WEBVTT - Hell and Gone Murder Line: The Beallis Family [UPDATE] 0:00:46.480 --> 0:00:47.880 School of Humans. 0:00:49.240 --> 0:00:53.000 Helen Got Murder Line actively investigates cold case murders in 0:00:53.040 --> 0:00:56.200 an effort to raise public awareness invite witnesses to come 0:00:56.240 --> 0:01:00.120 forward and present evidence that could potentially be further investigated 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:03.760 by law enforcement. While we value insights from family and 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:07.720 community members, their statements should not be considered evidence and 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:11.520 point to the challenges of verifying facts inherent in cold cases. 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:15.800 We remind listeners that everyone has presumed innocent until proven 0:01:15.800 --> 0:01:19.080 guilty in a court of law. Nothing in the podcast 0:01:19.200 --> 0:01:22.080 is intended to state or imply that anyone who has 0:01:22.160 --> 0:01:25.600 not been convicted of a crime is guilty of any wrongdoing. 0:01:26.240 --> 0:01:27.120 Thanks for listening. 0:01:29.520 --> 0:01:32.240 On December third, twenty twenty five, at around nine to 0:01:32.320 --> 0:01:35.800 thirty in the morning, deputies with a Sebastian County Sheriff's 0:01:35.800 --> 0:01:38.240 Office were called to the home of fifty seven year 0:01:38.240 --> 0:01:40.880 old doctor Randall b Allis, his forty year old wife, 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:44.560 Charity be Alis, and their six year old twins. They 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:50.240 lived on South First Avenue in Bonanza, Arkansas. Investigators found 0:01:50.360 --> 0:01:54.680 a horrific site inside that house. The bodies of Charity 0:01:54.760 --> 0:01:57.800 and her two children, a boy and a girl, were 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.760 in the home. All of them had been fatally shot. 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:04.960 We covered this case back in February, and at first 0:02:05.160 --> 0:02:08.640 there were very few official answers, but this story got 0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:14.560 huge very fast. On March fourth, twenty twenty six, there 0:02:14.640 --> 0:02:17.680 was a shocking twist in this case when the Sebastian 0:02:17.720 --> 0:02:21.560 County Sheriff's Office announced that autopsies conducted by the Arkansas 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:25.480 State Crime Lab found that Charity died by suicide and 0:02:25.520 --> 0:02:29.720 that the two children died by homicide. According to the 0:02:29.720 --> 0:02:34.440 Sheriff's office, the evidence reviewed so far did not point 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:39.800 to another person being responsible. Investigators now say Charity killed 0:02:39.840 --> 0:02:45.800 the children and then killed herself. I'm Catherine Townsend. Over 0:02:45.840 --> 0:02:48.480 the past eight years of making my true crime podcast, 0:02:48.520 --> 0:02:51.320 Helen Gone, I've learned that there is no such thing 0:02:51.480 --> 0:02:54.560 as a small town where murder never happens. I have 0:02:54.600 --> 0:02:57.480 received hundreds of messages from people all around the country 0:02:57.920 --> 0:03:00.640 asking for help with an unsolved murder that's affected them, 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:05.000 their families, and their communities. If you have a case 0:03:05.040 --> 0:03:07.280 you'd like me and my team to look into, you 0:03:07.320 --> 0:03:09.440 can reach out to us at our Helen Gone Murder 0:03:09.480 --> 0:03:13.040 line at six seven eight seven four four six one 0:03:13.080 --> 0:03:16.720 four five. That's six seven eight seven four four six 0:03:16.880 --> 0:03:20.280 one four five, or you can send us a message 0:03:20.320 --> 0:04:08.600 on Instagram at Helen Gonepod This is Helen Gone murder line. 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:12.480 As soon as the bodies of Charity and the children 0:04:12.560 --> 0:04:14.880 were taken out of that house and sent to the 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:17.880 Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock and the Sebastian 0:04:17.920 --> 0:04:22.160 County Sheriff's Office started their investigation, the public narrative formed, 0:04:22.720 --> 0:04:25.400 and a lot of that public anger was focused on 0:04:25.560 --> 0:04:29.920 Randall by Alis and his and Charities increasingly public and 0:04:30.120 --> 0:04:35.200 very bitter divorce. On December second, the day before the 0:04:35.280 --> 0:04:39.320 bodies were found, Charity and Randall