Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #146 [Part Two] - The Strange Similarities between the Deaths of Dr. Randy Beallis’ 2nd and 3rd Wives

Starting point is 00:00:00 Years before, the name Ehrlich Murdoch was splashed across every major media outlet. I was a local South Carolina journalist, and I had an instinct that something wasn't right in the low country. The powerful Murdoch dynasty dominated rural South Carolina for generations. Few dared to publicly utter a harsh word against them. From the newsroom to the courtroom to the kitchen table where we recorded the number one global hit, the Murdoch Murdoch's podcast. I invite you to learn more about my book, Blood on Their Hands. Blood on Their Hands is a harrowing first-person narrative of battles against systemic subversions of the truth, overcoming institutional sexism, corruption, and threats to my personal safety to expose a network of horrific crimes and give voice to victims.

Starting point is 00:00:49 Click the link in the description to order today. Visit any retailers near you or visit lunasharkmedia.com book to learn the best way you can stay pesky and stay in the sunlight. When I look back at my younger self, I remember the feeling of being bullied and disrespected. I remember hating that feeling, and I remember the day that I resolved that it would never happen again. When I founded Blan Richter with my partner, Ronnie Richter, we committed to build a firm that demanded respect that would fight for the powerful on behalf of the clients who felt powerless. Since forming Blan Richter, we've stood tall against the

Starting point is 00:01:30 largest law firms in the state, in the country, and in the world, and we've remained true to the commitment not to be pushed around to give tenacious representation with proven results. Tenacious representation, proven results, Bland Richter. Learn more about what we do and who we are by visiting blanritor.com. That's B.L. A-N-D-R-I-C-H-E-R dot com. Okay, let's rip the Band-Aid off and start with the bad news. I lost in court again. This week, Judge R. Keith Kelly granted Team Parker's motion to show cause in that hearing

Starting point is 00:02:17 that Liz told you all about in episode 144 of this podcast, where Deborah Barbier berated me for wearing a bathing suit in photos, which apparently, she thinks, invites men to stock and harassed me. Yeah, we lost that. Which is not actually shocking because we never disagreed that I didn't appear at the subpoena location. So now, I have been summoned yet again

Starting point is 00:02:44 by Greg Parker's diabolical attorneys to attend a hearing across the state in the home county of the felon who obsessively post about me on the internet and threaten to come to my deposition, the felon who has repeatedly lied about me on his AI articles and the felon who allegedly has communicated with Team Parker. You know, that felon who created the fear for my safety and the circumstances that demanded that my deposition would be taken somewhere safe,

Starting point is 00:03:19 for which I filed an emergency motion and that motion was denied, but the order was published three days after the attempted deposition failed. Yeah, my hearing will be held in that felon's home county. While we will have private security there, we need as many Luna Shark supporters as possible at this hearing, where I will fight to show the court just why I feared for my safety on the day of my deposition and why I was not willfully failing to comply. The hearing will be held on Friday, May 15th, at the Moss Justice Center in York, South Carolina.

Starting point is 00:04:01 And yes, I am publishing this information because I'm in fear of my safety and I want my supporters near me. I have been allowing these people to keep these proceedings secret out of fear, and now I believe that we must bring as much sunlight as possible to this case. If you believe that I have made a difference in South Carolina and beyond, I am asking everyone in South Carolina and in the Charlotte area who can be there to show up for me, for women's safety and for the First Amendment on May 15th at 10 a.m. Women who fear for their lives should not be punished by the court for that.

Starting point is 00:04:44 Journalists who piss off powerful attorneys and billionaires should not be scared into silence. People who aren't lawyers in South Carolina have a right to stand up for their rights, to feel safe in their right, to not be burdened by lawsuits that have absolutely nothing to do with them. We have so much more to do and say on this issue, but please mark your calendars for May 15th in York County. Lemon poundcakes optional. Hello, and welcome to True Sunlight Podcast episode 146, part two. Today, we need to talk about the Charity Biala's case out of Bonanza, Arkansas, and catch y'all up on our latest findings.

