Michael Bear Carson and Suzan Carson

Suzan Carson
Suzan Carson
Born	Susan Barnes; September 14, 1941 (age 83)
Conviction(s)	Murder
Criminal penalty	75 years to life
Details
Victims	3+
Span of crimes	1981–1983
Country	United States
State(s)	California
Date apprehended	1983

Michael Bear Carson
Michael Bear Carson
Born	James Clifford Carson; November 28, 1950 (age 73)
Other names	Michael Bear Carson
Conviction(s)	Murder
Criminal penalty	75 years to life
Details
Victims	3+
Span of crimes	1981–1983
Country	United States
State(s)	California
Date apprehended	1983

Last updated October 06, 2024

James Clifford Carson (a.k.a.Michael Bear Carson; born 1950) and Susan Barnes Carson (aka Suzan Bear Carson; born 1941) are American serial killers convicted for three murders between 1981 and 1983 in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Background

In 1977, James Carson was in Phoenix, Arizona, when his first wife noticed severe behavioral changes and left with their daughter, Jennifer.^[1] Carson began a relationship with Susan Barnes, a divorcée with two teenage sons.^[1] James and Susan married, and became involved in illicit drugs and mysticism.^[2] At some point, Carson took the name "Michael Bear", telling his daughter in a letter that God had given him the new name "Michael"; Susan became known as "Suzan Bear."^[3]

By 1980, after a year-long trip to Europe, the Carsons returned to the U.S. and moved into the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, California, where they continued their involvement with drugs and the counterculture. By this time, Michael's former wife had become afraid that he would harm her and try to abduct their child, and took steps to hide herself and their daughter from him. She went so far as to move numerous times and cut off contact with mutual acquaintances.^[3]

The murders

In March 1981, 23-year-old Karen Barnes (no relation to Suzan), an aspiring actress from Georgia who had been the Carsons' roommate in San Francisco, was found dead in their shared apartment. She had been stabbed thirteen times and her skull crushed before being wrapped in a blanket and hidden in the basement. Evidence suggested that Karen had been killed by someone she knew, and the Carsons became the prime suspects. However, the family disappeared before the body was found. The Carsons later confessed to killing Karen after Suzan had decided Karen was a witch.^[1]^[3]^[4]

The Carsons fled to a mountain hideout near Grants Pass, Oregon, where they remained until spring 1982. They then moved to Alderpoint, California, where they lived and worked on a marijuana farm. According to other workers on the farm, the Carsons were anarchists who advocated revolution and predicted that a nuclear apocalypse would soon occur. ^{[ citation needed ]}

In May 1982, Michael shot and killed Clark Stephens, a worker on the farm with whom he had a dispute, and attempted to dispose of the body by burning it and burying it under chicken fertilizer in the woods. Two weeks later, Stephens was reported missing to the Humboldt County sheriff, leading to the discovery of Stephens' burnt remains.

The Carsons, who by this point had fled, were again considered suspects. Upon searching their abandoned belongings, detectives found a manifesto they had written which called for the assassination of then-President Ronald Reagan.^[3] However, authorities had difficulty tracking down the Carsons.^[3]^[5]

In November 1982, Michael was picked up by police in Los Angeles after an acquaintance saw him hitchhiking. However, through a police error, Carson was quickly freed and vanished before Humboldt County detectives had a chance to question him. He left evidence behind, including a mugshot, address information, and a gun left in a police car.^[3]

The following January, the Carsons were hitchhiking near Bakersfield and were given a ride by 30-year-old Jon Charles Hellyar, who was driving to Santa Rosa. Suzan reportedly decided that Hellyar was a witch and had to be killed. While he was driving on U.S. Route 101 in Sonoma County, an argument and physical fight broke out between Hellyar and the Carsons, resulting in the car coming to a stop on River Road.^[6] The fight escalated outside the vehicle, and Suzan stabbed Hellyar while he and Michael struggled over a gun. Michael gained control of the gun and killed Hellyar in view of passing motorists, one of whom contacted police. A high-speed chase ensued as the Carsons attempted to flee in Hellyar's car which crashed and they were both apprehended.^[3]^[5]

Confessions and aftermath

The Carsons initially called a press conference to confess to the murders of Hellyar, Stephens, and Barnes.^[1]^[4] Before trial, they withdrew their confessions and entered pleas of not guilty.^[4] On June 12, 1984, the Carsons were convicted first of Barnes' murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Later, they were convicted of the murders of Stephens and Hellyar, for which they received sentences of 50 years to life and 75 years to life, respectively. In 1989, the First District Court of Appeal, affirmed their third conviction as it had previously done on the other two convictions.^[7] Michael is incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison, and Suzan is incarcerated at Central California Women's Facility.