were battling in court 0:04:39.600 --> 0:04:44.240 for custody of their children. The very next day, Charity 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:48.120 and her six year old twins were dead. In the 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:52.520 days and weeks that followed, family members of Charities started 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:56.360 speaking to the media and online commentators, and thousands of 0:04:56.360 --> 0:05:00.760 social media users focused a lot of attention on Charity's 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:04.920 allegations in court records that her estranged husband, doctor Randal Bellis, 0:05:05.280 --> 0:05:10.760 had been abusive. On February sixteenth, twenty twenty five, Charity 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:14.080 and Randall had gotten into a fight. Charity claimed that 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:16.520 during that fight that Randal choked her in front of 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:20.680 the children. In October of twenty twenty five, Randall pleaded 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:25.400 guilty to third degree domestic battery related to this incident. Then, 0:05:25.960 --> 0:05:29.760 after the three bodies were found, the Sebastian County Sheriff's 0:05:29.800 --> 0:05:33.240 office did say publicly that Randal b Allis had not 0:05:33.280 --> 0:05:37.600 been named as a suspect. Randall's attorney, Michael Pierce, stated 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:41.240 that Randall denied any involvement in Charity in the children's 0:05:41.280 --> 0:05:44.360 deaths and said that Randall was co oper reading fully 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:47.720 the law enforcement, but that didn't stop the public and 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:52.560 a lot of Charity's family members from speaking out. Charity's father, 0:05:52.840 --> 0:05:57.000 Randy Powell, and her adult son John Powell, both publicly 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:59.920 stated two reporters that they believe that Randall had been 0:05:59.960 --> 0:06:03.800 abusive and controlling. John said that his mother had tried 0:06:03.840 --> 0:06:06.520 to escape Randall but was unable to get any help. 0:06:07.280 --> 0:06:10.920 They have also told multiple media sources that they suspect 0:06:11.360 --> 0:06:14.120 that Randall may have been involved in Charity and the 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:19.760 children's deaths. These deaths shocked a lot of people, so 0:06:20.040 --> 0:06:22.280 I wanted to go back and look at the evidence. 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:25.320 Now that I've had some time to digest these documents, 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:28.720 I have read through hundreds of pages of court transcripts, 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:31.400 and I want to try to get past the headlines 0:06:31.800 --> 0:06:34.040 and see if the events leading up to when Charity 0:06:34.080 --> 0:06:37.200 and her children's bodies were found can shed any light 0:06:37.440 --> 0:06:41.960 on what really happened. We did two episodes about this 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:44.360 case back in February, and we did say in Part 0:06:44.400 --> 0:06:48.320 two that until the autopsies and crime scene findings were public, 0:06:48.800 --> 0:06:53.000 that murder's suicide had to be considered as one possible scenario. 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:55.440 And to be honest, a lot of people wrote me 0:06:55.520 --> 0:06:58.920 angry messages about the fact that I even suggested that 0:06:59.000 --> 0:07:02.560 Charity could have killed her own children. A lot of 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:06.080 people still seem to be uncomfortable about talking about women 0:07:06.080 --> 0:07:09.680 who kill their children. It's much less common than men 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:13.480 who kill family members. According to multiple studies, somewhere between 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:17.120 ninety and ninety five percent of people classified as family 0:07:17.160 --> 0:07:21.560 annihilators are men. But it does happen, and that's what 0:07:21.640 --> 0:07:24.840 Sebastian County authorities say happened to Charity and her kids. 