Starting point is 00:05:35 It has been almost five months since Charity Bialis and her two six-year-old twins, Maverick and Eliana, or found shot to death in her Bonanza, Arkansas home on December 3, 2025. Just one day after Charity and her husband, Dr. Randy Bialis attended their final divorce hearing where both parents were granted joint custody. From the start, even before we knew anything,

Starting point is 00:06:02 else about Charity or Randy, things just didn't seem right with this case. Obviously, the timing and circumstances of Charity and the children's deaths were a big red flag. But also, the investigation seemed to involve extraneous agencies, allegedly. According to a release from the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office at the time, agencies such as the Secret Service in Homeland Security, which was bizarre, to say the least. And we still have no confirmation if that was actually true or why it would be true. And that was really it.

Starting point is 00:06:39 There was no other information out there other than from Randy's attorney who released a statement saying that his client had nothing to do with his ex-wife's and children's deaths, along with some confusing statement about child custody, saying that the judge had awarded Randy two weeks to every one week that charity got with the children. Floating it out there for people to maybe draw conclusions about Charity's

Starting point is 00:07:05 frame of mind at the time of her death? Was she upset that she didn't get full custody? What that statement didn't mention is this arrangement was only for six months to make up for the time that Randy didn't get with the children after his February 2025 arrest for allegedly strangling and assaulting charity. The statement also didn't mention in Arkansas the standard is almost almost always 50-50 custody. So the outcome of the hearing was not an anomaly. Oh, and also, those Sebastian County investigators were pretty much radio silent about the status of the investigation and how it came to be that a mother and her children were killed in a

Starting point is 00:07:49 gated home at the end of a long road. In the meantime, details about Charity and Randy's marriage started to spill out, and obviously We had time to FOIA for police reports related to other incidents in their lives. Again, more red flags. Something was not right. And then, three months after the death of Charity and her children, the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office released another strange statement, indicating that Charity died by a conclusion of suicide

Starting point is 00:08:22 and that the children died by homicide. The Sheriff's Office press release on the Biala's case was full of, oddly selected information and devoid of some really important facts of the investigation. It did not say whether or not a weapon was found in the home, which you would think would be a crucial detail to share with the public if you are wanting to explain why you believe that Charity took her own life. And even more bizarre, the police said that the investigation was ongoing, meaning they are keeping the case open, which means reporters and most importantly,

Starting point is 00:08:57 Charity's son, are being kept from the case file with no end in sight. Another really odd thing to do is the victim died of suicide. The thing is, we aren't fully convinced that Charity died by suicide, especially after talking to her best friend in episode 141. We are more convinced that the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office

Starting point is 00:09:21 failed to properly investigate Charity's case. Now, why do we think that? Well, because this isn't our first rodeo, y'all, but neither is it theirs. This isn't the only time the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office has investigated the strange death of a woman who died by gunshot, whose death was quickly concluded to be a suicide despite a plethora of potentially contradicting evidence at the scene and in interviews, and whose investigation seems to have had a serious lack of follow-up, and who is married to Randy Bialis. Also, we know how much history repeats itself with the good old boys in law enforcement. So today we need to tell you all about Randy's second wife, Shawna Bialis, and everything we could find so far about her death investigation. Shana Jeanette Graham Bialis 34 was a licensed

Starting point is 00:10:08 practical nurse in Fort Smith, Arkansas. She married Randy Bialis in 2010, one month after his divorce from his first wife, Donna, was finalized. Apparently, sometime around 2000. According to Donna, Randy had given a gun to Shawna to protect herself, and Shawna routinely crossed state lines with the gun that was registered to Randy. On January 5, 2012, Shauna was found shot to death in her bed. Her death was ruled a suicide by authorities, and the majority of case materials were ordered to be destroyed by the court. But we did manage to get part of the case file through FOIA, and from beginning to end, it is perplexing. starting with the very first paragraph written by Sebastian County Sheriff's Deputy Randy Treplett. On January 5th, 2012, at approximately 205 p.m., I received a call from Freddie Rosario, who told me Randy Bialis, a friend, had called him and said he thought his wife, Shauna Bialis, had committed suicide.

