James Clifford Carson ( Michael Bear Carson; born 1950) and Susan Barnes Carson (aka Suzan Bear Carson; born 1941) are American

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

s convicted for three murders between 1981 and 1983 in

Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...

and the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. American female serial killers

Background

In 1977, James Carson was in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, when his first wife noticed severe behavioral changes and left with their daughter, Jennifer. Carson began a relationship with Susan Barnes, a divorcée with two teenage sons. James and Susan married, and became involved in illicit drugs and

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

. 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." By 1980, after a year-long trip to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, the Carsons returned to the U.S. and moved into the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where they continued their involvement with drugs and the

counterculture A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...

. 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.

The murders

In March 1981, 23-year-old Karen Barnes (no relation to Suzan), an aspiring actress from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

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. 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 Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

farm. According to other workers on the farm, the Carsons were anarchists who advocated revolution and predicted that a nuclear apocalypse would soon occur. 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 A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

, 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 A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...

they had written which called for the assassination of then- President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. However, authorities had difficulty tracking down the Carsons. In November 1982, Michael was picked up by police in

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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. The following January, the Carsons were hitchhiking near

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

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. 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.

Confessions and aftermath

The Carsons initially called a

press conference A press conference, also called news conference or press briefing, is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalism, journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicia ...

to confess to the murders of Hellyar, Stephens, and Barnes. Before trial, they withdrew their confessions and entered pleas of not guilty. 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. 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 KGO-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It has been owned and operated by the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television network through its ABC Owne ...

and the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'', as well as homicide investigators, the Carsons claimed to have been

pacifists Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...

and

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

practitioners who converted to a form of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, and described themselves as "vegetarian Moslem warriors." Their crimes emerged from a shared mission: to exterminate individuals they believed to be "witches". Consequently, the press dubbed them "the San Francisco Witch Killers." 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." 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. From their conviction and through their incarceration up to 2015, they have shown no remorse for their crimes. They claimed to have traveled through Europe and, back in the United States, through the American Southwest and parts of California. The couple said they kept a list of targeted individuals, including political figures and celebrities such as Reagan and

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

. 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.

In popular culture

Underground journalist Richard D. Reynolds wrote a nonfiction book about the murders entitled ''Cry For War'' (Squibob Press, 1987). The Carsons' story has also been included in several

true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...

documentary TV anthologies, including: '' Deadly Women'' (Season 6, Episode 1, "Hunting Humans"); '' Wicked Attraction'' (Season 2, Episode 1, "The Two Bears"); '' The Devil You Know'' (Season 2, Episode 2, "A Serial Killer in the Family"); 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, and

Lisa Ling Lisa J. Ling (born August 30, 1973) is an American journalist and television personality. She is a news contributor for CBS News. Previously, she was the host for ''This Is Life with Lisa Ling '' on CNN, a reporter on Channel One News, a co-host ...

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''.

Background

The murders

Confessions and aftermath

In popular culture

See also

References

Further reading