Episode 634: Michael and Suzan Carson: San Francisco Witch Killers

Morbid

Morbid Network | Wondery

True Crime, Comedy, Exhibit C

4.5 • 93.7K Ratings

🗓️ 6 January 2025

⏱️ 81 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On January 12, 1983, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department received a call from a frantic driver who reported they’d just witnessed a shooting on the side of the side of the road in Fulton, California and the shooters had fled the scene a pickup truck. Deputies quickly located the truck and were led on a forty-five minute high-speed chase through Sonoma and Napa counties before finally being apprehended and identified as Michael and Suzan Carson.

The Carsons were held on a charge of murdering the truck’s original owner, Jon Charles Hellyar, but they refused to say a word to police. In time, however, Michael and Suzan Carson began to talk and eventually held a press conference during which they revealed a great deal about themselves and even went so far as to make ambiguous confessions to other recent murders in Northern California.

In the months that followed their arrest, Michael and Suzan Carson reveled in their notoriety and the media attention their statements captured. In addition to the murder of Hellyar, they would also be convicted of two other murders, claiming themselves to be Muslim warriors on a mission to rid the world of witches and other practitioners of dark magic, earning them the nickname “The San Francisco Witch Killers.”

Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!

References

Associated Press. 1983. "Couple complains their trial didn't get enough publicity." The Californian, April 28: 29.

Brewster, Rod. 1983. "Carsons claim their killings were 'will of God'." Petaluma Argus-Courier, May 4: 1.

—. 1983. "Carson's preliminary hearing on murder stats." Petaluma Argus-Courier, March 4: 2.

Daily Beast. 2020. "Daughter of serial 'witch kiler': if he goes free, 'someone else will be dead'." Daily Beast, May 27.

—. 2015. "Witch-killers' family: Keep them in Jail." Daily Beast, December 3.

Manes, George. 1983. "Probe of suspects widens." Press Democrat, January 30: 1.

Napa Valley Register. 1983. "Chase probe continues." Napa Valley Register, January 18: 2.

Navarro, Mireya. 1984. "'Good witch' to the rescue." San Francisco Examiner, May 30: 11.

—. 1984. "Remorseless 'witch-killers' get 25 to life." San Francisco Examiner, July 2: 15.

Reynolds, Richard D. 1988. Cry for War: The Story of Suzan and Michael Carson. San Francisco, CA: Squibob Press.

Saludes, Bony. 1985. "Carson says trial unfair." Press Democrat, June 19: 2.

San Francisco Examiner. 1984. "Carson comptent for trial." San Francisco Examiner, January 9: 14.

Sharpe, Ivan. 1983. "Couple boasts to police of killing 3 'witches in holy war'." San Francisco Examiner, April 28: 24.

United Press International. 1984. "Guilty verdict in 'witch' murder." Petaluma Argus-Courier, June 5: 2.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, weirdos, before we unleashed today's macab mystery, we were wondering, have you ever heard of Wondery Plus?
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0:09.9	You can join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or an Apple podcast or Spotify.
0:14.7	You're listening to a Morbid Network podcast.
0:20.6	Hey, weirdos.
0:21.9	I'm Ash.
0:22.7	And I'm Elena.
0:23.6	And this is morbid.
0:39.1	This is morbid.
0:39.7	It's morbid.
0:42.2	Wait, at the top of the show, I have an apology.
0:47.3	I never listen to morbid because, like, I don't really enjoy hearing my own voice very much.
0:50.1	But I listened to the intro of a couple episodes yesterday.
0:51.7	Just the intros are my favorite part.
0:54.9	Why the fuck can't I stop singing to you people?
0:56.4	Oh, you love to sing.
0:57.0	I do.
1:00.3	But like every intro lately is me singing horrifically.
1:02.5	And I'm like, we might lose listeners.
1:04.7	Our doubtlets might be down.
1:06.8	I was like, oh, God.
1:08.5	I'm going to get cited for this. I didn't even know that you did that much. I think there was three in a row where at first it was J-Lo, then it was, you got the baddest ideas.
	...

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