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:29.200 But Charity's family does not accept that conclusion, and the 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:32.160 public still does not have the full case file or 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:36.240 the autopsy reports. So today we're going to look at 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:39.360 what has changed since Part one and Part two, the 0:07:39.400 --> 0:07:43.280 autopsy ruling, the evidence the Sheriff's officeer supports it, what 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:46.440 happened to the remains of Charitying the Children, and where 0:07:46.440 --> 0:07:51.200 the investigation stands today. For those who haven't heard the 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:54.240 first two episodes on Charity Bealis or who need a 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:57.640 quick recap, Charity and Randal Bellis had been married for 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:00.800 ten years. They married for the first time in twenty twelve, 0:08:00.880 --> 0:08:03.440 and then they got divorced. Then they married for a 0:08:03.440 --> 0:08:07.640 second time on November one, twenty fifteen. Randal Beallis was 0:08:07.680 --> 0:08:10.920 a doctor at Mercy Hospital in Fort Smith. One of 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.880 his colleagues who testified in court said that Randall had 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.800 an excellent reputation, that he was a hard worker. Randal, 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:20.480 Charity and the two kids appeared to be a perfect family, 0:08:20.960 --> 0:08:24.480 but behind the scenes there was chaos and there were 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:30.000 allegations of domestic violence, allegations that went both ways. We 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:34.440 also talked about how after Charitying the Children's death, attention 0:08:34.720 --> 0:08:37.840 focused on the death of Randall's second wife, Shauna Graham, 0:08:38.280 --> 0:08:41.720 a thirty four year old licensed practical nurse. Shawn had 0:08:41.800 --> 0:08:45.280 died on January fifth, wealth from a gunshot wound to 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:48.560 the head. Her death was ruled to suicide, and if 0:08:48.560 --> 0:08:49.840 you haven't listened. 0:08:49.520 --> 0:08:52.440 Already, we did do a very deep dive. 0:08:52.320 --> 0:08:55.760 Into Shawna's case, including a lot of the police records, 0:08:55.800 --> 0:09:00.000 in the Charity Bialis Part two episode. But Shawna's mother, 0:09:00.120 --> 0:09:03.760 Tessa Graham, has posted on social media that there were 0:09:03.880 --> 0:09:08.080 irregularities in Shawna's crime scene. She said that she suspected 0:09:08.120 --> 0:09:11.480 that Randal had been involved in her death. We also 0:09:11.600 --> 0:09:14.000 got the investigative file, or at least part of it, 0:09:14.400 --> 0:09:18.320 after filing a Foyer request. Unfortunately, due to local laws, 0:09:18.600 --> 0:09:21.280 Shawna's case file was destroyed in twenty fourteen. 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:23.440 Again, there were two. 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:26.080 Completely different views of what was going on inside a 0:09:26.080 --> 0:09:31.320 marriage and a strange set of circumstances. Randal told police 0:09:31.520 --> 0:09:34.000 Shawna had threatened suicide repeatedly. 0:09:34.440 --> 0:09:36.600 In fact, he said that he was so. 0:09:36.640 --> 0:09:40.080 Concerned about her killing herself that he had replaced bullets 0:09:40.120 --> 0:09:42.680 in the gun they had at home with plastic or 0:09:42.760 --> 0:09:47.040 dummy rounds. On the day she died, Randal said that 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:51.680 Shawna went to Walmart and bought real ammunition. Randal said 0:09:51.720 --> 0:09:54.560 that that morning, Shauna was upset and threatening to end 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:57.360 her own life. He said that he tried to talk 0:09:57.400 --> 0:10:00.680 her down for hours, and then he left for work. Later, 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:03.520 Randall said he returned from work to check on her 0:10:03.960 --> 0:10:07.160 while on the phone with a friend and found her body. 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:09.520 Police who talked. 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:12.880 To Randall that day made some notes. They indicated in 0:10:12.960 --> 0:10:15.880 their report that the house appeared to be out of order. 