Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #134 - The False Promise of Protection: How Does AG Alan Wilson Determine Stand Your Ground? + Who Failed Charity Beallis?
Episode Date: January 29, 2026Investigative journalists Mandy Matney and Liz Farrell look at how Boyd and Williams’ claims of self-defense compare to that of Anijah Yarnell. Yarnell killed a man in 2020 which the court determine...d was a justified Stand Your Ground shooting in 2023 and the state is appealing that decision. It seems Attorney General Alan Wilson has two different ways of determining “who” qualifies for Stand Your Ground immunity … and it seems to have nothing to do with the evidence and EVERYTHING to do with who the shooters are. Also on today’s show, we continue our investigation of the shooting homicides of Charity Beallis and her two 5-year old twins in Bonanza, Arkansas. No arrests have been made and multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Secret Service are working on the case. While Charity’s husband Randy Beallis denies any wrong doing, we’re diving deeper into Randy’s past that reveals an allegedly violent history. A history that prosecutors acknowledged when they offered him a sweetheart deal for choking Charity in 2025. Two months after that plea deal… Charity and the twins were dead. 🦈 Lot’s to cover… Let’s Dive in… 🥽 Episode Links Petition to Urge SC Attorney General to PRIORITIZE the Re-Indictment of Michael Colucci ✍️ “Court rules man charged in deadly shooting near Surfside Beach acted in self-defense” - WBTW, Updated April 7, 2023 📰 SC Code of Laws - Article 6 Protection of Persons and Property Act aka Castle Doctrine aka Stand Your Ground ⚖️ Sunlight on Scott Spivey Spotify Playlist 🎧 Referenced Episodes: TSP 131 & 132 🎧 Stay Tuned, Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight...☀️ Learn more about LUNASHARK Premium Membership at lunashark.supercast.com to get bonus episodes like our Premium Dives, Wherever It Leads..., Girl Talk, and Soundbites that help you Stay Pesky and Stay in the Sunlight Support Our Show, Sponsors and Mission: https://lunasharkmedia.com/support/ Quince - Hungry Root - Bombas https://amzn.to/4cJ0eVn *** ALERT: If you ever notice audio errors in the pod, email info@lunasharkmedia.com and we'll send fun merch to the first listener that finds something that needs to be adjusted! *** For current & accurate updates: lunashark.supercast.com Instagram.com/mandy_matney | Instagram.com/elizfarrell bsky.app/profile/mandy-matney.com | bsky.app/profile/elizfarrell.com TrueSunlight.com facebook.com/TrueSunlightPodcast/ Instagram.com/TrueSunlightPod youtube.com/@LunaSharkMedia tiktok.com/@lunasharkmedia Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Hey there, E.B. here. Your faithful Cup of Justice co-host. I am so excited to tell you about my new book,
Anything But Bland. In this memoir, I share stories about my childhood, marked by bullying, my father's job loss,
and the indomitable spirit that propelled me into the law and ultimately international recognition during the Alex Murdall murder trial.
I believe in certain life principles that have helped me and helped others achieve success.
From the power of organization and a sense of urgency to the importance of truth,
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With vivid recollection from challenges and triumphs framing each chapter,
success isn't about luck.
It's earned through skill and hard work.
Please visit theericblan.com to learn more about the book,
Anything But Bland is a manifesto for those seeking triumph over adversity
and a guide for anyone aspiring to reach their full potential.
I don't know who killed Charity Bialis and her six-year-old twins.
But we need to talk about what the state did to Charity in the months leading up to her death,
teasing her with a shot of justice and then endangering her by empowering her abuser through the court.
And then we really need to ask the question,
Can these same agencies be trusted to catch her killer and hold her killer accountable?
My name is Mandy Matney. This is True Sunlight, a podcast exposing crime and corruption, previously
known as the Murdoch Murders podcast. True Sunlight is a Luna Shark production, written with
journalist Liz Farrell. Hello again from Cold Colorado. As y'all heard on this week's Cup of Justice,
I'm still battling a cold and I'm still getting my voice back. So please bear with me on this episode.
I want to start this episode by saying thank you.
to every person listening right now.
I understand that times are tough.
Our hearts break for what's happening in Minnesota.
I know that it's hard to spend your free time learning about cases of injustice in our country
when it feels like sometimes injustice is the norm,
and it feels like we live in a place where laws no longer matter.
However, we have to keep exposing the wrongdoing of public officials
if we ever want to make our system better.
We have to keep being a voice for victims following the truth wherever it leads and getting the story straight.
We have to keep shining the sunlight because darkness always benefits the bad guys.
We have to keep doing what we do best, and that is active journalism that makes a difference in the cases we cover,
and that is because of all of you, the listeners.
So again, thank you.
And I want to share some good news.
Our Luna Shark Premium Denver meetup is happening next week.
Please y'all save the date on Friday, February 6th at Breckenridge Brewery and Littleton, Colorado,
for our first ever bruise and news meetup, where we will spill the tea, drink some beer, sign some books, and take some selfies.
Check out the link in the description to RSVP as a premium member or join Luna Shark Premium to Ler.
learn more details. And you will get access to our new podcast wherever it leads, a travel show
hosted by David Moses, Grace Hills, and the team. Plus, y'all have to hear girl talk with Liz and
me. And there's just so much more on premium. Check it out today. In episode 131 of True
Sunlight podcast, we shared the first part of our reporting on the Charity Bialis case.
Charity was killed by gunshot alongside her six-year-old twins on December 3rd in her home in Bonanza, Arkansas,
which is in the western part of the state near the Oklahoma border.
A day before her death, Charity had finalized her divorce.
And, well, her soon-to-be ex-husband, Dr. Randy Bialis, had a history.
Like, a history history.
Today we are going to talk about the red flags and this guy's
relationship with women. And again, wonder what the heck is going on in that investigation.
But first, we want to talk about something super interesting that relates to the Scott Spivey case
in Ory County, South Carolina. And by interesting, we mean it seems like yet another shady
political game being played by, you know who, state attorney general Alan Wilson to the
detriment of the community at large, who, generally speaking, Alan Wilson would never lower himself.
to actually care about more than his good old boy overlords.
And that's this other stand-your-crown case going on in ORI County, South Carolina.
I know. Look at that. In this case, Attorney General Alan Wilson, who, reminder, is running for governor
like his daddy's boy love tank depends on it, and in the meantime is neglecting his duties as the state's
top law enforcement officer seems to have a very different opinion about what the
standard ground immunity law means depending on the case or perhaps depending on the person.
In Scott Spivey's case, Alan Wilson thinks that the stand your ground immunity law, well,
that plus the citizen's arrest law for some reason, protects Weldon Boyd and Bradley Williams
from prosecution in the decision to shoot and kill Scott. But in this other standard ground
case. Alan's office is currently appealing a judge's decision to grant stand your ground immunity to
the shooter in that other case, meaning a circuit court judge reviewed the evidence in the other case
and decided that the shooter met his burden in proving his stand your ground immunity defense.
