody of the twins.

28:02

Her father ed even came to live with them to help out with a young couple, which seems odd.

28:09

Since she later said, she told Craig he had raped her, whether or not that was true.

28:14

Ed had gotten his life together.

28:16

And as a father who had been overwhelmed with four young children, he sympathized with the couple until he stayed out late one night.

28:23

And the next day discovered Celeste had called the cops on him.

28:27

She again accused him of sexually abusing her, but Edwin Johnson insisted on his innocence to the point of taking a lie detector test in 1985, he passed and was never charged with any abuse.

28:41

After that, her siblings never really believed her stories.

28:45

They didn't know their father as anything but passive.

28:48

It was their mother who was controlling and abusive, suffice it to say Celeste childhood is still somewhat of a mystery for siblings and mother spoke to author.

28:59

Katherine Casey usually disputing everything.

29:02

Celeste had claimed.

29:03

Although her mother wouldn't outright deny the sexual abuse allegations.

29:07

What

29:07

is

29:07

painfully

29:07

obvious

29:07

is

29:07

Celeste

29:07

problems

29:07

with

29:07

motherhood,

29:07

both

29:07

with

29:07

her

29:07

own

29:07

mother

29:07

and

29:07

with

29:07

her

29:16

twins. She never had the chance to connect with her birth mother as a child.

29:20

And while Nancy and ed adopted her at two days old, Nancy was never considered a nurturing woman.

29:29

Nevermind. The bathtub incident, Nancy was just not motherly.

29:32

She was not affectionate later.

29:36

Celeste sown daughters would say the same thing about their mother maybe was because they spent the first three months of their lives in the hospital, Celeste at and hold her babies for a while and missed a maternal connection.

29:48

That is crucial.

29:50

Not only was she a teenaged mother, she had difficulty forming an attachment to the girls.

29:55

She often left them with friends supposedly for an afternoon and then would disappear for days.

30:02

Neighbors often called child services on Celeste.

30:06

The babies were neglected, often found dirty and hungry.

30:10

Jennifer would later say some of her earliest memories of being with Celeste or of always being hungry.

30:18

I'm

30:18

going

30:18

to

30:18

pause

30:18

now

30:18

to

30:18

hear

30:18

a

30:18

final

30:18

word

30:18

from

30:18

today's

30:22

sponsors. Today's episode is brought to you by better help.

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the next few years? Celeste would remarry twice, once to an air force.

33:08

Man named Harold Wolfe. He treated her and the twins well, helping her regain custody when they married because the state had taken them away.

33:17

Again, he would later say that all those Celeste could seem very sexual.

33:21

She never really actually seemed to enjoy sex.

33:25

She treated it like a chore.

33:28

And when Harold would get frustrated about their sex life, she would tearfully explain that she had been sexually abused by her father and brother and Harold felt sorry for her.

33:38

Of course he did.

33:39

Andy loved her, but life with Celeste was unbearable.

33:43

She picked fights and then would scream abuse, and then beg her way back into Harold's heart.

33:50

After a particularly ugly fight was less had threatened suicide.

33:55

She willingly checked into the psychiatric ward of the hospital on the base where he worked.

34:00

She was diagnosed with depression and put on medication.

34:03

She seemed to try for a while, but then Harold got a transfer to Okinawa and she had a fit.

34:11

When she was told she couldn't go with him because she had been on the psych ward.

34:14

She called his superiors furiously until they withdrew the transfer.

34:19

Her all learned his lesson.

34:21

After a couple of years of fights, threats of suicide and Celeste almost ruining his career.

34:26

He felt lucky to be given a second chance when he was transferred to Iceland, though, he felt bad about leaving the twins.

34:34

And then he came back and found out he was $60,000 in debt and that was it.

34:41

But Celeste was already onto her next husband.

34:44

Jimmy Martinez from the beginning, they had an intense attraction.

34:49

His money didn't hurt either.

34:52

Celeste always moved up the food chain with each husband.

34:55

Jimmy worked as a manager for security management firm.

34:59

When he was transferred to Austin, Texas, the twins were 11 and were left alone to pack up the house.

35:06

By now, Celeste and Craig had been fighting for custody.

35:10

Craig could see what she was doing to his daughters and it killed him this time he won, but Celeste had started to get into young Christina's head.

35:20

Christina had always felt responsible for her mother Celeste now told her she was her favorite daughter and she couldn't live without her.

35:28

When the girls went to visit their father for two weeks before custody was even settled, Celeste flew into Washington, trying to scoop them up.

35:37

Jennifer refused that Christina went with her mother for the first time.

35:43

The girls were separated.

35:44

Once custody was finalized, Celeste was ordered by a judge to send Christina back to Craig, put Christina torn by her mother's guilt trips refused to board a connecting flight and flew back to her mother.

35:58

Jennifer was despondent.

36:00

Craig was also heartbroken, but he refused to force Christina.

36:06

Instead. He and Jennifer made a life together in Washington state.

36:10

Meanwhile, Celeste and Jimmy set up house in Austin and fell into Celeste usual pattern of turmoil.

36:17

And then Celeste was called back to Arizona to face charges of fraud.

36:22

She had ruined so many lives in Arizona, including that of a couple who had even taken custody of the girls for a while.

36:30

She had robbed their house and then told them to pad the insurance claim.

36:35

Even the police were suspicious that it was someone who knew the couple.

36:39

They didn't want to believe it was the young mother.

36:42

And then Celeste got pissed at them and accused the husband of sexually assaulting.

36:46

Her Celeste had learned from an early age that sexual assault allegations were taken very seriously.

36:53

But by this time, her own lies and schemes caught up to her.

36:58

The couple Lou and Gary Thompson knew that Celeste had torched her own Ford Taurus car and the desert, and then filed a false insurance claim.

37:07

It was how she had talked them into falling their own false claims.

37:11

She had made it seem so easy.

37:13

After the assault allegation, they turned her in for everything.

37:17

The assault charge was dropped, but because the Thompsons had admitted to insurance fraud, Phoenix police refused to charge her with a burglary of their house.

37:27

However, they did find her Taurus in the desert.

37:30

So after Celeste had settled in Austin, this was the fraud charge.

37:35

She was called back to Phoenix to face.

37:37

She managed to get a sympathetic judge who just gave her probation and told her to pay $20,000 in fines.

37:44

After she promised that she lived in Austin.

37:47

Now his court would never see her again.

37:50

She was now Texas has problem.

37:52

She sure was.

37:54

And it wasn't long before Jimmy Martinez caught her ruining his credit as well.

37:59

She had charged tens of thousands of dollars in their names.

38:03

He tried calling credit card companies and explaining it wasn't his debt, but she was his legal wife.

38:09

So her debts were his.

38:11

He did try to work things out with Celeste, but she always took off taking Christina with her.

38:18

They were back and forth for quite a while.

38:20

As with Harold, she agreed to see a psychiatrist.

38:23

She had stabbed herself in the wrist with scissors, another suicide threat.

38:28

She again was put on medication for depression, but it didn't last.

38:33

She Jimmy of domestic abuse and he spent a night in jail though.

38:38

She had the charges dropped.

38:39

She and Jimmy had an explosive relationship.

38:42

Unlike her other two husbands.

38:45

She did actually enjoy sex with Jimmy.

38:48

So they did the push and pull for a while until Celeste got a job at the Austin country club in the fall of 1994, within weeks, she had met Steve beard.

38:59

She took the job as house manager, essentially a housekeeper, but soon it was obvious.

39:05

Celeste didn't know how to take care of a house.

39:08

More like she didn't want to, but she couldn't cook.

39:12

She didn't clean.

39:13

And she sent out all his laundry to be washed and secretly hired maids, but it didn't take her long to win Steve over.

39:20

He began taking her out socially and she would even openly joke to his friends that she was his housekeeper, except she couldn't cook.

39:29

Didn't like to clean and didn't know how to iron Steve's friends laughed, politely, inwardly worried for their friend, but no one wanted to tell him that this woman almost half his age didn't seem right to be fair.