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:19.120 The report stated there were boxes in the living room 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:21.880 as if someone had been packing. There was an empty 0:10:21.920 --> 0:10:24.720 wine bottle and a glass on the kitchen table. There 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:27.280 was a jacket with an unknown reddish stain that was 0:10:27.280 --> 0:10:30.280 submitted for testing, though the report we received did not 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:34.360 include a final result. While Randall was chatting with one 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:37.360 of the officers, he asked the officer whether he could 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:40.120 get his phone back to call his lawyer. He wanted 0:10:40.120 --> 0:10:42.520 to stop divorce papers from being sent in the mail. 0:10:43.200 --> 0:10:47.720 The officer told him no, so, like Charity and Randall, 0:10:48.240 --> 0:10:51.040 Charity and Shauna had been on the brink of divorce. 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:56.760 The report also contained evidence supporting suicide, including the fact 0:10:56.800 --> 0:10:59.840 that Shawna left a note, but the main evidence was 0:10:59.920 --> 0:11:03.160 video footage from that morning showing Shawna did go to 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:06.640 Walmart and buy that ammunition, and police talked to the 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:09.840 employee who helped her that day. He told police that 0:11:09.840 --> 0:11:13.720 Shawna had been asking questions about the ammunition, about hollow 0:11:13.720 --> 0:11:16.920 point bullets, and which bullets would be best for home protection. 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:21.400 While reviewing the police reports, we also found out something else. 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:27.200 Charity's name came up during Shawna's investigation, according to police 0:11:27.240 --> 0:11:30.640 records we discussed in part one. In twenty twenty one, 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.440 an officer was asked to review Shawna's case again after 0:11:34.480 --> 0:11:38.800 receiving new information from the Bonanza Police Department. According to 0:11:38.840 --> 0:11:43.560 that report, Randy Powell, Charity's father, had told police that 0:11:43.560 --> 0:11:46.440 she Shawuna, had been killed by her husband and his 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:51.520 current wife, meaning Randal and Charity. In that same review, 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:54.880 an officer referred to some body camera footage from an 0:11:54.880 --> 0:11:59.080 incident involving Randal and Charity at their home now. During 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:03.400 that incident, Charity's father, Randy Powell, reportedly told the officer 0:12:03.800 --> 0:12:06.240 that Charity had told him that she was the one 0:12:06.280 --> 0:12:11.520 who shot Shawna. Randy Charity's dad also reportedly said Charity 0:12:11.560 --> 0:12:14.480 told him she was glad that officers had not dusted 0:12:14.520 --> 0:12:16.560 for prints on the wine glass that was found at 0:12:16.560 --> 0:12:20.200 the scene, because she claimed she had been drinking out 0:12:20.200 --> 0:12:24.440 of it. Neither Charity nor Randall were ever charged in 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:28.560 connection with Shawna's death, and both of them denied any involvement. 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:33.120 But after Charity in the children's bodies were found, that 0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:36.360 allegation about Charity making a statement in connection. 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:38.720 With Shawna's death took on new significance. 0:12:39.480 --> 0:12:42.440 Not because it proves that Charity was involved in Shawna's 0:12:42.520 --> 0:12:45.240 death or that Shawna's death were anything other than suicide, 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:49.000 because it doesn't, but because it does show that the 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:53.120 overlap between these families, these deaths, and these allegations could 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:56.800 be a lot more complicated than the early public narratives suggested. 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:02.120 Four months after Shawna's death, in May of twenty twelve, 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:06.160 Charity and Randall were married, but as we said before, 0:13:06.280 --> 0:13:10.320 Charity and Randall's relationship continued to be votal. They divorced 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:12.880 just a few months later in October of that same year, 0:13:13.240 --> 0:13:16.560 but they continued to see each other. In twenty thirteen, 0:13:17.120 --> 0:13:19.760 Charity stated in court that she pulled a gun on 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:22.480 Randall during an argument and that he had done the 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:27.120 same to her multiple times. They eventually reconciled in in 0:13:27.200 --> 0:13:30.680 November of twenty fifteen, they married for the second and 0:13:30.840 --> 0:13:31.680 final time. 