In a five-hour interview with KGO-TV and the San Francisco Chronicle , as well as homicide investigators, the Carsons claimed to have been pacifists and vegetarian yoga practitioners who converted to a form of Islam, and described themselves as "vegetarian Moslem warriors."^[5] Their crimes emerged from a shared mission: to exterminate individuals they believed to be "witches".^[8] Consequently, the press dubbed them "the San Francisco Witch Killers."^[2]

They stated that they killed Barnes because they believed she had made a false conversion to their religion and was "draining Miss Carson of her health and yogic powers."^[5] Their justifications for the second and third killings were that Stephens had allegedly sexually assaulted Suzan, and that Hellyar had allegedly called her a "witch" and sexually abused her.^[5] From their conviction and through their incarceration up to 2015,^[9] they have shown no remorse for their crimes.^[8]

They claimed to have traveled through Europe and, back in the United States, through the American Southwest and parts of California.^[5] The couple said they kept a list of targeted individuals, including political figures and celebrities such as Reagan and Johnny Carson. According to Richard D. Reynolds, who wrote a book about the case, the Carsons were suspects in nearly a dozen other deaths in the U.S. and Europe.^[8]

In popular culture

Underground journalist Richard D. Reynolds wrote a nonfiction book about the murders entitled Cry For War (Squibob Press, 1987).^[8] The Carsons' story has also been included in several true crime documentary TV anthologies, including: Deadly Women (Season 6, Episode 1, "Hunting Humans");^[10] Wicked Attraction (Season 2, Episode 1, "The Two Bears");^[11] The Devil You Know (Season 2, Episode 2, "A Serial Killer in the Family");^[12] and Snapped: "Killer Couples", Season 2 Episode 10.

Additionally, the murders are outlined in an episode of the podcast Criminology, including an interview with Jennifer "Jenn" Carson, Michael's daughter from his first marriage,^[13] and Lisa Ling interviewed Michael's daughter in an episode titled "Children of Killers" in her series This is Life with Lisa Ling . In 2018, the crimes, along with other murders in the same vicinity, were featured on the Netflix docu-series Murder Mountain.^[14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zodiac Killer</span> Pseudonym of a serial killer in California

The Zodiac Killer is the pseudonym of an unidentified serial killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s. The Zodiac murdered five known victims in the San Francisco Bay Area between December 1968 and October 1969, operating in rural, urban, and suburban settings. He targeted three young couples and a lone male cab driver. The case has been described as "arguably the most famous unsolved murder case in American history," and has become both a fixture of popular culture and a focus for efforts by amateur detectives.

San Quentin Rehabilitation Center (SQ), formerly known as San Quentin State Prison, is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men, located north of San Francisco in the unincorporated place of San Quentin in Marin County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cary Stayner</span> American serial killer (born 1961)

Cary Anthony Stayner is an American serial killer and the older brother of kidnapping victim Steven Stayner. He worked as a mechanic in Mariposa County, California, and murdered four women between February and July 1999, dumping their bodies near Yosemite National Park, leading to him being dubbed the Yosemite Park Killer or simply the Yosemite Killer. Stayner was found guilty and received the death penalty in 2002. He is currently awaiting execution at San Quentin State Prison.

Alderpoint is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California at an elevation of 472 feet (144 m), 11 miles (18 km) east-northeast of Garberville. Its population is 137 as of the 2020 census, down from 186 from the 2010 census. The ZIP Code is 95511 and its area code is 707.

Moses Sithole is a South African serial killer and rapist who committed the ABC Murders. It is believed that he is so named because they began in Atteridgeville, continued in Boksburg and finished in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg. However, many other sources state that the cities were not in that order, rather beginning in Cleveland, continuing in Boksburg and finishing in Atteridgeville. This has not been denied nor confirmed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genene Jones</span> American female serial killer

Genene Anne Jones is an American serial killer, responsible for the deaths of up to 60 infants and children in her care as a licensed vocational nurse during the 1970s and 1980s. In 1984, Jones was convicted of murder and injury to a child. She had used injections of digoxin, heparin, and later succinylcholine to induce medical crises in her patients, causing numerous deaths. The exact number of victims remains unknown; hospital officials allegedly misplaced and then destroyed records of Jones' activities, to prevent further litigation after Jones' first conviction.

California Medical Facility (CMF) is a male-only state prison medical facility located in the city of Vacaville, Solano County, California. It is older than California State Prison, Solano, the other state prison in Vacaville.

The FBI Files is an American television docudrama series that originally ran from 1998 to 2006 on the Discovery Channel and produced by New Dominion Pictures. The show was cancelled in 2006. However, Court TV Mystery, Discovery, and its sister network, Investigation Discovery, aired re-runs until October 2012. Investigation Discovery only showed episodes from seasons 5,6, and 7. As of October 2012, the network now airs episodes from the earlier seasons, with updated information about the cases at the end of most episodes. Up to late September 2012, WE tv showed episodes from seasons 1-4, but the network had removed the episode introductions by Jim Kallstrom. In the UK on Quest Red, The FBI Files airs every weeknight. It has also been shown on TV Denmark, Discovery Australia, and Netflix in Canada.

Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. is an American serial killer, serial rapist, burglar, peeping tom, former police officer and mechanic who committed at least 13 murders, 51 rapes, and 120 burglaries across California between 1974 and 1986. He is responsible for three known separate crime sprees throughout the state, each of which spawned a different nickname in the press, before it became evident that they were committed by the same person.