39:44

Steve seemed happy again.

39:46

Celeste was the bomb he needed to see with his grief.

39:49

Most of his friends thought this was a dalliance that it wouldn't last, that there was no need to worry privately.

39:57

She was laughingly blunt.

39:59

When Christina asked her why she was with Steve after all she had liked, Jimmy Celeste told her Steve's rich Steve's kids didn't hear much about her.

40:11

At first, Becky was the first to meet her Celeste claimed that she had a degree in accounting from Pepperdine university, but that she had gotten bored with that career.

40:20

Becky was suspicious of Celese motives from the very beginning, even Craig Bratcher who, when he called to talk to Christina once tried to warn Steve, but Steve wouldn't listen and Celeste did seem to have his best interests at heart.

40:36

When Steve's doctor became worried about his blood pressure and asthma, he ran some tests and found that Steve's heart was enlarged.

40:43

He was at risk of a heart attack.

40:46

Celeste cheerfully put Steve on a diet and started walking with him.

40:50

He quickly dropped 50 pounds of his over 300 pound frame.

40:54

And it wasn't just Celeste.

40:57

Steve was coming to really love Christina.

40:59

His own children were grown that he had loved being a dad.

41:04

This felt like a whole new lease on life.

41:07

A lovely young and fun new wife and a teenage daughter, a new daughter who desperately needed a father.

41:14

Christina had bounced from man to man with Celeste.

41:17

She loved her dad, but had always chosen to live with Celeste to her own detriment.

41:23

She had learned never to get too close to anyone because they probably wouldn't be around for long, but Steve won her over.

41:31

He helped her with her homework.

41:32

Talk to her all the time, drove her to school in the morning.

41:37

Celeste slept in, it may have been the allure of a new family.

41:41

Even more than the seductiveness of Celeste that really won Steve over.

41:46

He built a house on the south shore of lake Travis and soon he and Celeste were engaged.

41:52

His children were really worried.

41:55

They even called and got the advice of a close friend, a judge in Dallas named Harold ENTs about whether or not they might, should try and get power of attorney.

42:04

He pointed out that Steve was a smart man and they had to trust that he knew what he was doing.

42:10

They all agreed, but with trepidation and Steve was no fool.

42:15

He had a prenuptial agreement drawn up at the time.

42:18

His net worth was almost $12 million.

42:22

Steve would retain ownership of his home and lake house.

42:25

If they stayed married for three years and Celeste would be entitled to a one-time payment of $500,000.

42:30

If

42:30

she

42:30

stayed

42:30

with

42:30

him

42:30

until

42:30

he

42:30

died,

42:30

he

42:30

would

42:30

double

42:30

that

42:30

to

42:30

1

42:30

million

42:30

considering

42:30

his

42:38

fortune. That was fair to Steve.

42:40

And it was more than fair to a hustler like Celeste, more money than she had ever had in her life.

42:47

On February 18th, 1990 5, 32 year old Celeste married 70 year old Steve in a civil ceremony that took place in the main dining room and the Austin country club where Celeste had once waited tables with no friends of her own.

43:03

Her maid of honor was a woman who was married to an attorney friend of Steve's.

43:07

This woman had been friends with Elise to many thought it was odd.

43:12

And I wonder why she didn't just have Christina stand up with her later.

43:17

Celeste would tend to befriend people who were not in the same social class as her, at least the new Celeste beard.

43:24

It was people who worked for her like her hairstylist and manicurist.

43:28

She felt more comfortable with them.

43:31

Becky was Steve's only child to attend the wedding.

43:34

Paul had joined the Navy like his father and was out on a ship.

43:38

Steve, the third evidently just chose not to come.

43:42

So Becky watched with a sinking heart.

43:45

She wanted her father to be happy.

43:47

The age difference. Wasn't really the problem.

43:50

Celeste Martinez just seemed fake to her friends, whispered about this flashy, new wife privately, but clapped Steve on the back jovially to his face.

44:01

And after honeymooning in new Orleans, the couple settled into a routine that month in March, 1995, before they were even married for 30 days, Christina saw her mother crush pills and put them into Steve's food.

44:17

Steve, a great cook, always made dinner, but Celeste set the table and served.

44:24

When Christina asked her what she put in his food Celeste told her it was sleeping pills.

44:29

I can't being here with that theft, fuck this way.

44:33

He'll have a couple of drinks and pass out and then I can go out.

44:37

And this became their routine.

44:39

Austin might be a big city, but it was a small town in elite circles.

44:44

Soon Steve's friends got word of Celeste partying at night, but no one would tell him no one wanted to hurt him.

44:52

Much less risk his friendship.

44:54

Steve was a good man and a good friend, and it hurt his friends to keep quiet.

45:01

But at this point they were more worried.

45:04

He would cut them out of his life.

45:05

And then it started Celeste bullshit with money, never took too long.

45:12

Steve was outraged to find out that their checking account was overdrawn.

45:17

No matter what he gave her credit cards, jewelry cars, it was never enough suspicious.

45:24

He went to check his safe deposit box.

45:27

Sure enough Elisa's jewelry was missing his friend at the bank who always handled his affairs, looked into it.

45:35

Celeste had been in the box twice that may barely three months married and she was stealing his dead wife's jewelry.

45:42

He threw Celeste out of the house and hired a divorce lawyer.

45:46

He brought their prenup to the first meeting with Celeste.

45:49

She was distraught and wrote him a letter explaining about her debt and Arizona of $20,000 and said she was desperate.

45:58

She explained that she pawned the jewelry to help pay it down and gave him the pond tickets.

46:03

And then she promised to get help.

46:06

It was the same thing she had done with her other husbands.

46:10

She always promised, but never followed through.

46:13

But this time she did check herself in for psychiatric treatment.

46:17

She was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder.

46:21

She promised to stay in therapy and take medication.

46:25

The Steve still filed for divorce right after she got out of the hospital in June.

46:30

But by August he had taken her back just like all the men before him, maybe he was embarrassed.

46:39

He had to know people had whispered about his young wife.

46:42

So maybe it was pride and maybe he didn't want to lose Christina.

46:47

Once he got all of Alisa's jewelry, back from the pawn shops, he also paid off Celeste insurance, fraud, debt, and withdrew his petition for divorce.

46:58

And now Celeste had learned a lesson.

47:01

Steve was no fool.

47:03

She might've wiggled her way back in this time.

47:07

But she realized that not only did she have to be careful, she needed to renegotiate.

47:12

Her first order of business was to get him to sell his home.

47:16

It was the house he and Elise had bought.

47:19

When they first came to Austin, the house, they had painstakingly remodeled and carefully decorated with all their souvenirs from traveling around the world.

47:28

But if Celeste could talk him into buying a new house, it would be community property, half hers, no matter what Steve, a thoughtful men realized that Celeste may have seen his home as Elisa's home.

47:43

He put aside his own feelings and put the house up for sale.

47:48

He sold it to a man named Richard apple, a DC newspaper man who was coming to Austin to take over as editor of the Austin American statesman, the city's daily paper, keep Richard Apple's name in your back pocket.

48:02

It will be important later.

48:04

Steve Celeste and Christina now moved into the small lake house, along with his faithful dog, Megan and Sully's spaniel.

48:14

Nikki. The house wouldn't seem that small to us, a nice three bedroom, two bath, but it was quite a downsize for them, but it would do as Steve plan to take over all the planning of their new home.

48:26

He wanted to model it.

48:28

After Frank Lloyd Wright's famous, falling water, a mansion built over a waterfall.

48:34

Steve found an architect and they made fast friends, which was good because Steve proved to be more than hands-on.

48:41

Even after the design was complete.

48:44

Steve was there for almost everyday of its construction and Celeste was working her magic in early 1996, Steve met with his lawyer and drew up a new marital agreement.

48:56

When he died, Celeste would now get $1 million as well as half interest in the lake house and half interest in the new mansion.

49:04

They were building on Toro canyon road.

49:06

As Celeste went on shopping sprees.