Alan doesn't like that decision. So let's talk about this other case. We're actually going to call
this the Pennington case after the victim. Michael W. Pennington III, who was killed in Surfside Beach
on May 14th, 2020, more than three years before Scott's killing.
Surfside Beach is about nine miles south of Myrtle Beach and 44 miles from Loris,
where Weldon and Bradley killed Scott.
A few things to know before we dive in.
One, this, our discussion of this today, is about Alan Wilson and 15th Circuit Solicitor,
Jimmy Richardson, who handed over Scott's case to Allen in 2023.
Richard Sin also appears to have been on Weldon's side from the start,
according to the investigation file and Weldon's own words.
This is about them and it's about gaining insight into how they operate.
In other words, we're not intending to hurt Michael's family by analyzing this issue,
and we're not advocating for a particular outcome to this case,
but if Alan and Jimmy think Weldon and Bradley aren't prosecutable for what they did,
then Anisia Yarnel certainly wouldn't be either.
Again, this is all about Alan, all about Jimmy, all about their picking and choosing who gets the benefit of when and how they apply the law.
Two, we are still waiting for Alan Wilson's office to represent evidence to the grand jury in the Sarah Lynn Moore-Callucci case from 2015.
Alan's office screwed up that case in ways that one might be forgiven for thinking seem intentional at worst and grossly incompetent and arrogant at best.
It's always interesting to see which cases cause a special twitch for Alan and which don't
and then explore the why of it, even though I think the why is going to be obvious to y'all in this case.
Okay, three, the question we keep asking ourselves, in Scott's case and in this one we're going to share with you,
is why would we want to live in a world where people can singly and arbitrarily and without impunity
decide to kill you if they feel like it?
or rather if they feel threatened.
Do you know the number of times men have told us to stop yelling at them
when really we were just speaking intelligently, cogently,
and in a regular tone of voice?
Everything is subjective.
It's all about perception.
And in these cases, the winning self-defender has the narrative advantage.
The stand-your-ground immunity law is supposed to protect
law-abiding citizens who, within reason,
determined that their lives were in imminent danger
and that using lethal force was the only way to keep themselves from getting killed.
That makes sense.
You don't want to turn innocent people into criminals for protecting their property and their people.
But claiming self-defense doesn't mean anything if it doesn't meet the standards of the law, right?
So the Pennington case.
On May 14, 2020, a 20-year-old man named Anisia Robert Yarnel shot and killed another man,
33-year-old Michael Pennington.
Let's talk about what precipitated that.
At the time, Yarnel lived with his girlfriend who is referred to as Remy in court documents
and was seven months pregnant at the time.
Earlier in the day, the two had been arguing and at some point, after Yarnel said he wanted
to end the relationship, Remy went to Maddington Place, a condominium complex where family
members lived.
In the evening, Yarnel went to Maddington Place to drop off Remy's belongings to her.
When he pulled into the public area of the parking lot, he saw three people he knew
through Remy. He pulled up to where they were standing. One of those three people was Pennington.
Yarnel said he asked the three if Remy was going to come down and get her stuff, and that's when the altercation
began. Yarnel said that Pennington was, quote, belligerent and aggressive, and that he put down the
beer he had been drinking and told Yarnel to, quote, get the fuck out of the car so I can fuck you up.
Yarnel said that Pennington's eyes were wide and bulging. It is then that Yarnel said that
Pennington began trying to open Yarnel's car door and reaching in through the open window, even punching
Yarnel in the jaw. Yarnel had a handgun in the center console, which he retrieved. When Pennington saw
the gun, he told Yarnel if he was going to show his gun, he better use it. Yarnel said he also
tried to back up his car as Pennington was reaching through the window, and then he ultimately
shot in Pennington's general direction to get Pennington to stop. In November 22, Circuit Court
Judge Mark Hayes II held a pretrial evidentiary hearing to determine whether Yarnel's claims of
self-defense were reasonable and lawful. It took him another five months to issue his ruling. In the hearing,
the state, Solicitor Jimmy Richardson's office, argued that Yarnel did not qualify for immunity because
Pennington had a right to be in the parking lot and that Yarnel not only did not have a right to be
there, he was there to quote further an unlawful activity, which was the crime
of trespassing. They contended that Yarnel was trespassing because Remy's family had not invited him to
Maddington Place, which they said made him a trespasser. Stick a pin in that, though. Yarnel,
who was represented by Morgan Martin, aka Bradley Williams attorney, who we talked about in the last
episode, what what, contended that he had a right to stand his ground because he met the burden
of these two parts of the statute, which David will read. A person is presumed.
to have a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury to himself
when using deadly force if the person, one, against whom the deadly force is used is in the
process of unlawfully and forcefully entering or has unlawfully and forcibly entered an occupied
vehicle, or if he is attempting to remove another person against his will from the occupied
vehicle. And two, who uses deadly force knows or has reason to believe that an unlawful and
forcible entry or unlawful and forcible act is occurring or has occurred. In his order,
Judge Hayes noted that the person using the deadly force doesn't have to be right about the
danger being deadly. But the perception of the threat of the danger must be of a level that would cause
a reasonable person to fear for their lives in that moment. So that part that David just read,
those are the circumstances in which Yarnel believed he had a right to immunity. And as we said,
the state was like, but Pennington had a right to be in that parking lot and Yarnel was
trespassing. So therefore, the other part of the law, subsection C, discontal,
qualifies Yarnel from immunity. Here is David with subsection C.
A person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in another place where he has a right to be,
including but not limited to, his place of business, has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his
ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he reasonably believes it is necessary
to prevent death or great bodily injury to himself or another person or to prevent the commission
of a violent crime.
The judge noted that to determine whether subsection C disqualified Yarnel from immunity,
the state Supreme Court required him to conduct what's called a proximate cause analysis
during the pretrial hearing.
That meant the judge needed to look at the facts and decide what caused the problem that led Yarnel
to use deadly force in whether the alleged unlawful activity, which is trespassing,
was actually unlawful activity.
The state, he said, wanted him to focus on Yarnel's presence in the apartment building
parking lot because, again, Remy's family, who lived there, had not invited Yarnel to be there.
But here's the thing.
According to the order, Remy had consented to Yarnel bringing her belongings to her at that
location. Additionally, Yarnel testified that no one told him to leave. Therefore, Judge Hayes
believed that Yarnel had the right to be there and was not in fact trespassing. Though the
property was private and a sign at the property did state this, drivers were allowed to enter
the parking lot of Mattington Place for various reasons, including delivery. A manager of the
complex testified in the hearing and said that she did not consider Yarnel's presence there to
trespassing. Yarnel's presence there was no different than an Amazon driver being there.
