Over these many weeks, I have revealed many stories presented in my trial to challenge the "reasonable doubt" premise that the jury was supposed to use in deciding the guilt of a person. After the jury decides, the verdict is written in stone. Every court after that refers back to the jury's decision for all their excuses for denial.
1. Steven Beard was supposedly given 3-4 glasses of 190 proof Everclear every day for four years. Steven's kidneys, spleen, and pancreas were normal according to the autopsy.
2. Steven was supposedly given sleeping pills but the pharmacist accounted for the prescriptions filled by her.
3. Tarlton had her other kinds of harm supposedly done to Steven. Chili dogs laced with botulism, a plastic bag over Steven's head, and a large dose of Ecstasy put in Steven's drink. All these things had no affect on Steven testified by Tarlton. The "Poison Book" presented in my trial with the recipe for botulism was printed in 2000 long after the shooting.
--Appeals Court: "It is not necessary that the corroborating evidence directly connect the defendant to the crime or be sufficient in itself to establish the defendant's guilt. Article 38.14 satisfied if the combined weight of the nonaccomplice evidence tends to connect the defendant to the offense." All these falsehoods tended to connect me to Tarlton's shooting of Steven.
4. Tarlton's testimony about a walk-through at 3900 Toro Canyon had so many holes because my appointments demanded that I be at the beauty parlor at noon for a perm, the bank to cash a check, appointment with Dawn and then I had my hair fixed in an updo.
5. Juries think they have to judge the person rather than judge the evidence. Every one of my personal failings was listed plus more. Sexually involved with ex-husband, laughed at a photo of Steven with wet pants, signing, toilet papering a house, peeing in a yard, and the Sunday suck. Mr. Cob quoted in closing argument: "It is said in the Bible in the book of Timothy that those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, and they fall into many snares and many senseless and hurtful desires. They fall into ruin and perdition. And what follows that is one of the most famous phrases in the Bible that money is the root of all evil. But that's not the phrase. The phrase that follows that is that love of money is the root of all evil, because that's what this case is all about. People loved her but all she loved was money."
--Doctrine is a body of principles presented for acceptance and belief. The prosecution presented a Bible verse to have the jury accept their presentation and decide guilt. Their case wasn't provable by evidence so the jury was challenged to BELIEVE a doctrine. "Proving beyond a reasonable doubt" has become outdated to social justice or any other doctrine. Communism and Nazism is a doctrine. The Pilgrims came to the new world to escape oppressive doctrines. Sending a person to prison had to come from logic so the standard became "beyond a reasonable doubt."
6. Total confusion on what door Tarlton used to enter at 3900 Toro Canyon, once it was a sliding door and then it was on hinges. Tarlton testified, "I took these steps and I was at a little step up" into the master bedroom. The entrance way from the pool with a couple steps would put her in a hall 15 feet to the master suite. There was no police procedure done to secure the crime scene until after the shotgun shell was found.
7. Autopsy stated #8 stainless steel pellets were removed from Steven's body. #8 pellets is used to kill doves and Tarlton shot Steven in the fat part of the stomach. Tarlton clearly intended to injury Steven and that's all. Tarlton used her own shotgun. Her name was engraved on a metal plate bolted to the gun. She took her gun home and placed it back in the closet. Tarlton's shotgun passed the ballistics test. She had been waving the shotgun around threatening to shoot herself on our porch. Steven called it theatrics and maybe that angered Tarlton enough to shoot him. Tarlton got angry easily and it's in the transcripts - the hitchhiker, threatened Steven at Timberlawn, and charged at me in my own driveway with Dr. D. watching. It probably explains why Tarlton can't remember which door she entered at 3900 Toro Canyon.
8. The Marital Trust was written and signed in June 1998 long before Tarlton was known. I fully understood the Marital Trust terms because my name was placed on it to satisfy the IRS requirements. Steve could change the Marital Trust as long as he was alive. After he died, the Marital Trust was irrevocable. The Marital Trust owned the assets Steven placed in it. I received income payments off of it until I died or was in prison then it would be divided amongst the (natural and adoptive) children of Steven's. The guardianship that Kristina was seeking would have removed me also.
9. Steven Beard's medical records were interpreted by these stories where Steven had Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease since the 1980s.