49:09

During the day, Steve threw himself into building their dream home.

49:13

He had never really been satisfied with retirement.

49:16

He had been a hardworking man all his life.

49:19

Now he had a new purpose, a new dream, whatever reservations he had, he kept to himself and Celeste began ramping up.

49:30

The second part of her plan.

49:31

She had no intention of just waiting out the three years for only half a million.

49:36

Remember she only got 1 million.

49:39

If she stayed married to him until he died.

49:41

She in Steve always had a nightly ritual of cocktails.

49:45

They were both vodka drinkers.

49:48

The Celeste insisted on top shelf Stoli for herself.

49:52

While Steve bought himself the cheap stuff, a brand called Wolf Schmidt normally used as a well vodka by bartenders.

49:59

Now she started pouring out his Wolf Schmidt and replacing it with Everclear pure grain alcohol instead of his normal two drinks of 80 proof martinis.

50:10

Now he was drinking 190 proof unknowingly.

50:14

It wasn't just to make Steve pass out quicker.

50:18

She was well aware of his age and heart issues.

50:21

After all she had lovingly put him on a diet when they were still dating on his doctor's orders.

50:27

When Steve's blood pressure and enlarged heart had made his doctor worry, laughing.

50:33

She told her friends all about his Everclear cocktails.

50:37

She called them the graveyard Southern fraud, true crime is written, hosted and produced by me.

50:47

Erica Kelly today's episode was researched by the one and only Halley gray Southern Fred's original music is by Rob Harrison of gamma radio.

50:54

And the original graphic art is by Coley Horner friends.

50:57

I hate to do this again, but I am splitting this case into two episodes.

51:01

They say everything is bigger in Texas.

51:03

And it seems like every time I have to do a two parter, it's a Texas case.

51:07

So I guess they're right. I'll be back after Thanksgiving with part two.

51:11

I really appreciate you sticking with me.

51:13

Please submit case suggestions to Southern Fred true [email protected].

51:16

I do not accept suggestions on social media and I apologize if I'm unable to answer your email, I get dozens of suggestions a week and it takes time to go through and check out each case.

51:27

I will definitely contact you if I plan to use the case.

51:30

You submit. Thank you all so much for sending in these suggestions.

51:33

I truly get my most interesting cases from listener suggestions.

51:37

So keep them coming and don't forget to come find our Facebook group search for Southern fried true crime fans discussion group.

51:43

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51:48

Our group is a safe and fun corner of Facebook.

51:51

And by God, we mean it. When we say no shit, us is allowed.

51:54

It's not just a motto. It is how we run the group.

51:57

If you enjoy today's show, don't forget to subscribe and please tell a friend or rate and review on iTunes.

52:01

I'm also on most large platforms like iHeart, Stitcher, and Spotify, as well as Stitcher premium, where you can listen ad free until next time.

52:10

Thanks so much for listening.

52:12

Y'all take care While

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pretending to be someone else. I

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interview real con artist,

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living a lie. I was even invited

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inside a cult and was one of the few journalists

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74 you're a fan of Southern Fried True Crime,

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you're gonna love pretend. Search

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for pretend wherever you listen

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to podcasts. Southern

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Fried True Crime covers cases that are

1:24

not suitable for young listeners. there

1:26

may also be some explicit language

1:28

used. Listener discretion

1:31

is advised. The

1:35

case of Celeste BeardWritten 74, so

1:38

much so that I've resisted covering

1:40

it. It's a ridiculously

1:43

salacious case. 3am

1:45

woman marries a man twice her age

1:48

1999 then is too impatient to

1:50

wait for him to die naturally. It's

1:53

not just that her husband, Steven

1:55

Beard, gets lost in the lurid

1:57

details of Celeste's tangled web.

2:00

So does she? She

2:03

is an empty vessel, devoid

2:05

of empathy, of caring, of

2:07

anything but greed. Over

2:10

the years, Celeste was diagnosed

2:13

with all sorts of psychiatric disorders.

2:16

No one could ever help her because

2:18

she hid behind a mask. She

2:20

doesn't fit into any female archetypical

2:23

boxes except,

2:25

of course, that she's a black widow,

2:28

a 74 Patel. She

2:30

is a caricature of a woman, but

2:34

she was shaped by life, her

2:36

own childhood. And then her

2:38

early leap into adulthood. The

2:41

more I read about her, the more

2:43

intrigued I became, If

2:45

you watch any crime shows, they

2:48

often only skim the surface of

2:50

who she really is, and

2:52

74, they bite into her

2:54

lies. Welcome

3:02

to episode one thirty 74. The

3:04

infamous case of Celeste BeardWritten

3:07

one. At

3:12

three AM on October second nineteen

3:14

ninety nine. Seventy four year old

3:16

Texas millionaire Steven Beard called

3:19

nine 1. Panic

3:21

and bewildered, he said. My

3:24

guts blew out of stomach. He

3:27

didn't know what happened, just that

3:29

he was literally holding his intestines

3:32

with his hands. 3am

3:35

County deputy was the closest to the scene.

3:38

It was an opulent mansion in the

3:40

exclusive Gardens of Westlake

3:42

neighborhood. 3am gated community

3:45

on Toro Canyon Road in Austin,

3:47

Texas. He

3:49

was soon joined by another officer and

3:51

the captain of the Westlake Fire Department.

3:54

The man on the nine eleven call said his

3:56

wife was in another part of the house and

3:58

asked the dispatcher to call her.

4:02

The officers called 2 dispatch, but

4:04

found no one had answered the 74. And

4:06

now, no one was answering the doorbell

4:09

or their frantic knocks. Not

4:12

wanting to wait. The officers walked

4:14

around the back of the massive home until they

4:16

were on a small patio. Through

4:19

French double doors, they could see a

4:21

large man holding telephone

4:23

receiver in one hand, with

4:25

his other hand holding his stomach.

4:29

The deputy had to bust through the glass to get

4:31

inside Steve Beard's bedroom. When

4:34

he asked, what happened to you?

4:36

Steve said, I don't know. I

4:38

woke up this way. Steve

4:41

Beard was a very large man 1999

4:43

his wide abdomen looked to have

4:45

been shredded. He was

4:48

quite literally holding his guts

4:50

in. Did

4:53

you have surgery recently? Didnt

4:55

you bust your stitches open? The deputy

4:57

asked, now Steve insisted.

5:00

Before paramedics even arrived on scene,

5:03

The deputy called 74, Travis

5:05

County's own 74 flight emergency helicopter

5:08

to get Steve Beard to a hospital as

5:11

quickly as possible. His

5:13

injury was grave. His

5:15

face was pale. It was

5:17

amazing he was still alive at all.

5:21

One of the officers made their way through

5:23

the house so they could get 1999 the door

5:25

for the EMTs. As

5:27

he walked through the living room, he found

5:29

a woman and a teen girl coming

5:32

from the opposite wing of the house. Eighteen

5:35

year old Christina Beard had a walk into flashing

5:37

blue lights. Her mother, Celeste,

5:40

had been sleeping in her room. What's

5:42

going on? She cried. Her

5:44

mother said 1 at the door 1999

5:47

then shoved the frightened teenager into

5:49

the hallway. Telling her to go find out

5:51

what was going on. Christina

5:54

ran into the guest room and called nine 1. 1. The operator told her it was the police at EMS at her

5:56

The operator told her it was the police in

5:59

EMS at her door 1999 that

6:01

her father had called nine eleven. SLS

6:05

and Christina ran into the deputy. He

6:07

told them there was a medical emergency and

6:09

asked if Steven had surgery recently. No.

6:13

They both insisted. Christina

6:15

tried to comfort her mother who seemingly

6:17

went into hysterics screaming. Don't

6:20

let my husband die. And

6:22

then the teenager, bravely walked

6:24

into the master bedroom to see her dad.

6:27

She couldn't get to her 74. But

6:29

she was able to look him in the eyes.

6:31

And he said, is your mother alright?