That said, the judge also pointed out, even if Yarnel were trespassing, his presence in his own
vehicle on the property is not. What caused the problem that led to Yarnel believing his life
was in danger? Here is David with what the judge said happened, and we are replacing some of the
common nouns with the actual names of the individuals the judge is referring to.
just to make this case easier to follow.
On May 14, 2020, at approximately 9.45 p.m., or sometimes shortly afterwards, an altercation
occurred between Yarnel and Pennington. The altercation ended when Yarnel fired a single gunshot
at Pennington. Pennington passed away from the gunshot. Yarnel was seated in his vehicle
at all times during the altercation and when the shot was fired. The driver's side window was partially
down during the altercation. The bullets' path traveled through the window before it struck Pennington
in the upper chest. Forensic evidence indicates that Pennington was in very close proximity,
eight to 12 inches, to the gun when it was fired. Prior to the shot being fired, Pennington reached
into the vehicle to strike Yarnel and to attempt to grab the gun. Fingerprint, palm print
analysis, and eyewitness testimony established that Pennington grabbed the door hand, and to
door handle during the altercation. The greater weight of the evidence establishes that Pennington
was attempting to open the vehicle's door in order to reach Yarnel. The preponderance of the
evidence establishes that Yarnel did not present the gun into the altercation until after
Pennington had approached the vehicle. Threatening words such as, quote, get out of the car and I will
fuck you up, end quote, or, quote, get out of the car so I can fuck you up, end quote,
were made by Pennington before and after he was reaching into the vehicle.
After the gun was presented, Pennington stated, if you pull a gun, then you better pull the trigger.
Again, at all times during the altercation, Yarnel remained in his vehicle.
So, you get why we're bringing this up right now, right?
Attorney General Alan Wilson doesn't think that Yarnel, a black man,
qualifies for immunity under the State Stand Your Ground Act.
But Weldon and Bradley, he's willing to go to the mats on that one.
In Yarnel's case, you have someone trying to enter his vehicle in an apparently hostile in threatening manner,
something that Scott Spivey never did, by the way.
The judge ruled that the testimony was credible when it came to what Pennington said to Yarnel during the altercation.
He was threatening to harm Yarnel.
He was less than a foot away from Yarnel in reaching into Yarnel's window.
Yarnel's property to get at Yarnel when killed.
But no, according to Alan Wilson,
Yarnel did not have a right to stand his ground.
In Weldon's case, Scott appears to have been trying to get away from Weldon and Bradley for miles.
He not only drove faster to gain some distance,
he left the highway that they were on and turned on to Camp Swamp Road to go home.
He wasn't taking Weldon on a wild goose chase and playing some cat and mouse with him,
But Weldon wasn't done. Weldon, in our opinions, one and more. So he followed Scott,
which made Scott feel even more threatened. Scott got out of his vehicle and told Weldon to stop
following him. And, according to witness testimony, Scott did not raise his pistol at Weldon.
He had a down by his side with the slide back, but Weldon unloaded his gun in Scott's direction,
nonetheless. Add to that, the ORI County Police conducted a shady investigation that was all but
guaranteed to absolve Weldon in the end. And add to that, Ory County Police Department's existing
reputation as being corrupt and unethical. And add to that, the phone calls Weldon recorded that
are in evidence, calls in which he bragged about killing Scott and admitted to chasing him.
And add to that, Weldon admitted in the 911 call to already having their guns drawn
when he made that turn onto Camp Swamp Road.
But according to Alan Wilson, that was definitely self-defense.
Weldon had a right to be on that public road.
The Attorney General's office made it clear over and over that Weldon had the right to be on that
public road, which ignores Scott's right to be on that road altogether.
Yes, the circumstances between the Pennington and Spivey cases are different.
And before I say what I'm going to say, we believe that both men should be alive today.
But in comparing these cases in terms of the reasonable threat aspect, it is preposterous to us
that Alan Wilson can hold these two opposite opinions at the same time without there being
some sort of element clouding his judgment.
Before we say what we think that is, there's actually more to this ORI County Stand Your Ground case.
More on that after a quick break, and we'll be right back.
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So, Judge Hayes ruled in April 23 that Yarnel's decision to shoot and kill Pennington
qualified for stand-your-ground immunity under the law,
which meant that Yarnel could not be prosecuted criminally and that he held no civil liability
for Pennington's death. The state, by the way, also tried to say that Yarnel was at the apartment
complex to harm Remy. The Pennington was defending Remy, who was inside the condo at the time.
In his order, Judge Hayes, who disagreed with the state's assertion that Yarnel was there
to cause harm, noted the following. David.
Yarnel's demeanor while testifying was respectful to both attorneys while being questioned.
He was not argumentative or belligerent. He appeared nervous, but also,
genuine with his attempts to give answers to the questions presented to him. His demeanor remained the
same even when pressed by the state. He was a credible witness. Moreover, his description of his
relationship with Remy is accepted. Remy was not called as a witness. Yarnel and the other witnesses
stated he and Remy often argued with each other. The messages to Remy also read as petitioner expressing
his affection for her. The messages indicate he was not hiding his whereabouts from Remy.
He sent text messages to her letting her know of his presence, that he wanted to give her
belongings, give her a kiss before he went home, and refer to her as baby. As previously noted,
evidence was presented that Remy and Yarnel spoke by phone wherein Remy told him to leave her
belongings. Yarnel moved the court to include Pennington's toxicology report as evidence.
of Pennington's aggressive state of mind at the time of his killing.
According to the report, Pennington had ethanol, meaning alcohol, caffeine, benzile-agallon,
which I'm probably mispronouncing, but is a cocaine metabolite, Xanax, and marijuana in his system.
The judge said Pennington's intoxication did not factor into his decision because at the time Yarnel
killed Pennington, Yarnel had not mentioned that Pennington's intoxication explicitly caused him to believe his life was in danger.
At any rate, Judge Hayes ruled that Yarnel had already met his burden of proof and qualified for immunity.
A week after the judge's decision, an attorney was solicitor Jimmy Richardson's office notified the state court of appeals that they intended to appeal the judge's decision.
And then at some point, the Attorney General's office stepped in and took over the appeal.
We asked Beth to contact Robert Kittle, who is Alan Wilson spokesman, so we can understand when the Attorney General handles appeals involving solicitor.
officer's cases. Here's David with what he said.
We don't always become involved when a local solicitor appeals. We review appeals that we are
requested to take through the appellate review committee and consider the potential
issues on appealability, preservation, and the merits. Since this case is pending, it would be
inappropriate for us to comment. We also cannot compare one case to another because each case
must turn on its own facts.
Wait, it would be inappropriate for Alan Wilson to comment on a pending case.
