"Even the mighty oak was yesterday's acorn that stood it's ground"
The Outcome
It had been reported to Steven, while he was in the hospital, by
his
friend
Philip, who is also a criminal defense
attorney, that Tarlton's
defense might
include Celeste. Steven hired Charlie Burton as a
defense
attorney,
paying him a $75,000 retainer to protect Celeste. Mr.
Burton
interviewed
Jennifer and Kristina in his office on October 5, 1999,
taking
notes. He also typed memorandums; Kristina's was dated
November
10, 1999, and
Jennifer's was dated February 17, 2000. They changed
their stories
completely in the trial. Charlie
Burton
Testimony
One month after Steven's death, Celeste's twin daughters, along with their boyfriends, began a secret campaign to incriminate Celeste because they wanted the money. There is a special pain that comes from knowing that the children you gave birth to and loved are now trying to hurt you.
In 2002, front
page headlines read, "Tracey Tarlton pleaded guilty to the 1999
shooting of retired television executive, Steven Beard, Jr., and
agreed to testify against Beard's widow in her Capital Murder
case". Tarlton received a plea-bargained sentence of 20 years
for her
testimony. Tarlton recieved parole in mid 2011.
Protest Tarlton's
Parole
Tarlton spun a tale of meeting Celeste on Friday, October 1,
1999, for a "walk-through" of the Toro Canyon home specifying what
door to use and where to park. The Beard's family planner and
Celeste's personal planner showed appointments; Celeste went to two
hair salons and cashed a check at her bank during the time of the
alleged walk-through. The Beard maid, along with business
personnel and records, provided proof that the walk-through could
not have taken place as testified by Tarlton. Even
Christopher Doose arrived at the Toro Canyon home from San Angelo,
and no one saw Tarlton or her SUV there.
Tarlton testified that she and Celeste had a sexual
relationship both at St. David's and at
Timberlawn. Celeste vehemently denies
this. Motels were mentioned but there were never any
records produced for any so-called liaisons. Even the
teenagers, with their devious behavior, couldn't get any pictures
to support their testimony of Celeste being intimate with
Tarlton.
On April 1, 2000, Kristina's Power of Attorney
was revoked. Celeste had found forged checks, tens of
thousands of dollars were moved out of her account, and valuable
items were removed from the house resulting in charges being filed
against the young adults involved. This encouraged them to
move forward in their plan to convict Celeste. Early April
2000 (ADA Mange couldn't remember the date, but it was April 7th or
9th, 2000), Jennifer and Kristina Beard, with their lawyer, Wayne
Meissner (who soon resigned from representing them); Justin Grimm
(Kristina's ex-husband) with his lawyer, Alan Bennett (who also
represents Donna
Goodson and Bank of America); Christopher Doose (Jennifer's
ex-boyfriend) with his lawyer; Ron Tonkin; brought audio tapes
to ADA Bill Mange. The teenagers continued to bring other
items to ADA Mange after this date and unaccompanied by any
attorneys. Sgt. Bergman and ADA Mange did not have an
evidence log of any of these items.
The teenagers were never
arrested for the forged checks or thefts
because they agreed to testify against
Celeste. Donna Goodson was
arrested, but she was never tried in
court for stealing Celeste's
jewelry, because she also agreed to
falsely testify against Celeste.
In a
nutshell, Donna Goodson lied about Celeste so she would not
face
prison time for
stealing Celeste's jewelry. In 2000, Donna Goodson
filed for unemployment
benefits against Celeste. Donna won and received
the unemployment compensation
payments because the state agreed that
all the checks that Celeste wrote to
Donna were for her wages as an
employee and not a
contractor.
Then in 2003, during Celeste's trial, Donna testified that those
same checks were for payment of a hitman. The defense was not
allowed to tell the jury about the unemployment ruling regarding
those same checks paid by Celeste.
Forged Checks Donna Goodson's Warrant
Celeste was arrested on March 28, 2002, when she was on her way to
pick up her dogs from their groomer. She waited in Travis
County for a bail hearing that was denied by the court. From
her arrest through the trial, Celeste continuously remained in
custody. Pre-trial began in
October 2002, and she was eventually sentenced to two life
sentences on March 20, 2003.