6:35

She said yes. We love

6:37

you. I love you. Her

6:40

mother was just fine. She

6:42

was now sitting on the porch steps, smoking

6:44

a cigarette. As her teenage daughter

6:46

cried and kept running in to check on her

6:48

dad. Later,

6:51

officers and EMTs would give

6:53

varying accounts aceleste demeanor.

6:56

She was frantic. She was calm.

6:59

She was upset and demanding. She

7:02

was crying. She was

7:04

crying, but there were no tears as

7:06

one officer would later testify. Her

7:09

husband of ten years was hanging

7:12

2 life. His

7:14

injury was so grave that paramedics worked

7:16

on him as they carried the stretcher out of

7:18

the house, desperately applying gauze

7:20

and tape. Trying to hold in Steve's

7:23

massive wound. Inside

7:25

the master bedroom, one of the deputies

7:27

noticed a yellow shotgun show on the

7:29

floor. And declared the room a crime

7:32

scene. Christina 1999

7:34

the other officers were cleared out of the room

7:36

as the deputy called in crime scene investigators.

7:40

On the porch steps with cigarette smoke

7:42

billowing around her, the first

7:44

deputy who had been on the scene walked

7:47

past Celeste, as she said,

7:49

this is perfect timing. We were

7:51

supposed to leave for Europe tomorrow. I'm

7:55

going to pause now for short commercial break.

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Austin is the state capital of Texas,

9:22

1999 inland city, bordering the

9:24

hill country region. Home

9:26

to the University of Texas flagship campus.

9:29

Austin is known for its eclectic live

9:31

music scene, its many beautiful lakes

9:33

and parks. And its diverse mix

9:36

of just under one million citizens. citizens. Austinites are from all walks of life, college students, government workers,

9:39

Austin nights are from all walks of life,

9:41

college students, government workers, musicians,

9:45

and of course, high end tech workers

9:47

that came with Dell Technologies. Founded

9:50

in nineteen eighty four by Michael Dell,

9:52

The company is the third largest personal

9:54

computer vendor. California

9:57

has Silicon Coley. Austin

9:59

has Silicon Hills. The

10:01

city's official slogan is the live music

10:04

capital of the world, promoting its

10:06

many musicians and live music venues.

10:09

As well as the long running PBS concert

10:11

series, Austin City Limits. A

10:14

key, Austin, weird campaign began

10:16

in the year two thousand. Aimed at

10:18

protecting small local businesses from

10:20

the large corporations moving in.

10:23

Austin has also long been known

10:25

as the city of the Violet Crown. Because

10:28

of the gorgeous 74 lights glowing

10:30

across the hills after sunset. Steven

10:34

Beard Junior moved with his wife to

10:36

Austin in nineteen eighty 2, when

10:38

he won a bid to found a new independent

10:41

television station in the city. In

10:43

the days before Fox, and way

10:46

before digital and streaming services. There

10:48

were the three big networks 1999 in some

10:50

cities, a local channel. Steve

10:53

BeardWritten make his new station called

10:55

Beboe 74 the University of

10:57

Texas football's beloved mascot,

11:00

a huge success. Borne

11:02

in Dallas in nineteen twenty four,

11:05

Steve never had a relationship with his own father,

11:07

Steve senior, at least as far as

11:10

his own children ever knew. But he

11:12

was close to his mother. He

11:14

floundered a bit after high school, majoring

11:16

in marketing and advertising. He

11:19

eventually earned a chiropractic degree,

11:21

though he never practiced. Instead,

11:24

Uncle Sam came calling. He

11:27

joined the Navy World War two and

11:29

trained as a pilot and engineer. After

11:31

the war, work wasn't easy to find

11:34

with so many soldiers returning to the workforce.

11:37

He landed a job as a shoe salesman

11:39

in the Neiman Marcus department store in Dallas,

11:42

making fifteen dollars a week. He

11:45

would later consider this job his

11:47

biggest lucky break as he

11:50

met his future wife there, Elise

11:52

Adams, who is a model for Neiman Marcus.

11:56

Though maybe an odd couple in appearance,

11:59

they were a very good match. Steve

12:01

was always wide shaped. They're not as

12:03

heavy 1999, and Elise was petite and

12:05

beautiful. She may have been

12:08

a knockout beauty, but she was also a tomboy.

12:11

She rode horses, she loved to cam

12:13

fish, and she matched Steve's

12:16

never ending energy. He

12:18

soon got a job at Dallas' KRLD

12:21

radio, a longtime dream of his.

12:23

He literally worked his way up from sweeping

12:26

the floors to becoming a top ad executive.

12:29

Soon, he was producing TV commercials

12:32

and was highly sought after in the industry.

12:35

He was stable, but always hungry

12:37

for the next big opportunity. As

12:39

Steve climbed the corporate ladder, a lease

12:41

made a home. And bore him three children

12:44

starting in nineteen forty eight with Stephen

12:46

the third, daughter Becky in nineteen

12:48

fifty, and their youngest son, Paul,

12:50

in nineteen fifty three. Steve

12:53

was considered an old fashioned Texas

12:55

businessman. His handshake

12:58

meant everything, and he built

13:00

his 74. Buying nice homes,

13:02

cars, and everything for his family

13:04

while also frugally saving. He

13:08

was his late fifties. When he won the Austin TV station bed, his children were 74 when he won the Austin

13:10

TV station bid. His

13:12

children were grown. He

13:15

and Elise moved to Austin 1999 bought

13:17

a home on Westlake Hills, situated

13:20

on one of many of Austin's hillside bluffs

13:22

with gorgeous views of the city skyline.

13:25

The couple lovingly renovated the home

13:27

into a real show place, almost

13:30

five thousand square feet. Nicknamed

13:33

Lexus Land, Steve and Elise

13:35

had chosen one of the most beautiful and

13:37

expensive neighborhoods in Austin, with

13:40

the kind of privacy Coley his

13:42

kind of money could buy. Known

13:45

as Austin's Hollywood Hills, Sandra

13:48

Bullock and Matthew McConaughey own homes

13:50

nearby. They

13:52

join the Austin Country Club, where

13:54

at the time 3am membership cost fifty

13:56

thousand dollars. A lease

13:58

beard never had trouble making new friends.

14:01

She was as gregarious as her husband.

14:04

And soon, she reveled in winning golf

14:06

tournaments at the club and had a huge

14:08

circle of friends. Always

14:10

athletic 1999 young at heart,

14:12

she fit right in. By

14:15

then, Steve had gained a lot of weight.

14:17

He loved to eat and drink, and it caught

14:19

up with his body type, but at least

14:21

didn't care. And Steve didn't

14:23

care either 1999 joked about his own weight.

14:26

Saying as long as 3am lease left him, it

14:28

didn't matter. By

14:30

nineteen eighty six, Steve brokered

14:32

2 deal to make his TV station a 74

14:34

affiliate. He and

14:36

Elise were happy in their chosen home

14:38

city. She bought him a

14:41

dog, a sweet girl named Meghan.

14:44

The lab golden retriever mix followed

14:46

Steve everywhere he went and slept

14:48

at his feet at night. Their

14:50

sons had moved away but Becky was

14:53

close by in Dallas. But

14:56

in early nineteen ninety three, the

14:59

charmed life came to an end. 1999 Elise

15:01

became ill. She had

15:03

a brain tumor. She suffered

15:05

terribly through chemo and radiation,

15:08

and Steve never left her side. She

15:11

was in remission by that summer, and the

15:13

couple took a cruise for their forty fifth

15:15

wedding anniversary. But

15:18

in September, her cancer was

15:20

back, and it spread quickly and

15:22

unmercifully. 74 Adams

15:26

BeardWritten the next month on October

15:28

thirteenth nineteen ninety three. Steve

15:31

was almost inconsolable. He

15:34

was a depressed man admitting

15:36

to a friend that he was a man who

15:38

needed to be married. Steve

15:41

Baird was the kind of man who wanted

15:43

to take care of 1, and

15:45

he had no taste for the wealthy women

15:48

who constantly hit on him. Rich

15:51

widows looking for someone not

15:53

out for their own money seemed to come

15:55

out of the woodwork for a man like Steve

15:57

Beard, but he wasn't interested.