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:48.600 In our first. 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:51.360 Two episodes, we talked about Charity's twenty four year old son, 0:13:51.480 --> 0:13:55.280 John Powell, who publicly stated that Randall was the abuser 0:13:55.320 --> 0:13:58.560 in his and Charity's relationship, But it turns out that 0:13:58.680 --> 0:14:03.040 John's relationship with his mother also contained allegations against her. 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:07.160 According to online court records, in twenty twenty, when John 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:10.120 was seventeen years old, while he was living with Randall 0:14:10.160 --> 0:14:13.800 and Charity, he filed a petition to be legally emancipated 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:17.800 from Randall and Charity. He filed that petition after an 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:21.440 incident in May of twenty twenty where John alleged that 0:14:21.480 --> 0:14:25.120 both Charity and Randall slashed the tires on his truck 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:29.120 that he had bought himself, and a family friend released 0:14:29.160 --> 0:14:32.640 a video of that incident that went viral. In that video, 0:14:33.080 --> 0:14:35.960 Randall can be seen slashing the tires of the truck 0:14:36.040 --> 0:14:39.040 with a knife, while Charity is in the background holding 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:41.840 one of their young children and threatening to cut off 0:14:41.960 --> 0:14:47.240 John's phone. The court granted John's petition, so John has 0:14:47.320 --> 0:14:51.000 described his mother Charity as loving and kind, but he 0:14:51.080 --> 0:14:54.600 has also acknowledged that he had serious conflict with Charity 0:14:54.600 --> 0:14:58.960 and Randall when he was a teenager, Charity's father, Randy. 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:00.840 Powell, had a complicated history with her as well. 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:04.440 After she died, Charity's father was one of her most 0:15:04.520 --> 0:15:07.680 vocal defenders, but we discovered from looking back at the 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:11.440 court file that their relationship also had its share of conflicts. 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:15.400 In fact, according to court records, Charity actually wrote an 0:15:15.520 --> 0:15:19.120 unpublished book about Randy's allegimist treatment of her when she 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:22.280 was young. She stated that he had allowed her to 0:15:22.320 --> 0:15:26.560 be physically and sexually abused. Note she did not say 0:15:26.640 --> 0:15:30.080 that he physically or sexually abused her himself, just that 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:34.360 he left her in unsafe situations. Until a few months 0:15:34.360 --> 0:15:37.080 before her death, she hadn't spoken to Randy, her dad, 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:39.920 in ten years, according to the records, and they didn't 0:15:39.920 --> 0:15:43.920 start speaking again until after the domestic violence incident with 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:47.800 Randall in February of twenty twenty five, when she separated 0:15:47.840 --> 0:15:52.600 from her husband. Charity's father, Randy, was in court the 0:15:52.680 --> 0:15:55.360 day of the divorce hearings, and he walked out after 0:15:55.480 --> 0:15:59.720 Judge Shannon Blatt announced her ruling. And then on December eleventh, 0:15:59.960 --> 0:16:03.040 a week after Charity and the children's bodies were found, 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:07.080 Judge Blatt's office reported that Randy called the court and 0:16:07.160 --> 0:16:10.000 told her assistant that she might as well pull the 0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:13.680 trigger herself, and Randy also claimed that the court had 0:16:13.720 --> 0:16:17.680 blood on its hands. The judge later reported that call 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.760 to the Fort Smith Police Department. Like everything else in 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:25.280 this case, Charity's history with these family members is way 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:28.320 more complicated than can ever be recapped in. 0:16:28.280 --> 0:16:29.320 A two minute news clip. 0:16:30.360 --> 0:16:33.960 So what actually went down in court? On December second, 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:37.040 the day before Charity and her children's bodies were found. 