Starting point is 00:11:10 Freddy said Randy went inside his house while he was on the phone and he heard screaming and could not get him, back on the line. Freddie then called me to see if I was working. He then told me what had happened. Um, okay. So in most cases, the person who finds the body is the person to call 911. But in this case, Randy B. Alice was on the phone with his friend and told his friend to call the police for him? And it sounds like Freddie, the friend, did not call 911. It sounds like the friend called Randy Triplett at the police department who he apparently knew directly. And Freddie the friend didn't even know where Randy lived. So the officer had to look up the address and headed to that direction with another officer. Here is David with the next part of Officer Triplett's report.

Starting point is 00:12:06 Officer Barrentine and I arrived on scene at the same time. The garage door was open. I approached the front door and Dustin watched the garage entry door. I did not hear anything as I got to the door. Several seconds after knocking on the door, I began to hear sobs coming closer. I told Dustin someone was coming to the door. Randy B. Alice answered the door and told me, quote, she killed herself, end quote. I asked him where she was. He told me she was in the bedroom.

Starting point is 00:12:39 The officer heard Randy sobs from outside. In the first words that Randy said to police were, she killed herself. Dustin and I then told Randy he needed to sit down while I went to check on his wife, Shauna Bialis. Dustin remained with him while I went to the bedroom. Once there, I found a white female with a single gunshot wound to the middle of her forehead. There was a small revolver laying on the right side of her body towards her neck.

Starting point is 00:13:12 I then radioed for a supervisor to respond to my location. As I was getting back into the living room area, Sergeant Bales called me. I gave him the details I had. He told me Sergeant Entmire was going to respond. I then watched Randy while Dustin went to the bedroom. Okay, so a few things to remember there. Shauna was found dead in the couple's bedroom. She had one gunshot wound in the middle of her forehead.

Starting point is 00:13:42 A revolver was laying on the right side of her body toward her neck. Now, the next paragraph of Officer Randy Triplett's report is where things get really strange. Here's David reading that. We began speaking to Randy about the last time he spoke with Shauna. He said he thought it was sometime around 10 a.m. He said he left for work and then called Shauna to check on her. She told him she was going to kill herself. He then heard her pull the trigger on the guns.

Starting point is 00:14:17 several times. Randy said he had replaced the bullets in the gun with, quote, plastic bullets. He told us she got upset, and she said she was going to Walmart to buy, quote, real bullets. Randy then returned to the house to check on Shauna. He said she was in the bedroom and would not let him get close to her. When he would try to go in, she would tell him not to come any closer. Randy estimated he was at the house for around four hours trying to talk her down. He said he had got a bad headache and thought she was calm, so he returned to work. So this is the most unusual thing I have ever heard a husband say when asked about the moments that led up to his wife's death, in my opinion, that is. Keep in mind, the police call came in just after 2 p.m.

Starting point is 00:15:17 So Randy is saying he last spoke to his wife about four hours before he found her dead. This is confusing, but he is saying that earlier in that day, he called his wife to check up on her, and Shauna allegedly told him that she was going to kill herself, and he heard her pull the trigger of her gun over the phone, allegedly. But he had filled the gun with plastic bullets. So she was saved? I'm sorry, plastic bullets. Because apparently that's what husbands do when they know that their wives are going to shoot themselves.

