Bio

Celeste Simone Carrington was born in 1961. She is Black and grew up in Philadelphia. Her family lived in poverty. She said she was abused by both parents during her childhood. When she was 14, she became pregnant by her father.

As a young adult she moved to Southern California. She attended a community college there. She joined the track and field team and competed in the shot put. She reached a level that allowed her to compete internationally.

Murder Story

Celeste Simone Carrington was convicted of two murders during robberies in San Mateo County, California.

The killings happened on January 26, 1992 and March 11, 1992. The victims were Victor Esparza, 34, and Carolyn Gleason, 36.

Carrington used a .357 magnum revolver. A third robbery victim was shot three times, survived, and later testified against her. She was arrested on March 20, 1992.

She told police she went to the offices with a stolen gun and keys she had kept from her janitor work. She also claimed that her lover forced her to commit the crimes so she could give him money.

Carrington was sentenced to death on November 23, 1994. In 2009 the California Supreme Court upheld the death sentence and rejected claims that police had illegally searched her apartment or made promises of leniency that would make her confessions involuntary.