The Bears:James “Michael Bear” Carson·James "Michael Bear" Carson·Susan "Suzan Bear" Barnes·Keryn Barnes·Clarke Stephens·Charles Hillyar

James Clifford Carson met Susan Barnes in Arizona in 1977, while he was still married to his first wife. He soon divorced and married Susan, who was nine years older. The couple used drugs heavily and drifted into a private mysticism they described as Islamic. They renamed themselves Michael and Suzan Bear and came to believe they had a mission to kill people they decided were witches.

In March 1981, their roommate in San Francisco, twenty-three-year-old aspiring actress Keryn Barnes (no relation to Suzan), was stabbed and beaten to death in the apartment they shared. In May 1982, Michael shot Clark Stephens, a fellow worker at a marijuana farm near Alderpoint in Humboldt County, and tried to hide the body by burning and burying it. In January 1983, the couple accepted a ride from Jon Charles Hellyar. A fight broke out, and Hellyar was stabbed and shot on the roadside in Sonoma County as other drivers watched. The Carsons fled in his truck and were caught after a chase.

The pair then used a press conference to claim all three killings. In June 1984 they were convicted of murdering Keryn Barnes, and later of the other two murders, receiving sentences that included 75 years to life. A state appeals court upheld the convictions.