16:01

Those women didn't need him. He

16:04

would soon meet one who did. Almost

16:07

every night, Steve ate dinner at the Austin

16:09

Country Club alone. He

16:12

drank exactly two vodka martinis

16:14

with dinner before he would quietly

16:16

make his way home. Humb

16:19

to his 74, custom mansion,

16:21

all too quiet dark without

16:23

his beloved Elise. One

16:26

night, He asked around the club

16:28

if anyone on the 74 would be interested

16:30

in being his house manager. On

16:33

top of losing the love of his life, Steve

16:36

didn't know how to take care of a home. Elise

16:39

did all that. She

16:41

took care of the home 1999 he took care

16:43

of her. Now he was

16:45

lost. Maybe a housekeeper

16:47

would help cheer up the gloominess of that

16:49

big house and take care of his affairs.

16:53

3am thirty year old waitress named Coley

16:55

Martinez was all too happy

16:58

to take him up on the offer. I'm

17:02

going to pause now to hear a word from today's

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The pretty young blonde who approached the lonely millionaire had come a long circuitous route to the Austin country pretty young blonde who approached

19:37

the lonely millionaire had come along

19:40

circuitous route to the Austin Country

19:42

Club. Celeste

19:45

Marie Johnson was born on February

19:47

thirteenth nineteen sixty three in Los

19:49

Angeles County. She

19:51

was adopted at birth by Edwin and Nancy

19:53

Johnson. Johnson. The Johnson's had met late in life in Ohio, in their mid The

19:55

Johnson's had met Layton 74 in Ohio

19:58

in their mid fifties after Edwin had

20:00

left the Air Force. Both

20:03

were religious and rather 74. So

20:06

they seemed to have some things in common. They

20:09

married and soon moved to Kemarillo,

20:11

California. 1

20:13

opened a Volkswagen repairs shop,

20:15

and the couple started trying to have But

20:18

2 their fifties, Nancy kept having

20:20

miscarriages. 1999 they soon knew

20:22

that adoption was the only way they would

20:24

have family. So

20:26

they put the word out as Nancy later explained,

20:30

This was before the pill and legalized

20:32

abortion. So there were so many infants who needed homes and lots of ways around adoption So there were so

20:34

many infants who needed homes and

20:36

lots of ways around adoption laws.

20:40

They adopted four babies in four years,

20:43

a boy named Then Celeste

20:46

in nineteen sixty three 1999 she was just

20:48

two days old. Her sister

20:50

Therese came less than a year later, followed

20:53

by the youngest Johnson named after his father

20:55

and called Eddie. On

20:57

the outside, they seemed to be the

20:59

perfect traditional nineteen sixties

21:01

family. Hardworking father

21:04

loving but strict homemaker, mother,

21:06

and stair step children. On

21:09

the inside, Edwin had never

21:11

come to terms with his own tragic upbringing.

21:14

His father had taken his own life after

21:16

the accidental drowning of Ed's brother. Nancy's

21:20

upbringing is more obscure. But

21:22

she did spend time in psychiatric hospital

21:25

when Cole was about five years old. He

21:28

told author Katherine Coley, that

21:30

he remembered his mother holding the children

21:32

underwater in bathtub. She

21:34

said she was rinsing their hair, but

21:36

he remembered it as a frightening experience.

21:40

Whatever really happened, Nancy was

21:42

checked into a psych ward. She

21:44

said she had a nervous breakdown, brought

21:47

on by diet pills and exhaustion. With

21:50

four kids under five years old,

21:52

her exhaustion is understandable, but

21:55

it wasn't just this incident that

21:57

colored their lives. All the

21:59

Johnson Kids attended a private

22:01

Christian school, even though already

22:04

the Johnson struggled financially. Things

22:07

only grew worse when Edwin's business 74, and

22:10

he decided to go to college on the GI bill

22:12

instead of finding work. Didnt

22:16

boiled over as soon Nancy was

22:18

working two jobs to support the family.

22:21

Of all the Johnson children, Celeste

22:23

was daddy's girl. He adored her.

22:27

And so he seemed genuinely shocked

22:29

and hurt when she later repeatedly accused

22:32

him of molesting her. Seleced

22:35

was eleven when her dad lost his business.

22:38

She and her siblings all then enrolled

22:40

in public school. 3am girl

22:42

who had once been a gifted student began

22:45

acting out, anything for

22:47

attention, and it didn't

22:49

take long for Nancy to kick ed out of

22:51

the house. Ed seemed

22:53

to have been suffering some kind of breakdown

22:55

himself. He had begun calling

22:57

himself Jeddadiah, spouting

22:59

a lot of biblical nonsense, Selleste

23:03

siblings would later agree that she

23:05

changed in middle school when her parents

23:07

divorced. She had always

23:10

been the family instigator, but

23:12

now she became more violent with her brothers.

23:15

The Johnsons were also waging a brutal

23:18

custody 3am for the kids. Eventually,

23:21

the boys went to live with Ed, while

23:23

Celeste and Paris stayed with Nancy.

23:26

Selleste testified against her father about

23:28

physical abuse but not sexual, but

23:31

still. She said he stabbed her in the

23:33

74. But then claimed the scar

23:35

had already faded once she was further

23:37

questioned. Friends

23:39

and family were baffled at her

23:41

testimony. Nancy

23:44

later said the cops were often called for Celeste's

23:46

violence, including putting her fist

23:48

through a window. She

23:51

was given community service in order

23:53

to go to counseling. But by

23:55

then, Nancy claimed she was already

23:57

taking her daughter to psychiatrists. Who

23:59

couldn't figure out what was going on with the angry

24:01

teen. By high school,

24:04

Celeste was a knockout. Tall,

24:07

long legged with blonde, 74 hair,

24:09

and vivid blue eyes. She was very

24:12

popular with the boys. And

24:14

despite her behavior issues, she

24:16

did well in school. She was on the Varsity

24:18

swim team as well as the debate team.

24:21

But still, she was known as a wild

24:23

child. And as soon as she got her driver's

24:25

license, she tore down her neighborhood streets

24:28

at Brightneck speeds and her family's VW

24:30

1999. though she dressed

24:32

very conservatively, probably her

24:34

mother's doing, she was already

24:36

quite the thin 74. Not

24:39

merely promiscuous. She was

24:41

purposely provocative. Other

24:43

girls hated her, but the boys.

24:46

Boy did they love her. When

24:48

she was fifteen years old, she met a seventeen

24:50

year old guy named Craig Bracher in a bar.

24:53

By then, Celeste has started

24:55

skipping school. She smoked

24:57

pot, hung out at the beach, and basically

25:00

did whatever she pleased. So

25:03

she and Craig moved in together, and by the time

25:05

she was seventeen, SOLEST was

25:07

pregnant with twins. 1999

25:10

what would become a habit, SOLEST

25:12

began lying about her health. She

25:14

told a friend that it was a miracle that she had

25:16

become pregnant. A doctor had

25:18

supposedly said she couldn't. Celeste

25:21

would also later claim that Craig didn't want the

25:23

babies and punched her in the stomach trying

25:25

to make her miscarry. She

25:27

accused him of all kinds of abuse.

25:30

But on December sixth nineteen eighty,

25:33

Celeste was seven months pregnant, she

25:35

married Craig Bradcher in a small ceremony.

25:38

Though she had been advised to go on bed rest,

25:41

she refused and gave birth to her twins

25:43

two months early on February sixth

25:45

nineteen eighty one. Christina

25:48

Anne and Jennifer Lynn weigh less

25:50

than three pounds, spent three months in

25:52

the hospital beginning on respirators

25:54

to help them breathe. Once

25:56

they came home, the young couple struggled,

25:59

often living with friends, and

26:01

their fights became epic. Craig

26:03

would later admit to being an alcoholic that

26:06

said Celeste was violent. She

26:08

threw things 1999 would often intentionally

26:10

hurt herself and then blame him. He

26:13

also said she frequently took off and left

26:15

him with the babies, but she always

26:17

came back, blaming her behavior

26:20

on her childhood sexual abuse. She

26:22

had now started claiming that her father raped

26:24

her and one of her brothers molested her.