0:16:37.680 --> 0:16:40.600 Charity walked into court that day looking for full custody 0:16:40.600 --> 0:16:45.240 of her kids. Randal also wanted full custody. Charity claimed 0:16:45.280 --> 0:16:47.880 at that hearing on December second that Randall was abusive. 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:50.120 He claimed that Charity was. 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:54.560 Emotionally abusing the children by alienating them from him. Charity 0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:58.560 claimed Randall was financially controlling and also used coercive control. 0:16:59.600 --> 0:17:02.160 Randal testified that he made four hundred thousand dollars a 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:05.640 year as a physician and deposited ten thousand dollars every 0:17:05.680 --> 0:17:09.160 month or two into Charity's account. Randall claimed that he 0:17:09.200 --> 0:17:13.000 was generous, but that Charity overspent on cosmetic procedures and 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:15.760 just stuff in general, and that because of that, he 0:17:15.840 --> 0:17:18.560 claimed he and Charity had agreed that she was not 0:17:18.920 --> 0:17:22.400 what he called a good steward of their money, But 0:17:22.640 --> 0:17:25.640 Randal said in general he believed he and Charity had 0:17:25.680 --> 0:17:29.360 a great relationship. However, he said that in his eyes, 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:33.800 something changed in twenty twenty four, after Charity gave up 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:36.960 drinking and smoking pot and got more involved in her church. 0:17:37.880 --> 0:17:41.760 Randal claimed that while he believed Charity abstaining from these 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:45.960 substances was in general against thing, he claimed that after 0:17:46.000 --> 0:17:49.680 that that Charity began to hate him and that their 0:17:49.680 --> 0:17:54.920 physical relationship deteriorated. Now, this was Randall's testimony. It's only 0:17:54.960 --> 0:17:58.000 one side of the story, but it did seem to 0:17:58.080 --> 0:18:01.520 match some of what John told news reporters, at least 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:05.280 the part about his mom rediscovering her faith. It also 0:18:05.280 --> 0:18:08.160 seemed to match some of her social media posts that 0:18:08.280 --> 0:18:11.160 showed Charity being very active in church and the year 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:14.960 before she and the children died. One thing that is 0:18:15.000 --> 0:18:17.400 not in dispute is that Charity and Randall got into 0:18:17.480 --> 0:18:21.000 a huge argument at home on February sixteenth, twenty twenty five. 0:18:21.720 --> 0:18:25.720 During that altercation, Charity claimed that Randal choked her in 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:29.040 front of the children. In August of twenty twenty five, 0:18:29.120 --> 0:18:32.000 Charity commented on a local news story about domestic abuse 0:18:32.360 --> 0:18:36.360 and wrote that she was living this battle. She said 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:38.840 that she was the victim, but that she felt treated 0:18:39.000 --> 0:18:42.160 like the problem. She wrote that lives were at stake, 0:18:42.520 --> 0:18:46.280 including the lives of young children, and in October of 0:18:46.320 --> 0:18:50.440 twenty twenty five, Randall pleaded guilty to third degree domestic 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:55.160 battery related to this incident. However, at that final custody 0:18:55.160 --> 0:18:58.920 hearing on December second, Randall had another version of events 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:02.720 of what he claimed happened that day. He claimed that 0:19:02.880 --> 0:19:06.080 Charity was the instigator of the February fight and that 0:19:06.120 --> 0:19:07.840 he had just picked her up and put her on 0:19:07.880 --> 0:19:09.600 a bathroom counter to get out the. 0:19:09.560 --> 0:19:10.640 Door and get away. 0:19:11.920 --> 0:19:16.200 After that fight, in February, Charity and Randall separated, and 0:19:16.560 --> 0:19:19.840 throughout twenty twenty five, after Charity filed for divorce and 0:19:19.880 --> 0:19:23.120 asked for full custody of the twins, Charity was posting 0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:27.000 on social media about domestic violence and about feeling failed 0:19:27.120 --> 0:19:32.480 by the system. Randall claimed that Charity was the abusive one. 