Contents • • • • • • Background [ ] In 1977, James Carson was in,, when his first wife noticed severe behavioral changes and left with their child. He began a relationship with Suzan Barnes, a divorcee with two teenaged sons. The two married and became involved in illicit drugs and. At some point, Carson took the name of 'Michael Bear', telling his daughter in a letter that had given him the new name 'Michael'; Suzan became known as 'Suzan Bear.' By 1980, after a year-long trip to, the Carsons returned to the U.S. And moved into the neighborhood of,, where they continued their involvement with drugs and the. By this time, Michael Bear Carson's former wife had become afraid that he would harm her and try to abduct their child, taking steps to hide herself and the child from him.

She went so far as to move numerous times and cut off contact with mutual acquaintances. The murders [ ] In March 1981, 22-year-old Keryn Barnes, an aspiring actress from 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 Keryn had been killed by someone she knew, and the Carsons became the.

However, the family disappeared before the body was found. The Carsons later confessed to killing Keryn after Suzan had decided she was a witch. The Carsons fled to a mountain hideout near,, where they remained until Spring 1982. They then moved to, California, where they lived and worked on a farm.

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According to other workers on the farm, the Carsons were who advocated revolution and predicted that a would soon occur. The Circle Epub. 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 to the, leading to the discovery of his burnt remains.

The Carsons, who by this point had fled, were again considered suspects. Upon searching the Carsons' abandoned belongings, detectives found a they had written which called for the assassination of then-. However, authorities had difficulty tracking down the Carsons over the coming years. In November 1982, Michael Bear Carson was picked up by police in after being seen by an acquaintance. 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 and were given a ride by 30-year-old Jon Charles Hellyar, who was driving to. Suzan Bear Carson reportedly decided that Hellyar was a witch and had to be killed. While Hellyar was driving on in, an argument and physical fight broke out between Hellyar and the Carsons, resulting in the car coming to a stop. The fight escalated outside the vehicle, with Suzan stabbing Hellyar while he and Michael struggled over a gun. Michael got control of the gun and shot Hellyar dead 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, but they were both apprehended. Confessions and aftermath [ ] The Carsons initially called a to confess to the murders of Hellyar, Stephens, and Keryn 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 twenty-five years in prison. Later, they were convicted of the murders of Stephens and Hellyar, for which they received sentences of fifty years to life and seventy-five years to life. In 1989, the, affirmed their third conviction as it had previously done on the other two convictions. James Carson is incarcerated at and Suzan Carson is incarcerated. In a five-hour interview with and the, as well as homicide investigators, the Carsons claimed to have been and practitioners who converted to a form of, and described themselves as 'vegetarian Moslem warriors.'