26:27

Craig, always feeling sorry for her,

26:30

would take her back. When she didn't want

26:32

to have sex, he was 74, but

26:34

understood. Later

26:36

in life, Celeste would insist Craig

26:38

had been very abusive man who stalked

26:41

her and raped her. He admitted

26:43

to having a temper 1999 there was a

26:45

police report and then a restraining order.

26:47

When he found her in bed with 3am neighbor. He

26:50

saw them through a window a gun at them

26:52

and then broke the window. He

26:54

spent four months in jail for brandishing a 74.

26:58

It came as no surprise when the young couple

27:00

divorced in May of nineteen eighty 2,

27:02

just eighteen months after marrying 1999

27:04

the twins were barely over a year old.

27:07

After their divorce, Celeste often left

27:09

the babies with Craig and would take off.

27:12

She moved with a friend briefly with

27:14

the babies. But her 74 soon

27:16

became tired of being taken advantage of.

27:18

And Celeste also had become weirdly

27:21

possessive. When the friend moved

27:23

out, Celeste called the cops accusing

27:25

her of stealing her purse. The

27:27

purse was found on the side of the road. But

27:30

it was just another link the chain

27:32

of lies, Celeste would tell about the

27:34

people in her life. More

27:36

interested in partying, she gave

27:38

up Christina and Jennifer to foster

27:40

care. It is fair to

27:42

say that she was an incredibly young

27:44

mother and one without much of a support

27:47

system. Though she and

27:49

her mother would later collect in her own

27:51

life, Nancy was never in the twins'

27:53

lives. In fact, Selleste

27:55

told them she was dead at one point. She

27:58

and Craig reunite 74, long

28:01

enough for her to regain custody of the twins.

28:04

Her 74, Ed, even came to live with

28:06

them to help out with young couple, which

28:08

seems odd since she later

28:10

said she told Craig he had raped her.

28:13

Whether or not that was true, Ed

28:15

had gotten his life together as a father

28:17

who had been overwhelmed with four young children,

28:20

he sympathized with the couple. Until

28:22

he stayed out late one night, and the next

28:24

day discovered, Celeste Coley the cops

28:27

on him. She again accused

28:29

him of sexually abusing her. But

28:32

Edwin Johnson insisted on his

28:34

innocence 2 the point of taking a

28:36

lie detector test in nineteen eighty five.

28:38

He passed and was never charged with

28:40

any abuse. After

28:42

that, her siblings never really believed

28:45

her stories. They didn't know their

28:47

father as anything but passive. It

28:49

was their mother who was controlling and abusive.

28:52

Suffice it to say, Celeste's childhood

28:55

is still somewhat of a mystery. Her

28:58

siblings and mothers spoke to author, Katherine

29:00

Casey, usually disputing everything

29:03

Celeste 3am claimed. Although

29:05

her mother wouldn't outright deny the sexual

29:07

abuse allegations. What

29:10

is painfully obvious is Celeste

29:12

problems with motherhood. Both

29:14

with her own mother 1999 with her

29:16

twins. She never

29:18

had the chance to connect with her birth mother

29:20

as a child. And while

29:22

Nancy and Ed adopted her at two

29:24

days old, Nancy was never

29:26

considered a nurturing woman. Never

29:29

mind the bathtub incident. Nancy

29:32

was just not motherly. She

29:34

was not affectionate. Later,

29:37

Celeste's own daughters would say the same

29:39

thing about their mother. Maybe it

29:41

was because they spent the first three months of

29:43

their lives in the hospital. Celeste

29:45

didn't hold her babies for a while. And

29:48

missed a maternal connection that is

29:50

crucial. Not only was

29:52

she a teenage mother, she had difficulty

29:54

forming an attachment to the girls. She

29:57

often left them with friends, supposedly

29:59

for an afternoon, and then would

30:01

disappear for days. Neighbors

30:04

often called child services on Celeste.

30:07

The babies were neglected, often found

30:09

dirty hungry. Jennifer

30:12

would later say some of her earliest

30:14

memories of being with Celeste were

30:16

of always being hungry. I'm

30:20

going to pause now to hear a final word from

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What are you bound for? Over

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the next few years, Celeste would

33:06

remarry twice. 1 to

33:08

an air 74 Man named Harold named Harold 74.

33:10

He treated her and the twins well,

33:13

helping her regain custody when they

33:15

marry. Because the state had taken them

33:17

away again. He

33:19

would later say that although celeste

33:21

could seem very sexual, She

33:23

never really actually seemed to enjoy

33:25

sex. She treated

33:27

it like a chore, and when Harold

33:29

would get frustrated about their sex 74,

33:32

She would tearfully explain that she'd been sexually

33:34

abused by her father and brother, and

33:37

Harold felt sorry for her. Of

33:39

course, he did. Andy loved her.

33:42

But life with Celeste was unbearable.

33:45

She picked fights 1999 then would scream

33:47

abuse. And then bag her way

33:49

back into her old's heart. After

33:52

a particularly ugly fight when Celeste

33:54

had threatened suicide, She willingly

33:56

checked into the psychiatric ward of the hospital

33:59

on the base where he worked. She

34:01

was diagnosed with depression and put

34:03

on medication. She

34:05

seemed to try for a while, but

34:07

then Harold got a transfer to Okinawa,

34:10

and she had a fit when she was told she couldn't

34:12

go with him because she had been on the psych

34:14

ward. She called his superiors

34:17

furiously until they withdrew the transfer.

34:20

Harold learned his lesson after a couple of

34:22

years of fights, threats of suicide, and

34:25

Celeste ruining his career.

34:28

He felt lucky to be given a second chance

34:30

when he was transferred to Iceland. Though

34:32

he felt bad about leaving the twins. And

34:35

then he came back and found out he

34:38

was sixty thousand dollars in debt,

34:40

and that was it. But

34:42

Celeste was already on to her next husband,

34:45

Jimmy Martinez. From

34:47

the beginning, they had an intense

34:50

attraction. His money didn't

34:52

hurt either. Celeste always

34:54

moved up the food chain with each husband.

34:57

Jimmy worked as a manager for security

34:59

management firm. When

35:01

he was transferred to Austin, Texas,

35:03

the twins were eleven 1999 were left alone

35:06

to pack up house. By

35:08

now, Seleced and Craig had been

35:10

fighting for custody. Craig

35:12

could see what she was doing to his daughters 1999

35:14

didnt killed him. This time he

35:16

won. But Celeste had

35:18

started to get into young Christina's head.

35:21

Christina had always felt responsible for

35:23

her mother. Salese now

35:25

told her she was her favorite daughter she

35:27

couldn't live without her. When the

35:29

girls went to visit their father for two weeks

35:32

74 custody was even settled, Seleced

35:35

flew into Washington trying to scoop them

35:37

up. Jennifer refused, but

35:39

Christina went with her mother. 74

35:42

the first time, the girls were separated.

35:46

Once custody was finalized, Celeste

35:48

was ordered by a judge to send Christina

35:51

back to Craig. Put Christina,

35:53

torn by her mother's guilt trips, refused

35:56

to board a connecting 74, and flew back

35:58

to her mother. Jennifer

36:00

was despondent. Craig

36:02

was also heartbroken, but he

36:04

refused to force Christina. Instead,

36:07

1999 and Jennifer made a life together

36:09

in Washington state. Meanwhile,

36:12

Celeste and Jimmy set up house in Austin.

36:15

And fell into Celeste's usual pattern

36:17

of turmoil. And then Celeste

36:20

was called back to Arizona to face charges

36:22

of fraud. She had ruined

36:25

so many lives in Arizona, including

36:27

that of a couple who had even taken custody

36:29

of the girls for a while. She

36:32

had robbed their house then told them to

36:34

pad the insurance claim. Even

36:36

though police were suspicious that it was

36:38

someone who knew the couple, They didn't

36:40

want to believe it was the young mother.