Huh, is someone going to tell that to Alan Wilson?
He seemed to have no problem going on the political pulse podcast in December,
hosted by his cousin Joel Wilson and talking about the pending spivey investigation and civil case,
tripling down on his office's decision not to prosecute Weldon and Bradley,
and insisting that they were thorough in coming to that decision,
even while talking around the very big elephant in the room,
which is that the only evidence they appear to have looked at in this case
is the evidence given to them by police and not the full file.
Alan also recently spoke to the Wall Street Journal about the spivey case
and went on another small-scale South Carolina podcast hosted by one of his bro buddies.
Oh, and I have to mention this.
Alan also had no problem saying that Scott would have been the one arrested had he lived that night,
which is one of the grossest and dumbest things I've heard Alan ever say,
and girl, that list of gross and done things is long.
That said, guess who was arrested the night Pennington was killed?
Anysia Yarnel.
Arrested and charged with murder.
Pennington's body presumably was not taken to an impound lot and put on a tarp on the floor,
while the police took their sweet time removing his clothing,
item by item, and taking pictures of every state of disrobement.
Yarnel presumably didn't have a lawyer,
wearing a polo shirt that looked like he was an employee of an energy company,
trying to come onto the crime scene and then coming onto the crime scene to help Yarnel.
Yarnel presumably didn't have the, quote,
right people being sent to the scene by the deputy chief of the agency to help him.
I'm also going to guess that no police officer showed Yarnel a little handwritten note
warning him to act like a victim.
and that no police officer at the scene warned him to be quiet.
Yarnel didn't get a short interview with police
and then head to Wendy's for a bite afterward,
and then wake up the next morning and head to Palmetto State Armory,
a business owned in part by Alan Wilson's family,
to buy a replacement for the gun that was taken as evidence.
Yarnel, a 20-year-old black man with no criminal history,
who killed Pennington, a 33-year-old white man with,
not to talk ill of the dead, a criminal history, was handcuffed and thrown in jail,
where he remained for at least a month, according to court records.
So there, we said the quiet part out loud.
Anisha Yarnel was a black man, decidedly not a good old boy, and, well, Weldon has the support
of the Ori County Police Department, which means he has the support of vote-grubbing,
Alan Wilson, who needs every one of those officers to show up at the voting booth,
for him. To us, it seems that simple that this could be about race and access to power.
And oh, look at this. Lunar Shark researcher and reporter Beth Braden picked up on this one right away.
Though the prosecution appealed Judge Hayes' decision to grant Yardell Stand Your Ground Immunity in April
23, we're here in 26 with no resolution to the case. Why? Well, who knows? But also, look at how
fishy this is. The case was set to be heard by the appellate court on April 15th, 2025, but it didn't
get heard. And it's not fully clear why. The appellate deputy clerk of court sent an email the day
before canceling the hearing, but didn't say why. A week later, there was another email. On April 22nd,
2025, the appellate clerk of court wrote this. Here's David. Dear counsel, a member of the panel had an
unexpected family medical emergency last week, which led us to continue the oral argument.
Happily, all as well. After further careful consideration, this case will be submitted on the
record on appeal and briefs during the April 2025 term without oral argument.
Warmly, Jenny.
Pretty odd, right? The reason for the cancellation coming a week later, now there won't be
any oral argument? I wonder what else was going on around that time. Oh yeah, as Beth pointed out to us,
this is not only two months after Jennifer Spivey Foley's discovery of what was in the investigation file,
and shortly after Ori County Deputy Police Chief Brandon Strickland's departure from the agency
over what he did in the Spivey case, it was right after the Wall Street Journal series on the
spy v shooting. An hour reporting on true sunlight began exposing the very worst of good old boyism
and police corruption.
And do we have a decision from the appellate court
almost a year later?
Of course not.
It seems to be stalled for some reason.
Like I said, the Yarnel case is interesting.
It shows once again how shady Alan Wilson is.
You have a case that a judge has ruled
fits the standard ground immunity criteria
and in a way that can generally be seen
and understood by the public.
We don't agree with Yarnel's reasoning necessarily,
but on its face it makes sense.
We get it.
We can visualize his fear.
In Weldon's case,
uh, no, not at all.
We will never understand how Alan Wilson thinks there's no problem with Weldon chasing Scott.
Alan doesn't even see it as chasing, by the way.
That's the crazy thing,
which once again exposes him as not applying a single brain cell of his to the evidence.
It's infuriating.
And my God,
The hits keep coming with this case.
Stay tuned to true sunlight as we continue our coverage of the Scots-Bivacase right up
and through the Stand Your Ground Immunity hearing,
which is scheduled for February 17th through February 20th in Ory County.
Now it's time to share our part two of the Charity Bialis story with you.
Specifically, her soon-to-be ex-husband's history with women and violence
and how the state of Arkansas failed to protect her.
First, we need to talk about this February 21st.
2025 domestic violence incident that we told you about in episode 131.
And we need to talk about the way that the state handled it for the following 10 months
before charity and her twins were found shot to death.
Because it is so reflective of our broken system across the country.
A system that favors privileged, abusive men and their freedom more than it values
and protects the safety of women and children who are abused.
A system that has ignored.
the blatant patterns of abuse leading up to murders and failed to prevent those murders from happening.
And a system that failed to prevent those murders from happening.
A system that values plea deals for the privileged over public safety.
Let's take a look at the timeline of both the criminal and civil divorce case
to get a better sense of the legal battles the charity was facing leading up to the time of her death.
So the domestic violence incident where Charity said that she was choked and photos of her injuries taken by investigators back that claim up took place on February 16, 2025.
Randy moved out of the home that night and Charity filed for divorce against Randy on March 5th, just a few weeks later.
On March 12th, Randy Bialis was charged with aggravated assault on a family member, specifically choking.
He was also charged with domestic battery in the third degree in two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.
Another charge of committing a crime in the presence of a child was later added.
All told, he was facing one felony charge and four misdemeanors, which seems light, all things considered.
On March 19th, Randy appeared for his arraignment and was granted bond.
He was ordered to avoid contact with charity and their children and prohibited from going
near their house or school. The criminal case, in their divorce case, stalled throughout the summer
with various motions for discovery, delays, and subpoenas. But on Facebook, Charity was vocal about the
abuse that she said that she faced in her relationship with Randy. Here is a Facebook post from
June 7, 2025, just six months before she was found shot to death. Charity wrote,
But, I did.
I survived the chaos he called love, the betrayal, the manipulation, the financial devastation,
the sleepless nights with two terrified children, the gaslighting that made me question reality,
the silent wars behind closed doors.
He didn't pause when he was destroying everything sacred.
Not when he betrayed our family, not when he chose abuse over accountability.
Not when I was left to pick up shattered pieces with shaking hands.
dehydrated and broken, pleading for breath and strength in the silence.
