Keryn Barnes, a 23-year-old aspiring actress from Georgia, had moved to San Francisco with dreams of making her mark. By the spring of 1981, the young woman was sharing an apartment in the city’s Haight-Ashbury district with a couple, Suzan and Michael Carson. Her life, full of promise, came to a brutal and sudden end on March 7, 1981, at the hands of the roommates she likely trusted.
Keryn became the first of three known victims of a pair who would later be dubbed the "San Francisco Witch Killers."
On that Saturday, Keryn Barnes was found dead in the apartment. Her body, wrapped in a blanket, was discovered in the basement. An investigation determined she had been viciously attacked, suffering a fractured skull and 13 stab wounds. Michael Carson had bludgeoned her in the head with a frying pan as she was preparing a snack, and when that didn't kill her, he stabbed her repeatedly at his wife's command. The evidence suggested Keryn knew her killer, and suspicion quickly fell on the Carsons, who had vanished immediately after the murder.
The investigation into Keryn’s death initially stalled as the Carsons, who used the last name "Bear," were difficult to track. They had fled San Francisco, eventually living on a secluded marijuana farm in Humboldt County. It was there, in 1982, that they killed their second victim, Clark Stephens. Their final proven murder occurred in January 1983, when they killed a driver, Jon Charles Hellyar, who had given them a ride. A high-speed chase following Hellyar's murder finally led to their capture.
In custody, the Carsons' bizarre and terrifying motive came to light. The couple, who were immersed in a strange mix of mysticism, drug use, and their own version of Islam, claimed they were "vegetarian Muslim warriors" on a holy mission to exterminate witches. They agreed to confess, but only on the condition that they could hold a press conference. In a chilling, five-hour interview with reporters and police in April 1983, Suzan and Michael Carson admitted to killing Keryn, Stephens, and Hellyar.
Suzan, who described herself as "a yogi and a mystic," claimed Keryn was a "witch" who had faked a religious conversion. She alleged Keryn was a "psychic vampire" who was draining her of her health and "yogic powers." The Carsons also expressed frustration that Keryn had declined to enter into a polyamorous relationship with them. Suzan ordered Michael to carry out the killing, a role he accepted as she was the one who identified their targets.
Despite their detailed public confessions, the Carsons pleaded not guilty at trial. The proceedings were a spectacle, with the defendants claiming they were under psychic attack. In June 1984, they were convicted of Keryn Barnes's murder and later found guilty of the other two killings. For their crimes, both Suzan and Michael Carson received sentences of 75 years to life in prison. They have remained incarcerated ever since, showing no remorse for their actions and holding fast to their beliefs. At a 2015 parole hearing for Suzan, which was denied, Keryn's sister, Lisa Long, traveled from Georgia to testify against her release, calling the killers "pure evil."