36:43

And then Celeste got pissed at them and

36:45

accused the husband of sexually assaulting

36:47

her. Selleste

36:49

had learned from an early age that sexual

36:51

assault allegations were taken very

36:53

seriously. But by

36:56

this time, her own lives and schemes

36:58

caught up to her. The couple, Lou

37:00

and Gary Thompson, knew that Celeste

37:02

had torched her own Ford Taurus, car,

37:05

and the desert. And then filed a false insurance

37:07

claim. It was how she had

37:09

talked them into 74 their own false claims.

37:12

She had made it seem so easy. After

37:15

the assault allegation, they turned her

37:17

in for everything. The

37:19

assault charge was dropped, but because

37:21

the thompsons had admitted to insurance

37:23

74, Phoenix police refused to charge

37:26

her with the burglary of their house. However,

37:29

they did find her taurus in the desert So

37:32

after Celeste had settled in Austin,

37:34

this was the fraud charge. She was called back to Phoenix to she was called back to

37:36

Phoenix to face. She

37:38

managed to get a sympathetic judge who

37:41

just gave her probation and told her to

37:43

pay twenty thousand dollars in fines. After

37:46

she promised that she lived in Austin

37:48

now, his court would never see her again.

37:51

She was now Texas' problem. She

37:53

sure was, and it wasn't

37:56

long before Jimmy Martinez caught

37:58

her ruining his credit as well. She

38:01

had charged tens of thousands of dollars

38:03

in their names. He tried

38:05

calling credit card companies and explaining it

38:07

wasn't his debt. But she was his legal

38:10

wife. So her debts were

38:12

his. He did try to

38:14

work things out with Celeste, but she

38:16

always took off taking Christina with

38:18

her. They were back and forth for quite

38:20

a while. As with Harold,

38:22

she agreed to see a psychiatrist. She

38:25

had stabbed herself in the wrist with scissors.

38:28

Another suicide threat. She again

38:30

was put on medication for depression, but

38:32

it didn't last. She accused

38:35

Jimmy of domestic abuse and he spent a

38:37

night in jail, though she had the charges

38:39

dropped. She and Jimmy

38:41

had an explosive relationship. Unlike

38:44

her other two husbands, she did

38:46

actually enjoy sex with Jimmy, so

38:49

they did the push and pull for a while. Until

38:52

Celeste got a job at the Austin Country

38:54

Club in the fall of nineteen ninety four.

38:57

Within weeks, she had met

38:59

Steve Beard. She took the

39:01

job as house manager, essentially

39:03

3am housekeeper. But soon,

39:05

it was obvious, Celeste didn't know how

39:07

to take care of a house. More

39:09

like she didn't want 2, but she

39:11

couldn't cook, she didn't clean,

39:14

and she sent out all his laundry to be washed

39:16

secretly hired maids. But

39:19

it didn't take her long to win Steve over.

39:22

He began taking her out socially, and

39:24

she would even openly joke to his friends

39:26

that she was his housekeeper except

39:28

she couldn't cook, didn't like to clean,

39:30

and didn't know how to iron. Steve's

39:33

friends laughed politely, inwardly

39:35

worried for their friend. But

39:38

no one wanted to tell him that this woman,

39:40

almost half his age, didn't seem

39:42

right. To be fair,

39:45

Steve seemed happy again. Selest

39:48

was the bomb he needed to soothe his grief.

39:51

Most of his friends thought this was a dalliance,

39:53

that it wouldn't last. That there was

39:55

no need to worry. Privately,

39:58

she was 74 blunt. When

40:01

Christina asked her why she was with

40:03

Steve, After all, she had

40:05

like Jimmy. Celeste told

40:07

her, Steve's rich. Steve's

40:10

kids didn't hear much about her. At first, Becky was the first to meet her Celeste claimed that she had a degree in accounting from Pepperdine university, but that she had gotten bored with that at first.

40:12

Bekie was the first to meet her. Celeste

40:15

claimed that she had a degree in accounting from

40:17

Pepperdine University, but that she had

40:19

gotten bored with that career. Beccie

40:22

was suspicious of Celeste motives from

40:24

the very beginning. Even Craig

40:26

Bracher, who when he called to talk to Christina

40:29

once, tried to warn Steve. But

40:31

Steve wouldn't listen. And

40:34

Celeste did seem to have his best interests

40:36

3am heart. When Steve doctor

40:38

became worried about his blood pressure asthma.

40:41

He ran some tests and found that Steve's

40:43

heart was enlarged. He was at risk

40:45

of a heart attack. Seleced

40:48

cheerfully puts Steve on a diet and started

40:50

walking with him. He quickly dropped

40:52

fifty pounds of his over three hundred

40:54

pound frame. And it

40:56

wasn't just celeste. Steve

40:58

was coming to really love Christina. His

41:01

own children were grown, but

41:03

he had loved being a dad. This

41:05

felt like a whole new lease on life,

41:08

a lovely young and fun new wife,

41:10

and a teenage daughter, a new

41:12

daughter who desperately needed a father.

41:15

Christina had bounced from man to man

41:17

with Celeste. She loved her

41:19

dad. But had always chosen to live

41:21

with Celeste to her own detriment. She

41:24

had learned never to get too close to anyone

41:27

because they probably wouldn't be around for long.

41:30

But Steve won her over. He

41:32

helped her with her homework, talked

41:34

to her all the time, drove her

41:36

to school in the morning, SLS slept

41:38

in. It may have been

41:40

the allure of a new 74, even

41:43

more than the seductiveness of Celeste

41:45

that really won Steve Over. He

41:48

built a house on the south shore of Lake

41:50

Travis, and soon he and Celeste

41:52

were engaged. His children

41:55

were really worried. They even

41:57

called and got the advice of a close friend.

42:00

A judge in Dallas named Harold about

42:02

whether or not they might should try and get power of

42:04

attorney. He pointed out that

42:06

Steve was a smart man, and they

42:08

had to trust that he knew what he was doing.

42:11

They all agreed, but with trepidation. 1999

42:14

Steve was no 74. He had a prenatural

42:17

agreement drawn up. At the time,

42:19

his net worth was almost twelve million dollars.

42:22

million. Steve would retain ownership of his home and lake Steve would retain ownership

42:24

of his home and lake house if they

42:26

stayed married for three years. And

42:28

Celeste would be entitled to a one time

42:30

payment of five hundred thousand dollars. If

42:33

she stayed with him until he died, he

42:35

would double that to one million. Considering

42:38

his fortune, that was fair to

42:40

Steve. And it was more than

42:42

fair to a hustler like Celeste, more

42:45

money than she had ever had in her life.

42:48

On February eighteenth nineteen ninety

42:51

five, thirty two year old Celeste married

42:53

seventy year old Steve in a civil ceremony

42:56

that took place in the main dining room

42:58

in the Austin Country Club where Celeste

43:00

had once waited tables. With

43:02

no friends of her own, her maid of honor

43:05

was a woman who was married to an attorney

43:07

friend of Steve's. This woman

43:09

had been friends with 3am lease too. Many

43:12

thought it was odd, and I wonder

43:14

why she didn't just have Christina stand up

43:16

with her. Later, Celeste

43:18

would tend to befriend people who were not

43:20

in the same social classes her, at

43:23

least the new Celeste beard. It

43:25

was people who worked for her, like her hairstylist

43:28

and manicurist. She felt more

43:30

comfortable with them. Becky

43:32

was Steve's only child to attend the wedding.

43:35

Paul had joined the Navy like his father

43:38

and was out on a ship. Steve the

43:40

third didnt just chose not

43:42

to come. Sabaki watched

43:44

with a sinking heart. She

43:46

wanted her father to be happy. The

43:48

age difference wasn't really the problem.

