Suzan Carson: The San Francisco Witch Killer
Overview
Suzan Carson, along with her husband Michael "Bear" Carson, embarked on a murder spree in Northern California between 1981 and 1983, driven by a bizarre and violent set of shared delusions. Calling themselves "vegetarian Moslem warriors," the couple believed they were on a holy mission to identify and exterminate "witches." Their crusade resulted in the brutal murders of three people they had befriended or encountered. Suzan, born Susan Barnes, was the ideologue of the pair, a self-proclaimed "yogi and a mystic" who identified their targets. Michael acted as the enforcer. Their rampage came to a dramatic end after their third murder, committed in public, led to a high-speed chase and their capture. The Carsons later held a rambling, five-hour press conference from jail, confessing to their crimes and outlining their belief system, cementing their notoriety as the "San Francisco Witch Killers." Convicted of three murders, they were each sentenced to 75 years to life in prison.
Early Life and Background
Born Susan Barnes in 1941, Suzan was a divorcée with two sons when she met James Clifford Carson in Arizona in 1977. James, who was nine years her junior, had recently experienced severe behavioral changes that led to the end of his first marriage. Suzan and James married and became deeply involved in drugs and mysticism. They eventually adopted the names Suzan and Michael Bear Carson, with Michael claiming God had given him the new name.
By 1980, after traveling through Europe, the couple settled in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district, immersing themselves in the local counterculture. They developed a unique and dangerous philosophy, a blend of Islam, yoga, and other beliefs, centered on a holy war against "witches." Suzan claimed to have psychic abilities that allowed her to identify these witches, who she believed were draining her of her "yogic powers." Michael's daughter from his first marriage, Jenn Carson, later recalled her father as having been loving and fun in her early childhood, a stark contrast to the man who would become a killer under Suzan's influence. The couple also created a manifesto that included a list of public figures they targeted for assassination, including then-President Ronald Reagan and television host Johnny Carson.
The Murder of Keryn Barnes
The Carsons' first known victim was Keryn Barnes, a 23-year-old aspiring actress from Georgia. Barnes was their roommate in their San Francisco apartment. The relationship soured when Barnes rejected the Carsons' proposal to enter into a polyamorous relationship with them. Suzan declared that Barnes was a "witch" who had faked a religious conversion and was psychically harming her.
On March 7, 1981, Suzan ordered Michael to kill her. As Barnes was in the kitchen, Michael bludgeoned her over the head with a cast-iron frying pan before stabbing her 13 times. Her skull was fractured in the attack. The couple wrapped her body in a blanket and hid it in the basement before fleeing the city. Police considered the Carsons prime suspects after the body was discovered, but the couple had already vanished.
The Murder of Clark Stephens
After killing Barnes, the Carsons fled to a hideout in Oregon before moving to a marijuana farm near Alderpoint in Humboldt County, California, in the spring of 1982. There they met 26-year-old Clark Stephens, a fellow farmworker. A dispute arose between Michael and Stephens, with the Carsons later claiming Stephens had been disrespectful and had sexually assaulted Suzan. This was enough for them to label him a witch.
On April 24, 1982, Michael shot and killed Stephens. In an attempt to dispose of the body, the couple burned it and then buried the charred remains under a pile of chicken manure in the woods. Stephens was reported missing, and his remains were discovered a few weeks later. Investigators found a manifesto written by the Carsons among their abandoned belongings, but the couple had once again fled before they could be apprehended.
The Murder of Jon Hellyar and Capture
The Carsons remained on the run for months. In November 1982, Michael was briefly detained by police in Los Angeles after being recognized while hitchhiking, but he was released due to a police error before Humboldt County detectives could question him.
On January 12, 1983, the couple was hitchhiking near Bakersfield when they were picked up by 30-year-old Jon Charles Hellyar. During the drive on U.S. Route 101 in Sonoma County, Suzan decided Hellyar was a powerful witch who needed to be killed. An argument broke out, and the struggle spilled out of the vehicle onto the side of River Road in Fulton. As motorists watched in horror, Suzan stabbed Hellyar while he and Michael fought over a gun. Michael gained control of the weapon and shot Hellyar twice in the head, killing him.
A witness immediately called the police. The Carsons fled in Hellyar's truck, leading deputies on a 45-minute high-speed chase through Sonoma and Napa counties. The chase ended when they crashed the vehicle, and they were finally arrested.
The Victims
- Keryn Barnes, 23 — March 7, 1981, in San Francisco. An aspiring actress from Georgia, she was living with the Carsons as a roommate when they brutally murdered her, claiming she was a "witch."
- Clark Stephens, 26 — April 24, 1982, in Humboldt County. A U.S. Air Force veteran, he was working on a marijuana farm with the Carsons when they killed him after a dispute.
- Jon Charles Hellyar, 30 — January 12, 1983, in Fulton. A resident of Lakeside, he was a kind man who offered the hitchhiking Carsons a ride, only to be murdered by them on the side of a highway.
Investigation and Confession
Following their arrest for the murder of Jon Hellyar, the Carsons initially refused to cooperate with police. However, their desire for attention soon took over. Complaining that their case wasn't receiving enough publicity, they arranged a five-hour press conference from jail on April 29, 1983, with reporters from KGO-TV and the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as homicide investigators.
During the bizarre interview, with Suzan smiling by his side, Michael Carson laid out their philosophy. They described themselves as "vegetarian Moslem warriors" on a mission to rid the world of witches, declaring that "Witchcraft, homosexuality and abortion are causes for death." They confessed not only to killing Hellyar but also to the murders of Keryn Barnes and Clark Stephens. Suzan, whom Michael described as a "mystic with knowledge of past, present and future events," was the one who identified the "witches." The couple showed no remorse, believing their actions were the "will of God." They also spoke of their travels in Europe and the United States, and authorities came to suspect them in nearly a dozen other deaths, though these were never proven.
Trial and Sentence
Despite their detailed public confessions, the Carsons withdrew them before trial and pleaded not guilty. Their legal proceedings were separated by county. On June 12, 1984, they were first tried and convicted in San Francisco for the murder of Keryn Barnes, receiving a sentence of 25 years to life.
Subsequently, they faced trial for the murders of Clark Stephens and Jon Hellyar. They were convicted in those cases as well, receiving additional sentences that brought their total to 75 years to life imprisonment for each of them. The First District Court of Appeal affirmed their convictions in 1989. Throughout their trials and imprisonment, they have never expressed remorse for the killings.
Aftermath and Legacy
Michael Bear Carson is incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison, and Suzan Carson is held at the Central California Women's Facility. Both have become eligible for parole hearings under California's Elder Parole Program, a prospect that has been strongly opposed by the families of their victims and by Michael Carson's own daughter.
In 2015, Michael Carson canceled his parole hearing, stating in a letter that he would not be paroled because he refused to renounce his beliefs. Suzan Carson was denied parole in December 2015 and again in November 2025. At the 2015 hearing, Keryn Barnes's sister, Lisa Long, testified against her release, stating, "They are unrepentant." The Carsons' crimes have been the subject of multiple true-crime television shows and books, which explore the dangerous intersection of drug abuse, cult-like delusion, and violence that defined their deadly partnership.