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:35.400 During this time, he claimed that she had pulled the 0:19:35.520 --> 0:19:38.200 children out of school to homeschool them and coached them 0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:42.560 to say things about him and alienated him from them. Meanwhile, 0:19:42.920 --> 0:19:45.400 Charity admitted she had pulled the kids out of school, 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:48.120 but she said she did it because they were having 0:19:48.240 --> 0:19:51.680 medical issues and that quote they could not make it 0:19:51.720 --> 0:19:54.680 through a single full day without either having a migraine 0:19:55.000 --> 0:19:59.120 or vomiting episodes end quote. She told the judge on 0:19:59.160 --> 0:20:02.480 December second, that her children, especially her son, would have 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:06.080 an upset stomach around family holidays or on her birthday, 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:10.280 times that she claimed coincided with their dad being around. 0:20:11.160 --> 0:20:14.160 Randal said that was absolutely false. Again, there are two 0:20:14.240 --> 0:20:17.440 sides to every story, but all of this came to 0:20:17.520 --> 0:20:21.440 a head on December second, twenty twenty five. The bottom 0:20:21.480 --> 0:20:24.840 line is things did not go well for Charity at 0:20:24.840 --> 0:20:29.680 that hearing. After going through four different attorneys at that hearing, 0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:33.600 Charity chose to represent herself. Randall stated in court that 0:20:33.640 --> 0:20:35.960 he wanted access to his children, that he loved them 0:20:36.040 --> 0:20:40.360 very much, and that Charity was alienating them. Charity said 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:44.080 the children were afraid of Randall. Randal denied that. He 0:20:44.200 --> 0:20:47.840 said Charity had lied to the children and coached them. 0:20:48.120 --> 0:20:49.720 Things got heated in there. 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:53.200 Randall was claiming that Charity turned the children against him. 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:56.600 He said that he wanted full custody because he believed 0:20:56.720 --> 0:21:01.400 Charity was harming them emotionally. The court also heard about 0:21:01.440 --> 0:21:05.080 the February twenty twenty five domestic violence incident. We have 0:21:05.200 --> 0:21:08.600 already heard that Charity said Randall choked her and endangered 0:21:08.640 --> 0:21:12.720 the children, and that Randal ultimately pleaded guilty to misdemeanor 0:21:12.880 --> 0:21:17.200 third degree domestic battery, but at the divorce hearing, Randal 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:20.080 had an entirely different account of what he said happened 0:21:20.080 --> 0:21:25.760 that day. Randall claimed that Charity attacked him after he 0:21:25.800 --> 0:21:29.000 took her phone. He admitted to pushing her up on 0:21:29.040 --> 0:21:31.920 the bathroom counter in an attempt to get away, but 0:21:32.320 --> 0:21:34.960 he said that Charity was the instigator of that argument. 0:21:35.880 --> 0:21:38.960 The court also heard about an older incident from twenty thirteen, 0:21:39.320 --> 0:21:41.960 where Charity admitted she had pulled a gun on Randal 0:21:42.080 --> 0:21:45.360 during a domestic argument. Charity also said, by the way 0:21:45.400 --> 0:21:47.840 that Randall had pulled guns on her in the past. 0:21:48.680 --> 0:21:52.120 It's not surprising that Charity and Randall had completely different 0:21:52.160 --> 0:21:55.040 accounts of what was going on with the children, But 0:21:55.240 --> 0:21:57.560 it turns out there was another person in court that 0:21:57.640 --> 0:22:01.480 day who had witnessed the children being interviewed. He had 0:22:01.480 --> 0:22:03.840 his own views about what was really going on with 0:22:03.920 --> 0:22:20.960 Charity and Randall's children. An officer named Bobby Woodrum. Officer 0:22:21.000 --> 0:22:25.360 Woodrum testified that after the February incident, the children were 0:22:25.400 --> 0:22:28.080 brought in for forensic interviews with a therapist at a 0:22:28.120 --> 0:22:31.920 place called Hamilton House. Officer Woodrum said he was watching 0:22:31.960 --> 0:22:35.640 those interviews through a two way mirror. He said while 0:22:35.680 --> 0:22:38.480 he was watching, he became concerned about the number of 0:22:38.560 --> 0:22:42.040 times that, he said, the kids told the interviewer that 0:22:42.080 --> 0:22:45.120 their mother had told them to say something thing. Officer 0:22:45.120 --> 0:22:48.880 Woodrom testified that he later told Randall's attorneys that he 0:22:49.000 --> 0:22:53.040 believed that Charity had coached the children. He also said 0:22:53.200 --> 0:22:57.400 that the very next day, someone called the prosecutor's office 0:22:57.720 --> 0:23:00.600 and said that Officer Woodrum had been paid a million 0:23:00.680 --> 0:23:04.680 dollars by Randal Ballis and that the officer's conduct was unprofessional. 