An 83-year-old woman who, along with her husband, terrorized Northern California in the early 1980s with a series of brutal murders has been denied parole for another five years. The California Board of Parole Hearings determined that Suzan Carson still poses an unreasonable risk of danger to the public, more than four decades after her arrest.
The parole hearing took place on November 7, 2025, via video conference, where board members reviewed prison files and psychiatric evaluations before issuing their decision, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office. Deputy District Attorney Jason Rifkind represented the district attorney's office in opposition to Carson's release, and family members of the victims testified at the hearing, as reported by KRON4.
A Drug-Fueled Quest to Kill "Witches"
Suzan Carson and her husband Michael (born James Clifford Carson) became known as the "San Francisco Witch Killers" after they confessed to murdering three people whom they believed to be witches. The couple described themselves as "vegetarian Muslim warriors" on a holy mission, according to Wikipedia. Their killing spree, which unfolded between 1981 and 1983, combined drug use with a twisted ideology rooted in mysticism, yoga, and a self-created religious belief system.
Their first victim was 23-year-old Keryn Barnes, who was found stabbed 13 times with a fractured skull in her San Francisco apartment on March 7, 1981. After the couple's 1983 arrest, Suzan Carson told reporters she ordered her husband to kill Barnes because the victim was "draining" Suzan of her health and "yogic powers," according to KRON4. During that murder, Michael Carson used a blunt object to strike Barnes in the head numerous times and also stabbed her, prosecutors said.
The Sonoma County Murder
On January 12, 1983, the couple's final victim, 30-year-old Jon Charles Hellyar, picked up the hitchhiking Carsons while driving on U.S. Route 101 near Fulton. The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office reports that an argument escalated into violence on River Road in Fulton, where Michael shot Hellyar in the head twice while Suzan stabbed him. The brutal attack occurred in full view of passing motorists, one of whom called police, according to Wikipedia. A high-speed chase ensued when the Carsons attempted to flee in Hellyar's car, which crashed before they were apprehended.
Between their first and last murders, the Carsons also killed Clark Stephens, a fellow worker at a marijuana farm in Humboldt County on April 24, 1982. After shooting Stephens following a dispute, they burned his body and covered it with chicken manure in a shallow grave near Alderpoint, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.
A Bizarre Press Conference and No Remorse
In one of the more unusual aspects of this case, the Carsons actually requested a press conference after their arrest. According to Oxygen, investigators agreed to the request in exchange for incriminating information about the three murders. During the five-hour jailhouse interview in 1983, the bearded, long-haired Michael Carson declared, "Witchcraft, homosexuality and abortion are causes for death," while his wife smiled beside him.
Michael described Suzan as "a yogi and a mystic with knowledge of past, present and future events," as reported by The Journal. The couple also penned a manifesto called "Cry for War," in which they named Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, and Charles Manson as their "demonic" targets, according to the same source.
The Associated Press previously reported that family members of the victims have stated the killers have never expressed remorse or abandoned their beliefs that they were on a "holy war against witches" during their 1980s rampage, according to KRON4.
Elder Parole Eligibility and Legal Context
Although Carson was sentenced to three separate terms of 25 years to life, changes in California's parole laws meant she became eligible for what's known as Elder Parole. According to the California Board of Parole Hearings, under Penal Code section 3055, inmates who are 50 years of age or older and have served at least 20 years of continuous incarceration are eligible for elderly parole consideration. This program was established to review the parole suitability of aging inmates, with hearing panels required to give special consideration to an inmate's advanced age, long-term confinement, and diminished physical condition.
This marks Carson's second parole hearing. Her first parole hearing was held in December 2015, when she was denied for 15 years, as reported by The Journal. At that hearing, Carson's own attorney Laura Sheppard indicated her client "doesn't seem interested in attempting to seek parole" and hadn't helped prepare for the hearing.
Michael Carson, now 75 years old, was separately denied parole in May 2020 after a hearing at Mule Creek State Prison, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office. He received a 10-year denial and remains incarcerated. In 2015, Michael had actually canceled his own parole hearing, writing to prison officials: "No one is going to parole me because I will not and have not renounced my beliefs," as reported by CBS San Francisco.
Family Opposition Across Generations
Even Michael Carson's own daughter, Jennifer Carson, has actively opposed her parents' release. "They are still dangerous," she stated, according to The Seattle Times. Jennifer, who witnessed her father's dramatic personality transformation after meeting Suzan in the late 1970s, described her college-educated father as having been a stay-at-home dad caring for her in suburban Phoenix while her mother taught. "I remember those times as very happy times. But then his behavior began to change," she said, according to the same source.
She has characterized the day her father met Suzan as "like a match meeting dynamite," noting that her father and Suzan were heavy drug users who created their own moral and religious code, according to CBS San Francisco. Following Michael's 2020 parole denial, Jennifer released a statement saying, "I spoke out about against my father's parole because I believed he would kill again if released," as reported by NBC 7 San Diego.
A Pattern of Denials for California Serial Killers
The Carson case reflects a broader trend in California's handling of elderly serial killers seeking parole. KSBW reported that in July 2024, Edmund Kemper, the "Co-ed Killer" who murdered seven women and one girl in the Santa Cruz area in the early 1970s, was denied parole again at age 75. He is next eligible in 2031. Similarly, Herbert Mullin, who confessed to 13 murders in Santa Cruz County, was denied parole for the 11th time in March 2021 and received a seven-year denial, according to The Mercury News.
According to California Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog, since elderly parole programs began operating in California, over 3,000 inmates have been released under these provisions over a 10-year period. However, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports that two-thirds of those who come up for elderly release are denied parole.
Next Steps
Suzan Carson's next parole hearing is now scheduled for 2030, when she will be 88 years old. The five-year denial means she will remain incarcerated at her current facility for the foreseeable future. The board's decision affirms that despite her advanced age and decades of incarceration, Carson continues to be viewed as a threat to public safety.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the impact of the Carsons' crimes on multiple Northern California communities and the lasting trauma experienced by victims' families—families who continue to fight against the couple's release more than 40 years after the murders.