Starting point is 00:15:59 You know, I've never been an advocate for men putting their wives in mental hospitals. But if there was ever a time to do it, one would think that that move would be before plastic bullets. Again, plastic bullets. And then, according to Randy's story, Shana apparently pulled the trigger of her gun while she was on the phone with him and got upset and said that she was going to Walmart to get real bullets. Randy said that he then drove home from work to check on Shana

Starting point is 00:16:31 and tried to talk her down for about four hours. She was found dead after 2 p.m. and he last saw her around 10 a.m., so apparently all of this with the plastic bullets and the talking her down went down before 10 a.m. for four hours. Okay. Again, Randy is claiming that his wife had already attempted to kill herself that day

Starting point is 00:16:55 with a gun that he had filled with plastic bullets and that she said she was determined to buy real bullets. From these descriptions, Shauna seemed like she was experiencing a health crisis inside her bedroom. I would not let Randy in for four. hours. During those four hours, why didn't Randy call 911? He's a doctor. Again, whether or not this was suicide, Randy did have a duty to care for his wife in that moment. So why didn't he call 911 and get her admitted to a hospital? Not only that, after four hours of, quote, talking down Shauna,

Starting point is 00:17:30 Randy, quote, got a bad headache and, quote, thought she was calm, so he returned to work. Now, not to nickpick here, but who goes into work when they have a headache? And their wife is in a mental health crisis after already allegedly attempting suicide that day and surviving only because of fake bullets. I mean, what? Y'all, this is only the third paragraph of this report and we aren't even done with it. Okay, David, read the last part of this paragraph of Treplets report. He said he was on the phone with Freddie Rosario when he entered the house and found her. He asked us for his cell phone so that he could call his lawyer to stop divorce papers from being sent in the mail. We told him to stay off his phone. Now this is worth repeating. Randy didn't even call 911 when he found his

Starting point is 00:18:27 wife shot to death. His friend called his police friend for him. After Randy told police this jaw-dropping story about what happened that day, Randy then asked for his cell phone to call his lawyer to stop divorce papers, which, um, is basically the same thing that happened in Charity's case. Randy immediately called his attorney to get him to stop the divorce from proceeding after learning about Charity's death. And I know Randy had a traumatic day and people do irrational things and say irrational things when they are experiencing trauma. We always have to consider that. But the pattern here is eerie.

Starting point is 00:19:12 And wow, why was he thinking about divorce papers at that moment? Okay, back to the police report. David? As Randy was telling us this, I noticed that there were items that looked out of place in the entrance area and living room. There was an indoor plant knocked over near the desk and the coffee table appeared to be out of place.

Starting point is 00:19:37 There were small pieces of material on the floor in the living room and entryway. The pieces were approximately two inches long and an eighth inch wide. There was also a vacuum cleaner in the middle of the living room. The house was in disarray. That is important to note. Sergeant Classen then called me and I left the area Randy was in to speak. with him. While on the phone with him, I located a note on the table that appeared to be a suicide note. I did not read the entire note while on the phone and forgot about it for a little while. I

Starting point is 00:20:15 exited the house and set up a perimeter with crime scene tape. Detectives Phillips and Creek arrived on scene and took control. We watched Randy Bialis while they looked over the scene. Prosecutor Dan Shoe asked that Dustin and I speak to Mr. Bialis again while our L3 camera and microphones were recording. We then asked Mr. Bialis to give us his story again. The event was recorded. So, Officer Randy Triplett found a suicide note on the table, but made sure to make a record in his notes that he, quote, forgot about it for a little while. Uh, what? He forgot a... about the thing, the piece of evidence that everyone looks for after an alleged suicide. Also, interesting that a Sebastian County prosecutor was involved at this point in the investigation

Starting point is 00:21:11 and asked for the officers to speak to Randy again while their cameras and mics were recording because they apparently weren't before. Those recordings have likely been destroyed per the court order, unfortunately. So that was the first responding officer's report, providing the initial sketch of the investigation for the other officers and for the detectives to go in and paint a full picture. More on that after a quick commercial break. Right now, news and politics are moving awfully fast. It can feel overwhelming, to say the least.