But now, now that I've begun rebuilding, now that I've chosen healing, truths and freedom
over fear, he wants to pause.
To pause what exactly?
The games, the control, the narrative that he spun to everyone else while I was silently
drowning, this isn't love, it's damage control, its ego dressed up as romance, its panic
disguised as sentiment.
He never imagined I would rise from the wreckage, but I did.
And again, six months after Charity posted that,
she was found murdered in her home along with her two children.
In September, the Sebastian County DA's office
started ramping up their domestic violence case against Randy.
When Luna Shark journalist Beth Braden filed a Freedom of Information Act request
for all case files related to this investigation,
they give us four documents.
three that we talked about in True Sunlight, episode 131,
that included charity's statement to police and her Laura's Law evaluation
that concluded that Randy posed a dangerous threat to her life.
The fourth document was extremely interesting and peculiar,
a record that showed that the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office and Prosecutor's Office
interviewed Randy's first wife twice as part of this investigation.
That is so weird.
First of all, how often do we hear about a police,
agency and a prosecutor's office going to any length whatsoever to investigate a domestic violence
claim. Second, bringing in a wife from 15 years earlier to help bolster their investigation. If Randy's
plea deal wasn't so pathetic, we'd actually be impressed with the effort, because we need more of that
everywhere. On September 16th, Randy's first wife, Dr. Donna Bialis was interviewed by a Sebastian
County deputy in connection to Randy's DV case. We have a summary.
from that interview with Donna and another one.
As they were a few of the only documents the Sheriff's Office gave us
when Beth fired off her many foias related to Randy and Charity.
Essentially, Donna told police about a number of specific incidents
when Randy was abusive with her and her children.
She also told them about a couple of times when Fort Smith Police were called,
and the detective wrote that he was going to get those reports,
which they should have known about those incidents already, frankly,
but stick a pin in that interview.
So at that point, from court records, it looked like prosecutors were going forward to take this case to trial.
And Charity and Randy's divorce proceedings were simultaneously heating up and getting closer to the finish line.
On September 17th, the day after Randy's first wife told police that, yes, her ex-husband was abusive.
Yes, he was also abusive to their children.
And yes, she had documented that abuse.
Charity filed a bombshell motion in her divorce, demanding that Randy completed drug and alcohol test.
as part of their divorce proceedings.
We mentioned this in part one of our Who Killed Charity Bialis and her twins series,
but it's important we take another look at this document,
especially in the context of this.
What the heck was the DA thinking giving this man a sweetheart deal after this?
Another demi-documenting documents alleging this history of abuse
and propensity for his abuse to escalate were on the record and so easy to access.
And how was this man able to continue practicing as a doctor?
The motion alleged that the February 16, 2025 incident was not the first time Randy B. Alice was alleged to have physically abused his children.
Here's David reading a paragraph from that motion related to Randy's two children who were killed alongside charity.
On or about March 31, 2025, and in the course of the investigation related to the criminal case, the party's minor children,
Male female twins born in 2019 disclosed an act of child abuse perpetrated by their father upon them in July 24.
The disclosure included detailed statements regarding father suffocating the children and threatening to harm them if they told anyone.
On information and belief, a child abuse investigation was opened and the allegations were found to be true.
A true and correct copy of the child maltreatment, true investigative determination notice is attached here to and incorporated herein as Exhibit A.
Whoa, hold up.
We mentioned this document in episode 131, but we need to talk about this again.
Randy allegedly suffocated the twins in 2024, and an investigator with the state of Arkansas found those allegations to be true.
Why isn't this anywhere in the criminal file?
One would think it would be extremely important when determining whether or not a father abused his wife and children
to know that there was a separate documented case of abuse, especially when it appears their lives were in danger.
Exhibit A is an Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children document that said
Eliana and Maverick Bialis were alleged abuse victims of Randy Bialis.
It says, quote, based on the preponderance of the evidence, the investigative agency determined the allegation to be true.
and the offender's name should be placed in the child maltreatment central registry.
Um, so it's great that Arkansas law has such a registry and a system for documenting child abuse,
but like with Laura's law, this appears to just add extra paperwork, confirming abuse,
without seeking any more accountability or prevention of future abuse.
Like, what is the point of this?
We had Beth ask the Arkansas Department of Human Services some questions about this child maltreatment
registry, and just like with the Laura's Law List, it's half an effort.
Beth received a response from Margaret Newton, who identified herself as the agency's privacy
attorney, and said she could not acknowledge whether an investigation into Dr. Bialis existed.
Records related to a DHS investigation into the maltreatment of children are not considered
public records. And Margaret said we'd have to get old Randy Bialis to sign a release if we wanted
to know more about the case, which is a hilarious thought.
She cannot tell us whether Randy continued to be on that list at and after the time of
his children's murders.
But Margaret did tell us this.
Being investigated by DHS for child maltreatment is not the same as being investigated
for a crime.
Huh.
Weird, but okay.
She said being added to the maltreatment registry, the list that ostensibly acknowledges that
the accusations against a person being investigated.
for child maltreatment were credible isn't criminal in nature or reflective of an underlying
criminal case. Again, huh. And if you're on the maltreatment registry, a background check, like the one
schools and camps and churches do on employees and volunteers to protect children, won't come back with you
being on that list of child maltreaters. So what exactly is this list for? Are they making scrapbooks
with it? And again, most importantly, why didn't this damning document hurt?
Randy's criminal case. And why does he still have his medical license? Also, it gets worse. More on Dr. Randy
Bialis after a quick break.
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after randy was accused of choking charity in february 2025 an order of protection was issued
keeping randy away from charity and the children it is not crystal clear whether that protection
order continued on through the final divorce hearing in december right before the murders
But the court record showed that Randy wanted his lawyer to interview the children.
In a motion charity filed on September 17, 2025,
she mentioned several other incidents when she said that Randy abused her physically.
In 2013, when the couple got back together a year after they had married and divorced within a few months,
and that's the same year that his second wife was found shot to death.
Here is another excerpt from the explosive motion that,
in our opinion, should have set off all of the alarm bells for the prosecution to take this case
seriously. During the reconciliation and remarriage, specifically around August 2013, father beat mother and
almost strangled her to death. He then portrayed her as the aggressor and had her arrested. The
charges were dropped. Mother believes father to have been abusing alcohol and illegal narcotics
during that attack. The parties split briefly after the August 2013 incident, but reconciled in
2015. Between the years 2015 and mother's pregnancy with the twins in 2019, father physically abused
mother numerous times, with three such times being the worst. One such time included father holding
a shotgun to her face. During each attack, father was under the influence of alcohol and or illegal
narcotics, including heroin. Once the twins were born, father's abuse converted mainly to
psychological, emotional, and financial. However, his temper shifted with his use of alcohol and
illegal narcotics. Mother has personal knowledge that the father drinks to excess, specifically
whiskey and gin. Mother also has personal knowledge that father has abused heroin in the past.