10. Steven died of Pulmonary Emboli caused according to Dr. Bayardo, Medical Examiner, from too much sitting as a result of the shooting. Steven's gunshot wound was mostly healed and the autopsy report showed pre-existing clots which caused dead places in his lungs.
11. The trial transcripts showed Steven stopped walking in the rehab. hospital. Steven complained his legs hurt and he didn't want to walk. Blood clots often start in the legs and sitting will slow down the movement that feels funny and hurts. Medicare terminates all cases when the patient stops improving in therapy. Medicare was mentioned to me that they wouldn't pay and I said no problem, we'll pay.
12. Dr. Gotway stopped the push for Kristina to become guardian over me.
13. Douglas Morrison, director, instructor of audio engineering at Dallas Sound Lab. testified that conversation was deleted off the "hit man" tape. The tape had edits created by turning off the tape and starting it again connecting it to a new part of the conversation.
--What the Angleton case says is that the basics for proving legitimacy of the tape's authenticity includes whether the depiction of the conversation the tape at a continuous conversation between the participants is accurate. In other words, the conversation is not the result of splicing or other alteration. If you cut off a conversation in the middle of a conversation, that's an alteration that changes the meaning of the conversation.
14. Money was moved out of my account into other accounts in the bank and forged checks were written. It added up to a lot of money. The way I used money was a big issue in my trial and these actions provided propaganda for the media.
15. The jury passed all evidence as truth which caused the Appeals Court to reaffirm the verdict.
--Although due deference still must be accorded the fact finder's determinations, particularly those concerning the weight and credibility of the evidence, the reviewing court may disagree with the result in order to prevent a manifest injustice.
16. The "Summaries of Telephone Records" which the Appeals Court wrote about was the "bill records for eleven cell phone numbers." State exhibit #185 between May 1999 and July 2000.
--Anneta Black (associate forensic analyst) testified that from May 18th to December 31st, 1999 State Exhibit #179 5666 cell phone calls were made and January 1st through July 3rd, 2000 States's Exhibit #180 8019 cell phone calls were made. Steven Beard's telephone records were obtained from AT&T but 5 of the cell phones are associated with Tarlton either her home or work. I don't know if her records were obtained and included in the totals.
--Mr. Hennessay: And I'm not giving up any object. At a minimum, the identification as to the numbers should be deleted, Judge. There's been clear testimony before this court is "We didn't know who was using what phone or when." To try to introduce as primary evidence that a phone was used by a particular person at a particular time is not supported by the records and it's actually contrary to the evidence before this jury.
Q. (By Mr. DeGuerin) Mr. Burton, I want to ask you some very pointed questions. Did you receive a call from Keith Hampton on November 16th, 1999?
A. (Mr. Burton) I received a call from Keith Hampton, and that sounds about the right date, yes.
Q. At the time that - in November of 1999, what was being done at your direction or Phil Presse's direction about screening the telephone calls being received by all Beard telephones?
A. Primarily trying to keep Celeste Beard from receiving or making calls and having others, primarily her daughters, assist us in that.
Q. So were the daughters screening the calls?
A. Yes.
Q. And when you got the call from Keith Hampton was it -- did it have anything to do with Celeste having called Keith Hampton?
A. Yes that was really all that it was about, that my client had called Ms. Tarlton's attorney and he wanted to let me know that that was happening.
Q. And how many times did that happen? How many times did Mr. Hampton say that Celeste had called him?
A. Just that one time.
Q. Now, what did Mr. Hampton report that Celeste had requested when she called Keith Hampton?
A. She wanted to arrange a meeting between herself, that is between Celeste and Ms. Tarlton, outside the presence of either of their lawyers.
Q. And what was the purpose of it.
A. I wasn't informed at that time.
Q. Did it have anything to do with the telephone calls?
A. In what sense. I'm sorry. I may not be understanding.
Q. The telephone calls that the girls were screening for Celeste.
A. Well, obviously, it would have been a way for the two of them to communicate directly if they were having -- if they were having difficulty in communicating by telephone.
Q. All right. Now, did you ever get any information from Keith Hampton that Celeste had called him on more than just the one occasion?
A. Just that one occasion.
Q. Oh, oh. Was there any -- if Celeste had been meeting with Tracey Tarlton three to four times a week in the park and talking on the telephone, was there any reason for her to have to go through Keith Hampton to set up a meeting with Tracey Tarlton?
A. Apparently not, if that event occurred.