43:51

Celeste Martinez just seemed

43:53

fake to her. 74 whispered

43:56

about this flashy new wife privately,

43:59

but clapped Steve on the back Jovially to

44:01

his face. And after

44:03

honeymooning in New Orleans, the couple

44:05

settled into 3am routine. That

44:08

month, in March nineteen ninety five,

44:10

before they were even married for thirty days.

44:13

Christina saw her mother crush

44:15

pills and put them into Steve's food.

44:18

Steve, a great cook, always

44:20

made dinner. But Celeste

44:23

set the table and served. When

44:25

Christina asked her what she put in his food,

44:28

Sales told her it was sleeping pills. I

44:30

can't stand being here with that 74 fuck.

44:33

This way, I'll have a couple of drinks and

44:35

pass out, and then I can go out.

44:38

And this became their routine. Austin

44:41

might be a big city, but it was a small

44:43

town and elite circles. Soon

44:46

Steve's friends got word of Celeste partying

44:48

at night. But no one would

44:50

tell him, no one wanted to hurt

44:52

him. Much less risk his friendship.

44:56

Steve was a good man and a good 74, and

44:59

it hurt his friends to keep quiet.

45:02

But at this point, they were more

45:04

worried he would cut them out of his life.

45:07

And then it started. Celeste's

45:09

bullshit with money never took

45:12

too long. Steve

45:14

was outraged to find out that their

45:16

checking account was overdrawn. No

45:18

matter what he gave her, credit cards,

45:21

jewelry, cars, it was never enough.

45:24

Suspicious, he went to check his

45:26

safe deposit box. Sure enough,

45:29

Elise's jewelry was missing. His

45:31

friend at the bank, who always handled

45:33

his affairs, looked into it. Seleeste

45:36

had been in the box twice that may.

45:39

Barely three months married, and

45:41

she was stealing his dead wife's jewelry. He

45:44

threw Celeste out of the house and hired

45:46

a divorce lawyer. He brought their

45:48

prenup to the first meeting with Celeste.

45:51

She was distraught. And wrote him

45:53

a letter explaining about her debt in Arizona

45:56

of twenty thousand dollars and said she

45:58

was desperate. She explained

46:00

that she pawned the jewelry to help pay it

46:02

And gave him the pawn tickets, and

46:05

then she promised to get help.

46:08

It was the same thing she had done with her other

46:10

husbands. She always promised

46:12

but never 74 through. But

46:14

this time, she did check herself

46:16

in for psychiatric treatment. She

46:19

was diagnosed with borderline personality

46:21

disorder. She promised

46:24

to stay in therapy and take medication. But

46:27

Steve still filed for divorce right after

46:29

she got out of the hospital in June.

46:32

But by August, he had taken her

46:34

back. Just like all the men before

46:36

him. Maybe

46:38

he was embarrassed. He had to know

46:41

people had whispered about his young 74.

46:43

So maybe it was pride, and

46:45

maybe he didn't want to lose Christina.

46:49

Once he got all of Elise's jewelry back

46:51

from the pawn shops, He also

46:53

paid off Celeste insurance fraud

46:55

debt 1999 withdrew his

46:57

petition for divorce. now

47:00

Celeste had learned lesson. Steve

47:03

was no fool. She

47:05

might have wiggled her way back in this time.

47:07

But she realized that not only did

47:09

she have to be careful, she needed

47:11

to renegotiate. Her

47:14

first order of business was to get him to

47:16

sell his home. It was the house

47:18

he and Elise had bought when they first came

47:20

to Austin. The house

47:22

they had painstakingly remodeled and

47:24

carefully decorated. With other

47:26

souvenirs from traveling around the world.

47:30

But if Celeste could talk him into buying a new

47:32

house, it would be community property.

47:35

74 hers no matter what. Steve,

47:38

a thoughtful man, realized

47:41

that Celeste may have seen his home

47:43

as Elise's home. He

47:45

put aside his own feelings and

47:47

put the house up for sale. He

47:50

sold it to a man named Richard Apple.

47:52

3am DC newspaperman who was coming

47:54

to Austin to take over as editor

47:56

of the Austin American Statesman, the

47:59

city's daily paper. Keep

48:01

Richard Opel's name in your back pocket. It

48:03

will be important later. Steve,

48:06

Celeste, and Christina now moved

48:08

into the small lake house. Along

48:11

with his faithful dog Meghan and Selice

48:13

Spaniel Nikki. The

48:15

house wouldn't seem that small to us, a

48:17

nice three bedroom 2 bath. But

48:19

it was quite a downsize for them.

48:22

But it would do as Steve plan to

48:24

take over all the planning of their new home.

48:27

He wanted to model it after Frank Lloyd

48:30

writes famous falling water,

48:32

a mansion built over a waterfall.

48:35

Steve found an architect 1999 they made

48:37

fast friends, which was good

48:40

because Steve proved to be more than hands

48:42

on. Even after the

48:44

design was complete, Steve was

48:46

there for almost every day of its construction.

48:49

And Celeste was working her magic.

48:51

In early nineteen ninety six, Steve

48:53

met with his lawyer and drew up a new marital

48:56

agreement. When he died,

48:58

Selez would now get one million dollars

49:00

as well as half interest in the lake house

49:02

and half interest in the new mansion. They

49:04

were building on Toro Canyon Road.

49:07

As the list went on shopping sprees during

49:09

the day, Steve threw himself into

49:12

building their dream home. He

49:14

had never really been satisfied with retirement.

49:17

He had been a hardworking man all

49:19

his life. Now he had

49:21

a new purpose, a new dream. Whatever

49:24

reservations he had, he kept to

49:26

himself. Celeste

49:29

began ramping up the second part of her

49:31

plan. She had no intention

49:33

of just waiting out the three years for only

49:35

half a million. Remember,

49:38

she only got one million if she stayed

49:40

married to him until he died. She

49:43

and Steve always had a nightly ritual

49:45

of cocktails. They

49:47

were both vodka drinkers. Though

49:50

Celeste insisted on top shelf Coley

49:52

for 74, while Steve bought himself

49:54

the cheap stuff. A brand called 74

49:56

Schmidt, normally used as a well

49:59

vodka by bartenders. Now,

50:01

she started pouring out as Wolff Schmidt,

50:04

and replacing it with ever clear, pure

50:06

grain alcohol. Instead

50:08

of his normal two drinks of eighty proof

50:10

martinis, Now he was drinking

50:12

one hundred and ninety 74, unknowingly.

50:16

It wasn't just to make Steve pass out

50:18

quicker. She was well aware

50:20

of his age and heart issues. After

50:23

all, she had lovingly put him on

50:25

a diet when they were still dating on his doctor's

50:27

orders when Steve's blood pressure

50:29

and enlarged heart had made his doctor

50:31

worry. laughing. She told her friends all about his Everclear

50:33

74, she told her friends

50:35

all about his ever clear cocktails She

50:38

called them the graveyard. Southern

50:45

74 true crime is written hosted and produced

50:47

by me, Erica Coley. Today's episode

50:49

was researched by the one and only Coley Grey

50:51

Southern 74 original music is by Rob Harrison

50:54

of Gamma Radio, and the original graphic art

50:56

is my Coley Horner. Friends, I hate

50:58

to do this again, but I am splitting this

51:00

case into two episodes. They say everything

51:03

is bigger in Texas, and it seems like every

51:05

time I have to do a two parter, it's a Texas

51:07

case, so I guess they're right. I'll

51:09

be back after thanksgiving with part two.

51:11

I really appreciate you sticking with me.

51:14

Please submit case suggestions to southern

51:16

74 true crime at gmail dot com. I do

51:18

not accept suggestion on social media,

51:20

and I apologize if I'm unable to answer

51:22

your email. I get dozens of suggestions a

51:24

week and it takes time to go through and check

51:26

out each case. I will definitely contact

51:29

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51:31

Thank you all so much for sending in these suggestions.

51:34

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51:36

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51:38

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52:11

Thanks so much for listening. Y'all take

52:13

care. While

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