Starting point is 00:21:50 I'm Evan Osnows, a staff writer for the New Yorker. On the political scene podcast, we slow things down to understand how power really operates in Washington, D.C., and what it means for you. My co-hosts, Jane Mayer and Susan Glasser and I have decades of reporting experience. And every Friday, we have conversations with insiders and experts to understand the forces remaking America. Join us Fridays for the Washington Roundtable from the political scene. On Mondays and Wednesdays, you can also hear insightful episodes from our New Yorker colleagues, David Remnick and Tyler Foggett. Available wherever you get your podcasts. The second officer who responded with Triplett, D. Barentine, wrote a similar report with similar details about arriving to the house and witnessing Randy hysterically crying, then finding Shauna dead lying in the bed on her back, clothed, and partially covered up with a gunshot wound on her forehead and a small revolver lying on the right side of her head. Officer Barentine also noted that the house was out of order, with a plant knocked over and debris all over the floor in the office.

Starting point is 00:23:04 officer barontyne's report included more details about the lead-up officer triplet and i began speaking to mr bialis about what had occurred he said his wife shana bialis had been threatening to shoot herself all morning he said she does this almost monthly he said he caught her in several lies and had told her she better come clean he said he told her to tell him the whole truth or he would file for divorce. He said he went to work this morning and called Shauna to check on her. He said he spoke to her and she told him she had the pistol pressed against her head. He said he heard the hammer cycle on the revolver. Mr. Bialis said he had placed, quote, plastic bullets in the gun because of her threatening to shoot herself in the past. He said she pulled the trigger several times but the gun did not

Starting point is 00:24:02 fire due to the plastic bullets. He said she asked him what kind of bullets were in the gun and then told him she would just go to Walmart and buy some real ammunition. He said they ended their phone conversation. This is also why it is so important for officers to record their conversations. Different details matter to different officers. And also, why it's frustrating that most of these recordings were likely destroyed. Getting to the truth is so much more difficult without them. So Randy told police that Shauna threatened to kill herself on almost a monthly basis. And that morning, he, quote, caught her in several lies and told her she better come clean. And he told her, if she didn't tell him the truth, he would file for divorce. Which he was filing for divorce,

Starting point is 00:24:58 right? Wasn't that why he wanted to get his lawyer to pull back the papers? After this alleged fight, which again wasn't mentioned in the other officer's version of events, Randy told police that he returned to work and then called Shauna to check on her. And that is when he says that he heard her pull the trigger and heard the hammer cycle of the revolver on the phone, but the gun did not fire due to the plastic bullets. Again, plastic bullets. Shauna said that she was going to Walmart to get real bullets, according also to Barentine's report. Here is David reading more from Barentine's report. Mr. Bialis said he called Shona's father and asked him to call Shana.

Starting point is 00:25:44 He said he waited a few minutes and then called Shona back. He said he asked her if her father had called her and she said no. Mr. Bialis said he drove home and met with Shona who had already gone. and purchased real ammunition. He said she was lying in the bed and had the gun pressed against her forehead. He said he tried to enter the bedroom, but she would not let him. He said he stayed in the kitchen and talked to Shauna trying to talk her down. He said he stayed and talked with her for about four hours. He said he felt he had talked her down and did not think she would kill herself. He said he returned to work. He said while at work, he received.

Starting point is 00:26:28 received two calls from Shauna, but he did not answer them because he was mad at her. He said he returned home a while later to check on her, but was scared to go inside, so he called his friend Freddy, who stayed on the phone with him while he went inside. He said once inside, he found that Shauna had shot herself in the head. He said Freddie told him he would call the police for him. Mr. Bialis said he waited. for the police to arrive. When we asked Mr. Bialis questions about the time these events occurred, he said he became somewhat angry and said the times were all on his phone.

Starting point is 00:27:13 So, Randy told his father-in-law to call Shawna during her suicidal crisis, and he made sure to mention to the police that he didn't call her back, as if it were her father's fault instead of calling 911. Also, apparently Randy told police when he returned home, home that day. He saw Shauna lying in her bed with the gun pressed against her forehead, but also couldn't get in the room somehow. And yet he still didn't call 911. Instead, he somehow got locked out of the bedroom, waited around for four hours, and then returned to work, according to the reports. While at work, Randy said Shauna, his allegedly suicidal wife,

Starting point is 00:27:49 I'd called him twice that day and he didn't answer because he was mad at her. Which, excuse me? What? Also interesting, Randy Bialis, quote, became somewhat angry when asked about the specific times of these events. Oh, and one more interesting thing that Barentine wrote in this report. David? Quote, I was still inside with Mr. Bialis. I told him detectives were on scene, and he would need to let them know what had occurred and take them through the story he had told us. Mr. Bialis told me he wanted to speak to his lawyer.