Mother believes that his extreme rage is directly related to his drug and alcohol use.
However, father's extreme physical abuse returned in February 2025,
and Mother believes father to have been under the influence of heroin on the date in question.
Okay, so if I was the DA, I would be thinking that the domestic violence case should absolutely go to trial.
Not only do they have the evidence of the incident at stake.
including basically a confession from Randy admitting to assaulting charity, but also they have
a documented trail showing an alleged escalating pattern of abuse. The next day on September 18th,
prosecutor Kyra Jenner issued a slew of subpoenas for Randy's October 30th trial date. Those
subpoenas were for charity, Randy's first wife Donna, and four other men, Travis Fisher, Jeffrey
Reeves, James Seismore, and Cody McDonnell, demanding that they testify for the state on October 30th.
On September 23rd, the DA appeared to be bolstering their case and puffing their chest.
They even added a charge for the offense committed in the presence of a child.
Up until this point, from the court documents anyway, it looks like prosecutor Kyra Jenner is in this case going hard and without mercy toward Randy.
On paper, it looked like she had Randy backed into a corner on September 23rd.
It looked like on paper.
Without the context that we all have about how these types of cases usually go in our current justice system,
like Charity had a real shot of getting justice in this case.
Granted, let's talk about what justice would have looked like in this case because it is sad,
how un-seriously, Arkansas takes domestic violence cases.
just based on these charges alone and their maximum sentences.
It's another state where it appears like laws against domestic abuse were made to protect and
enable the abuser.
For Randy's only felony charge in this case, where he allegedly beat his wife and choked
her in front of their children, and that would be aggravated assault on a family member,
specifically listing choking, Dr. Randy Bialis faced up to only six years in prison.
It is weird that the state of Arkansas specifically recognizes choking as a form of assault with dangerous consequences,
and yet someone guilty of it only faces six years in prison?
That is weak and so incredibly offensive to victims who are mostly women and children.
Worse, for Randy's next charge, domestic battering in the third degree,
he faced up to one year in jail.
For the other two charges, endangering a child, also misdemeanors, Randy faced up to 90 days in jail.
So, in total, Randy could have likely faced a maximum of six years total, since most sentences are served concurrently.
And unfortunately, like so many of these domestic violence cases with privileged male defendants usually go,
the tables somehow turned on September 24th.
the state dropped two of Randy's endangering the welfare of a child charges.
It's like someone, perhaps a connected defense attorney with power and sway in the DA's office,
was negotiating to get child endangerment charges removed in order to reach a plea deal
that would allow Randy to get custody again.
And that's just a wild guess.
But then, this is interesting.
On September 25th, 2025, Kira Jenner, and a Sebastian County Sheriff's Office detective,
interviewed Donna Ford the second time, which again is great, but really strange to us given how this ended up.
How does this go from gathering more facts so the court can see that this doctor,
a guy who, generally speaking, gets paid automatic respect due to his profession,
has an alleged history of physical violence and other types of abuse in his relationships as a husband
and as a father, how does it go from all of that, plus adding a new charge to his rap sheet,
to giving the guy a tiny little slap on the wrist, right as his divorce and custody cases were heating up.
Investigators and prosecutors interviewed his first wife twice, and again, we're not talking about a recent first wife.
Their divorce went through in 2010.
Investigators went into the archives for this one.
So we have a transcript from Donna Bialis's first interview, and we want to talk about it because it tells us
so much, not only about Randy and the long history of abuse allegations against him,
but just how much the DA knew about Randy's disturbing past when they gave him a sweetheart
deal in October, just two months before Charity and her six-year-old children were murdered.
At the beginning of the interview, Donna told Randy the basics, how Randy and she met at Chicago
College of Osteopathic Medicine, and how they started their internships and residencies down at
Sun Coast Hospital in Largo, Florida, where they got married in 1997.
The couple had two girls and a boy together.
Like most abuse victims, Donna said her marriage wasn't abusive at the beginning,
but she described escalating violence.
The first abusive incident she recalled was when they were living in Charleston, Illinois.
She remembered her husband got mad and throw a tub of butter in their kitchen.
We want you to hear parts of this transcript to understand what kinds of questions
prosecutor Kira Jenner was asking, and how Donner,
Anna answered those questions.
David will read Kara's part and Mandy will read for Donna.
As Kyra, okay, was there another event involving intimate violence or family violence?
As Donna.
There was one incident when he was angry with me and I don't know why.
That he shoved me down and he kicked my foot.
We were living in Charleston at the time.
He denied that he kicked me at the time.
The kids came running into the room to see if everything was okay.
and I don't recall why there was an argument or a disagreement at that time.
Askyra, were police called on this event?
No.
Okay, and you don't recall what had sparked his anger?
Not at the time.
Okay.
It was a long time ago.
Okay, um, was there a third event?
There was.
We were living in the neighborhood.
And that is here in Fort Smith?
I think it was possibly.
And I was angry with him because he had a gun that he had gave to Shauna O'Lea, because he felt she needed to protect herself.
And she lived in Oklahoma, and she took the gun over to Oklahoma.
And I was upset with him for putting the children an eye and himself at risk by doing that.
He got angry with me, and I ended up being shoved against the wall.
The other side of the wall was my daughter's bedroom where she was at.
She came out of the bedroom to see what happened, and I yelled at her and told her.
to go back in there and close the door.
Okay, whoa.
We need to talk about Shawna.
Randy's second wife, who, according to Donna's interview,
worked at the hospital with Randy in 2009,
and who married Randy one month after his divorce was finalized in 2010.
Shauna was found dead from a gunshot wound to the forehead on January 5th, 2012.
She was found dead in her bed that she shared with Randy,
who she married less than two years before she died.
They were only married for 20 months.
Apparently sometime around 2009, according to Donna,
Randy had given a gun to Shawna to protect herself,
and she crossed state lines with that gun that was registered to him.
This obviously started a fight between Donna and Randy,
as I'm sure Donna was like,
why the F is my husband lending his gun to a good-looking lady who works at the hospital?
It's about three years after that fight that Shauna was found dead by gunshot wound,
and the investigation into her death revolved a lot around guns.
Specifically, Randy claimed that before her death,
Shawna was so severely depressed and suicidal
that he filled their gun with dummy rounds,
which is shocking and very odd.
And we will unpack that on another episode.
Okay, so back to the Donna interview.
Donna then told the prosecutor about two other incidents
in which Randy nearly hit her with his car when they were divorced.
She filed police reports for both incidents,
for both incidents which occurred at custody transfers.
In one case, Donna was saying goodbye to the children who were in the backseat.