Keith Hunter Jesperson is a Canadian-American serial killer who murdered at least eight women in the United States during the early 1990s. He was known as the "Happy Face Killer" because he drew smiley faces on his many letters to the media and authorities. Many of his victims were sex workers and transients who had no connection to him. Strangulation was Jesperson's preferred method of murdering, the same method he often used to kill animals as a child.

Mule Creek State Prison (MCSP) is a California State Prison for men. It was opened in June 1987, and covers 866 acres (350 ha) located in Ione, California. The prison has a staff of 1,242 and an annual operating budget of $157 million.

The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in Northern California from at least the late 1960s to the early 1970s. His identity remains unknown. His crimes, letters and cryptograms to police and newspapers inspired many movies, novels, television and more.

David Joseph Carpenter, known as The Trailside Killer, is an American serial killer and serial rapist known for stalking and murdering a variety of individuals on hiking trails in state parks near San Francisco, California. He attacked at least ten individuals and was convicted in seven murders and was confirmed to be the killer in an eighth murder; Carpenter is also suspected in two additional killings. Two victims, Steven Haertle and Lois Rinna, mother of television personality Lisa Rinna, survived. Carpenter used a .38 caliber handgun in all but one of the killings. A .44 caliber handgun was used in the killing of Edda Kane on Mount Tamalpais.

The Doodler is an unidentified serial killer believed responsible for between six and sixteen murders and three assaults of men in San Francisco, California, between January 1974 and September 1975. The nickname was given due to the perpetrator's habit of sketching his victims prior to stabbing them to death. The perpetrator met his victims at gay nightclubs, bars and restaurants.

The Gilgo Beach serial killings were a series of murders spanning from the early 1990s until 2011. Many of the victims' remains were found over a period of months in 2010 and 2011 during a police search of the area along Ocean Parkway, near the remote beach town of Gilgo in Suffolk County, New York. The search was prompted by the disappearance of Shannan Gilbert, who, like many of the known victims, was an escort who advertised on Craigslist. The perpetrator in the case is known as the Long Island Serial Killer, the Manorville Butcher, or the Craigslist Ripper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speed Freak Killers</span> American serial killer duo

The Speed Freak Killers is the name given to serial killer duo Loren Herzog and Wesley Shermantine, together initially convicted of four murders — three jointly — and suspected in the deaths of as many as 72 people in and around San Joaquin County, California, based on a letter Shermantine wrote to a reporter in 2012. They received the "speed freak" moniker due to their habitual methamphetamine abuse. Herzog committed suicide in 2012. Shermantine remains on death row in San Quentin State Prison, in San Quentin, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen Edward Rogers</span> American serial killer on death row

Glen Edward Rogers, is an American convicted serial killer. He was also convicted of related crimes in Florida and California, such as armed robbery, grand theft auto, and arson.

Terry Peder Rasmussen was an American convicted murderer and suspected serial killer who was convicted of one murder, and linked to at least five more in a series of crimes that stretched across the contiguous United States between 1978 and 2002. Due to his use of many aliases, most notably "Bob Evans", Rasmussen is known as the Chameleon Killer.

Montie Ralph Rissell, also known as Monte, is an American serial killer and rapist who raped and murdered five women between 1976 and 1977 in Alexandria, Virginia, where he lived.

References

1 2 3 4 Briquelet, Kate (3 December 2015). "Witch-Killers' Family: Keep Them in Jail". The Daily Beast . Retrieved 7 September 2018.
1 2 Montini, E.J. (July 10, 2007). "Killer's daughter speaks for his hidden victims". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "A Serial Killer in the Family". The Devil You Know. Season 2. Episode 2. September 17, 2011. Investigation Discovery.
1 2 3 "Couple plead innocent after confessing at news conference". Lakeland Ledger. May 14, 1983. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
1 2 3 4 5 6 "Murder Suspects Admit Slayings". The Press-Courier. Oxnard, California. April 28, 1983. p. 31.
↑ "Chase Probe Continues". The Napa Valley Register. January 18, 1983. p. 2. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
↑ "3rd murder conviction upheld". The Press Courier. Oxnard, California. November 1, 1989. p. 2.
1 2 3 4 Reynolds, Richard D. (1 February 2010). Cry for War, the Story of Suzan and Michael Carson. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1-4392-7049-3.
↑ "Board denies S.F. killer parole". The Tribune. San Luis Obispo, California. December 3, 2015. p. A6. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
↑ "Hunting Humans". Deadly Women. Retrieved 27 June 2013. Season 6, Episode 1.
↑ "The Two Bears". Wicked Attraction. Season 2, Episode 1.
↑ "A Serial Killer in the Family". The Devil You Know . Season 2, Episode 2.
↑ "01 - The San Francisco Witch Killers". Criminology Podcast. 2 September 2018. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
↑ O'Keeffe, Jack (28 December 2018). "Netflix's New True Crime Series Will Make You Reconsider Where You Get Your Weed". Bustle. Retrieved 2019-01-04.