Starting point is 00:28:25 he said as, quote, cut and dried, end quote, as this situation was, he did not want us putting anything on him. Cut and dried, Randy Biala said. Remember that. Also, don't lose sight of the fact that he had active divorce papers about to be filed. Now, it appears that Randy gave statements to two sets of officers, Triplett and Barantine, who, initially responded. Then he gave another statement to Detective's Creek and Phillips at the sheriff's office. Oddly, I do not see Detective Creek's report in our FOIA. However, we have Larry Phillips' report of that interview, and it gave the most detailed account of Randy's version of events leading up to Shauna's death, starting with a big fight the day before. Here is David with that report. Randy was upset and could not remember specific times of events.

Starting point is 00:29:29 Randy said they were arguing Wednesday. So he stayed in a motel Wednesday evening. He said came back to the residence around 5 a.m. Thursday morning. He said he used his house key to go through the front door. He said he went to the master bedroom and turned the light on where Shauna was sleeping. They started verbally arguing. He said he saw the pistol lying on the bed. He said they verbally argued for 30 to 45 minutes before he left to go to work.

Starting point is 00:30:02 He said he had replaced the live ammunition in the pistol with plastic dummy bullets. He said he done this without Shauna knowing it because she had threatened to kill herself several times before. He said Shauna called a couple of times after he arrived at work and he did not answer. He said he was about 30 minutes into his shift, and she called again, and he answered. He said they continued to argue over the phone. He said she would do the same thing every time the argument reached this magnitude, threatened to kill herself.

Starting point is 00:30:40 He said she would count backwards, starting at three. He said he was at St. Edward's Hospital when the phone argument took place. He said he walked to the parking. lot and sat in his car for privacy during the call. He said they argued for 45 minutes to an hour. He said she started counting backwards, three, two, one, and said he it goes when he heard five clicks. He said he knew the sound was the hammer hitting the dummy rounds in the gun. He said she asked, quote, what is wrong with these bullets? End quote. He said she told. She told. him she would go buy some live bullets at Walmart. He said he did not know she had went to Walmart

Starting point is 00:31:28 and bought live ammunition. He said he drove back to the residence arriving sometime between 7 and 7.30. He said he went inside where he found Shauna in the master bedroom holding the gun to her head. He said she told him not to come any closer and made him stand in the kitchen. He said that was because he had taken the gun away from her during a previous incident. He said he has taken the gun and hidden it, and she would go by another one before the day was over at a pawn shop. He said he knew she had a gun since before they were married. He said they had been married about a year and a half. He said the arguments started about two months after they were married and have occurred about the same time every month since then. He said she always threatens to kill herself, but he has always talked her down.

Starting point is 00:32:26 He said they argued for what seemed to be three or four hours, and she would not allow him into the bedroom. He said she brandished the gun the entire time. He said he left and went back to the hospital, and they continued to argue by texting. He said he called Shauna's father, Lucky Graham, told him they were through, and he needed to call Shauna because she was threatening to kill herself. He said Shauna stopped texting sometime prior to noon. Okay, so we finally have a timeline of the full day of Shauna's death that began at 5 a.m. with Randy returning home after sleeping at a motel the night before, which makes the whole she was threatening to shoot herself fall morning, comment make a lot more sense. They had been fighting since the night before,