The door was open and Donna was positioned by it.
Nonetheless, Donna said Randy decided to back up his vehicle in an attempt to hit her with the door.
In the other incident, Donna was reaching in the backseat to retrieve one of their kids' backpacks,
and Randy put the car in drive.
Donna was able to avoid getting hit, but Randy sped off with the backpack, making it so she had to drive to his house later to get it back,
according to her interview.
Donna also told the prosecutor about two specific incidents when Randy was abusive to her children.
Here's Mandy reading exactly what Donna told the prosecutor.
And this is Donna.
My son just told me this the other day,
that while we were still married and living in Brighton,
there was an incident where the middle child and the youngest child were chasing each other.
I don't know if they were fighting or if they were just playing,
but they had socks on.
and we had wood floors.
He said that he ran down the hallway
and into the master bedroom
because you either had to go to the master bedroom
or down the other hallway.
He went into the master bedroom
and he was standing between the master bedroom
and the desk and Randy was sitting at the desk.
Shortly after that, his sister slipped
and hit her head and started crying.
And when that happened, my son said
that dad looked at me
and he had this look that scared me
and I ran into my room
and dad proceeded to punch me multiple times.
But he never told me that until the other day.
That story literally left the prosecutor speechless.
How many stories like that do these children have
where they were the victims of their father's anger?
Donna then recalled another horrifying memory of Randy as a father.
Here's Mandy reading what Donna said.
And this is Donna.
There was an incident at a gymnastics meet
where he had the children on a Saturday.
So I don't know if this was before the divorce was final
because he normally did not have the children on the weekend.
And he had all three kids, and they had a meet.
It was at the junior high next to Didian.
The girls were helping out in assisting with scorekeeping
and running and whatever else they were asked to do.
And he went up there and he told them that it was time to go.
And they were outside, and they told him that the meat wasn't over.
They still needed to be there, and he got angry.
He proceeded to wrestle my daughter to the ground to try to take her phone.
She ran back inside.
Two of the parents from the girls' team who were helping with the meat witnessed this.
And they told me after the fact.
He ended up leaving and picking the kids up when the meet was over.
Whoa, Donna said that Randy, the family doctor who worked for Mercy Hospitals at the time,
lost his temper at a kid's gymnastics meet in Arkansas when he was apparently mad at his children
for doing what they were supposed to be doing, which was keeping score.
He allegedly got so mad, according to Donna,
that he wrestled his little girl to the ground in an attempt to get her phone.
And two other parents witnessed this, allegedly.
And this man went on with his career as a family doctor in the community for the next decade,
those poor children.
Donna then shared that the abuse wasn't just physical, it was emotional too.
Here's Mandy reading Donna's part again.
And this is Donna.
Here is another issue of abandonment.
He was upset with his daughter when she was in sixth grade.
All three children were at Christ the King.
He had the middle and younger child in his vehicle,
and the other daughter was the last one to come out.
She said that she saw his vehicle driving out at the parking lot
and she was running to catch up to him.
He rolled down the window and scolded her,
and then drove off and left her standing there in the parking lot.
He did not take her for visitation for approximately six months after that.
Okay. Oh my God.
His daughter was in grade school, and because she didn't get to his car fast enough in the school pickup line,
he didn't see his own daughter for six months after that, because she was a few minutes late to his car.
I know. I know, y'all.
This is all alleged, but it's also important to note that Donna is a doctor,
and she's saying this during an official police interview that she knows is being reversed.
recorded. Donna was also frank with the prosecutor about the emotional damage Randy's reckless
relationships had on their children. Again, here is Mandy reading Donna's part and David reading
for prosecutor Kira Jenner. As Donna. After his second wife, well, technically his third wife.
As Kyra. Now, who was that? After Shauna passed away, which was the first week of January.
Of what year? Um, I think it was January of 2000.
12, if I'm correct. She passed away. She had a daughter that the kids no longer saw, and my son
was very attached to the daughter. He brought Charity around a couple weeks later. By spring break
of that year, Charity had moved in. By Memorial Day weekend of that year, they got married.
The children and I were not aware of the marriage until after the fact. By maybe October,
Charity was moved out. Charity was moved out of...
Randy's house. Randy's residence?
And she had a son that they were one year difference in age and hang out together and do things.
Well, she moved out.
Then he had another girlfriend.
Her name was Katie.
I don't remember her last name.
I don't know if I ever knew it.
I know her parents had owned some convenience stores in Van Buren.
My children heard that they were going to get married when she was talking on the phone in the vehicle with the children present.
After a weekend, their visitation at the time with their dad was Monday.
through Friday from 3 to 5. So after a weekend, she told them, did dad tell you that we got
married over the weekend? And so the children were having a very difficult time handling that
because they had a death, a marriage, a divorce, and another marriage within 12 months.
They were seeing a counselor at the time, I'm trying to remember his name. I know where his office
is at, and he had petitioned the court to suspend visitation. Katie, who is?
is Katie? Are you telling me there are possibly four wives, two dead, and one in the wind?
So let's recap what Donna is saying here. Between 2012 and 2013, her kids appear to have had three
different stepmothers, and one of those stepmothers was found shot to death in her bed, and
another charity came and went in a quick marriage and divorce. She ended up remarrying
Randy in 2015. But where is Katie? If anyone out there knows about her,
Randy and Katie please contact us because this is beyond chaotic and tumultuous and awful
it's again one of those stories that seems like it came from the mind of screenwriter crafting a
thriller thankfully the court suspended Randy's visitation with his children at that point
according to Donna's interview Donna also said her son told a teacher that he was afraid of his
dad and a principal reported it to the Ford Smith Police Department which never really
investigated it and dropped the matter when Donna was asked if the
there was anything else she wanted to add, she said, quote, I feel he is a narcissist.
And she said that a psychologist that the family was working with told her he felt Randy was,
quote, a narcissist and displayed some of the typical characteristics with his anger,
manipulation, revenge, and getting payback. He could also be very charming, convincing,
until you made him angry. Here's one part of the interview that you all need to hear with
Mandy again as Donna and David reading Kara's part.
As Kyra, yeah, in the instances that you have given, you know throwing the item of the buttertub
and the other instances where clearly he's trying to run you over with the vehicle, or knock you to the ground and pushed the other time when he pushed you up against the wall,
is there one main thing that I can cite to the court that runs through all those events?
As Donna, he refers to it as.
when I would push his buttons and make him angry. I was the reason why he behaved that way.
To the best of your knowledge, try to remember what words would he say which were giving that
implication that you were pushing his buttons and you were making him angry?