0:23:05.440 --> 0:23:09.480 Officer Woodrum testified that the part about him being paid 0:23:09.520 --> 0:23:14.400 money by Randal b Allis was completely untrue. However, Officer 0:23:14.440 --> 0:23:17.640 Woodrom did state he was removed from the case not 0:23:17.760 --> 0:23:20.600 because of the phone call, he said, but because he 0:23:20.600 --> 0:23:23.200 had asked Charity a question about whether or not she 0:23:23.280 --> 0:23:26.080 told the children to say certain things, which he said 0:23:26.160 --> 0:23:30.440 he and his supervisor had decided was inappropriate. Charity was 0:23:30.480 --> 0:23:34.000 representing herself at this point, so it was actually very 0:23:34.040 --> 0:23:38.120 awkward because she asked Officer Woodrom point blank if he 0:23:38.240 --> 0:23:41.720 believed that she had coached and manipulated her own children, 0:23:41.880 --> 0:23:45.200 and he told her yes, he did believe Charity had 0:23:45.320 --> 0:23:48.760 coached to manipulated her children. So in the end, Judge 0:23:48.760 --> 0:23:51.440 Blat had to weigh two very different versions of the 0:23:51.480 --> 0:23:54.560 same marriage. At the end of the hearing, she said 0:23:54.560 --> 0:23:58.680 she had serious concerns about both parties. She mentioned Randall's 0:23:58.680 --> 0:24:02.760 domestic battery please, but also said she was considering Charity's 0:24:02.760 --> 0:24:07.240 gun incident, and crucially, she said she had not heard 0:24:07.280 --> 0:24:11.320 any credible evidence of domestic violence against the children. She 0:24:11.440 --> 0:24:15.640 stated she believed that Charity had credibility issues, and she 0:24:15.760 --> 0:24:18.680 said she found Randall to be more credible than Charity. 0:24:19.360 --> 0:24:24.360 And on December second, Judge Blad ordered joint custody, meaning 0:24:24.840 --> 0:24:27.080 Charity would have the children for a week at a time, 0:24:27.440 --> 0:24:29.560 then Randall would have them for two weeks. 0:24:30.480 --> 0:24:32.040 This arrangement one week on. 0:24:32.160 --> 0:24:34.760 Two weeks off for Charity was meant to go on 0:24:34.880 --> 0:24:37.520 for the next six months, which meant that a new 0:24:37.680 --> 0:24:40.920 custody arrangement with Randall having the children two thirds of 0:24:40.960 --> 0:24:43.880 the time, was supposed to take effect three days later later, 0:24:44.120 --> 0:24:48.600 on December fifth. The very next day, on December third, 0:24:48.920 --> 0:24:54.920 the bodies were found. Records from the Sheriff's office talked 0:24:54.960 --> 0:24:58.000 about these divorce transcripts in their statement when they said, 0:24:58.040 --> 0:25:01.640 quote an examination of the transcripts of the deposition of 0:25:01.640 --> 0:25:04.800 miss Billis in the divorce custody case and the final 0:25:04.840 --> 0:25:07.360 hearing on the case on twelve two, twenty twenty five, 0:25:08.040 --> 0:25:11.720 reveal that she wished to be reconciled to her estranged husband, 0:25:11.920 --> 0:25:15.720 which did not happen. End quote just a note here. 0:25:15.840 --> 0:25:19.720 I have read the entire court transcript from December second, 0:25:20.120 --> 0:25:23.040 and I can't find anywhere where Charity said she wanted 0:25:23.080 --> 0:25:26.800 to reconcile with Randall on that day. I have seen 0:25:26.840 --> 0:25:30.080 references to her sending him messages wanting to get back 0:25:30.080 --> 0:25:33.800 with him after the February fight. The sheriff said they 0:25:33.880 --> 0:25:37.640 reviewed the electronic evidence and determined that on December second, 0:25:37.680 --> 0:25:41.760 at around ten pm, Charity deactivated the home security system 0:25:41.760 --> 0:25:44.640 with her phone, which police said she he had exclusive 0:25:44.680 --> 0:25:48.720 access to, and that after she turned the alarm system off. 0:25:49.480 --> 0:25:52.640 No doors or windows to the home were open, according 0:25:52.680 --> 0:25:57.160 to information provided by the alarm company. Police also said 0:25:57.160 --> 0:26:00.920 that they determined that Randall's tesla was quote nowhere near 0:26:01.080 --> 0:26:04.320