One time I remember he said, you made me do it, and I responded, not verbatim, but I do not
make you do that. That was your choice to behave in that manner. It was not my choice. We will be
right back. After we read this interview, well, we read it several times, but on the first read,
we were both like, what more could they possibly need to convince them to go to trial in their
domestic violence case against Randy? We have all these lists and registries and boxes that
were getting checked, pointing to Randy being a threat to Charity's life in the fall of 2025.
and the DA's office and law enforcement seemed invested in this case in a way that could actually serve as a model for other domestic violence investigations.
Always ask the other wives when you can.
But no trial.
No actual meaningful accountability that would have served charity and her children over serving Randy.
On October 7th, Randy's attorney Michael Pierce asked the judge to extend the plea date deadline from October 8th to October 30th.
On October 8th, the judge granted Randy his extension to October 22nd.
On October 8th, that same day, prosecutor Kira Jenner dropped three of Randy's four charges.
There's no explanation in Randy's file.
On October 9th, Randy pleaded guilty to third-degree domestic battery and was essentially sentenced to one-year probation.
Let me have David read this pathetic excuse for a probation sentence.
The defendant will not violate any federal, state, or mutual.
municipal laws, shall refrain from frequenting places where alcoholic beverages are sold or served
and from consorting or associating with persons with criminal records, persons of bad character,
or persons planning or encouraging the violation of any law, and shall not possess or use marijuana
unless prescribed by a licensed medical provider, narcotics or any other drug or controlled
substance prohibited by the Controlled Substances Act. The defendant is ordered to pay a fine in the
amount of $1,500 and $150 in court costs to be paid to the Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorneys
Office at the rate of $140 per month, beginning November 1, 2025. The defendant is ordered to have
no contact with Charity Bialis and any members of Charity Bialis's family either directly or indirectly
unless authorized by a valid court order in a domestic relations case and only for purposes of child
visitation or custody exchange as authorized by domestic relations court orders. The defendant
shall attend and provide proof of completion of a domestic violence intervention program through
Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance Center. Proof of completion of the domestic violence
intervention program must be submitted to the Sebastian County Prosecuting Attorney's Office
by May 1, 26. The victim and her attorney have been consulted and both approved. And both
approve of this disposition. Any violation of the terms and conditions of this suspended in
position of sentence may result in a revocation of this sentence and or a finding of contempt of
court. So essentially, like we said in part one, Randy Bialis was ordered to pay the court about
$3,100. Go to what sounds like domestic violence camp, basically one-evs in the future.
And then he was told to try not to visit bars or use weed, unless medically prescribed.
Oh, and this part is important.
He was ordered to have no contact with Charity Bialis or her family, unless for the purposes of child visitation.
Again, this is important.
The DA dropped the charges involving the children, meaning the district attorney, through its plea deal, paved the way for Randy Bialis to get custody of his children again.
And now those two children are dead.
Randy's same attorney who struck that sweetheart deal, Michael Pierce,
told the media soon after the murders that Randy was actually granted custody of the children
starting on December 5th, two days after they were murdered.
He also said that Randy was granted two weeks to charities one week.
We've not seen any court documents that back that statement up,
but it's weird, as we said in episode 131.
But it's disturbing and very alarming that after they interviewed Donna,
who told prosecutors and police about a number of times when Randy was allegedly physically abusive to their three children,
that the DA actually weakened their position in the case,
and let Randy off with a sweetheart deal knowing exactly the danger he seemed to pose the charity and her children.
Did this decision by Judge Gunner delay in prosecutor Kyra Jenner to let Randy,
Bialis off easy when on paper it looks like they had them backed up against the wall.
Did that pave away for charity and her children to be brutally murdered just two months later?
It's hard to say considering how little we know about the triple homicide investigation,
but we can say that we know that allegedly abusive men like Randy often feel emboldened
and empowered to get away with more once they learned how far that they can push the system.
And what is truly devastating is that even after their murders, Randy still continued his
vicious battle for custody and the court actually took his side.
Charity's oldest son, John Powell, filed a motion with the court last month asking for the
bodies of his mother and his half-siblings, Eliana and Maverick, to be released to him
so that the three of them could be buried together as his mother wished.
And the court said no.
They said Dr. Randy Bialis, you know, the man with two dead wives who just pleaded guilty
to abusing his current wife, who was slated for the Arkansas Child Maltreatment Registry
in 2025 after officials found that he abused his twins.
They said that he should have possession over his children's remains.
Charity's son John told the Daily Mail that the court's decision was sickening.
He said that he wanted all three of them to be buried together like they would have wanted.
And the state of Arkansas wouldn't even let him do that.
He said that he doesn't even know what Randall did with his siblings' bodies.
It is heartbreaking, he said.
But you know what is truly heartbreaking?
What the state of Arkansas did to Charity Bialis in the last year of her life.
They meticulously documented and evaluated Randy's threat to her life.
They documented Randy's first wife's claims of abuse.
They investigated Randy for child abuse and they slated for him to be on the registry for child abusers.
They basically told her, yes, you are being abused.
Yes, your children were abused.
Yes, your lives are in danger.
But no, we can't do anything to hold Randy accountable.
Nor can we do anything to protect you or your children from the escalating abuse we have confirmed.
We can't even use the most basic tool at our disposal, you know, the justice system.
And now that a 40-year-old woman and her two six-year-old children are dead,
how can anyone be expected to trust these same agencies to find the killer of charity in her children and hold that person to account?
Arkansas has a good-guy narcissist thing going on here.
The state seems like it cares about protecting its citizens.
from the most insidious crimes there are, family violence and abuse, and they put on a show,
but in the end it is just a front, because deep down they are exactly like they were
before all the legislation and list and registries and speechless investigation moments.
They are giving women a false sense of security, a hope that this time there will be justice,
which is an unspeakable cruelty, and it has a real,
body count. Again, we have to say this. Randy B. Alice has not been named as a suspect and has not
been charged with anything related to the deaths of his wife and children. And through his lawyer,
he is denied any wrongdoing. The Sebastian County Sheriff's Office is leading the triple homicide
investigation, along with five other agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service and Homeland Security.
But we know enough at this point to not let this case go dark.
From our perspective, perhaps some Arkansas investigators don't want to find out who killed Charity and our babies because blood could be on their hands.
We know how often investigators vastly underestimate public concern in cases like this,
and we know how often they say to themselves, it will blow over in a few weeks and no one will care.
We have to keep reminding them that we care.
We have to keep telling them to do their jobs.
For charity, for Maverick, for Eliana, they deserve justice.
If you have any tips about this case on or off the record, please send them to info
at lunasharkmedia.com.
Until next time, stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight.
True Sunlight is a Lunas Shark production created by me, Mandy Matney, co-
hosted and reported by journalist Liz Farrell. Research support provided by Beth Braden. Audio
production support provided by Jamie Hoffman and Grace Hills. Case file management provided by Kate Thomas.
Learn more about our mission and membership at LunaSharkmedia.com. Interruptions provided by Luna and
Joe Pesky.