Starting point is 00:33:23 so much that Randy did not sleep at home. According to Randy at 5 a.m., he got home and started arguing with Shawna. Before he left for work, the fight got so bad that Shauna threatened to kill herself, and in response to this, Randy said that he replaced the bullets in her revolver with dummy bullets that morning. Just noting, if he had fingerprints on that gun, that would be an explanation. But according to this case file, police didn't even look at fingerprints. And they certainly did not pay close attention to Randy's shifting details between interviews. Here is Liz with Randy's version of events leading up to Shauna's death. At 5.45 a.m.ish, Randy left for work. Around 6.30 that morning, 30 minutes into a shift, Shauna called twice and he did not answer. This is

Starting point is 00:34:15 different from his version before when he said the missed calls were in the afternoon. The third time he answered, and that's when he allegedly heard Shauna pull the trigger on her revolver over the phone. And she realized that she didn't have real bullets and said she would buy real ones at Walmart. Between 7 and 7.30 a.m., Randy, after hearing his wife attempt to take her own life by firing a gun, but her life was saved because he had put dummy bullets in her gun, drove home. Instead of calling the police, knowing his wife was going to Walmart to buy real bullets to kill herself. Randy said he found Shauna holding a gun to her head and made him stand in the kitchen. 7.30 to 11 a.m.ish. The couple argued while she brandished the weapon for

Starting point is 00:34:57 three to four hours. Randy finally gave up and went back to work and called Shauna's father to tell him his daughter was suicidal and he needed to call her. The couple continued to argue over text until Shauna stopped texting around noon. Interesting. Randy never mentioned text message. to other officers according to their reports. He also told the first two officers that he missed calls from Shauna that afternoon, not early about morning. Small details, but definitely worth pointing out. Now, before 2 p.m., Randy allegedly became concerned with Shauna not texting him.

Starting point is 00:35:32 You know, the guy who wouldn't answer her phone calls earlier, and he decided to return home. On the way home, he called his friend to tell him about their argument. After 2 p.m., Randy allegedly found Shauna's body and, quote, started running around screaming and crying and didn't know what to do. Interesting, because you would think a guy who allegedly heard his wife pulled a trigger of her revolver over the phone, but was only saved by his heroic and innovative idea to fill her gun with dummy bullets, you think that he would have been a little bit more prepared to find

Starting point is 00:36:11 his wife dead. And again, several events shifted between Randy's two. two interviews. But police never seemed to care, according to these reports. Detectives then asked Randy what he was fighting with her about, and he said, lying about her past. Here is a summary of that part of the report. He said on November 9, 2011, she filed a police report with Choctaw Tribal Police at the casino for assault. He said she told him, his ex-wife's husband called her and wanted to meet at the casino. He said she told him he assaulted her by running his hand up her dress. He said he told her this would be on surveillance video and he wanted to see the video.

Starting point is 00:36:59 He said they would argue about the truth of the incident actually occurring. He said he suspects something was wrong by the way she was acting when he would try to talk to her about it. He said he got a copy of the police report and his suspicions were right. it did not happen. He said he wanted Shauna to tell him the truth, and she continued to lie about things. It's important to note that another officer found that 2011 police report from Pocola, Oklahoma that claimed Shauna was sexually assaulted at a casino by a man who was

Starting point is 00:37:37 named in the report and was not Randy. That report was just sitting on the kitchen counter, like a Scooby-Doo clue. It was just on the countertop waiting to be picked up and looked at by police. In the interview room, Randy told detectives that trust was an issue in their relationship. Here is David reading the last part of the interview summary. He said he told her if she would come clean regarding her past, he would forgive her and things would be okay, but she refused. He said she told him she had cancer prior to them getting married. and that was not true either.

Starting point is 00:38:18 He said they argued about her lying and he suspected she was covering up something but he did not know what. He said the reason he came back to the residence Thursday morning early is he suspected she was in bed with another man, but she was not. He said they both had a trust issue with each other. She accused him of meeting someone when he would get called out to the hospital. He said he started taking pictures with a camera that was time stamped to prove he was at work, but that she did not want to see them when he would try to show her.

Starting point is 00:38:54 He said he stopped doing it for a while. He said he felt trapped and did not know what to do as all he wanted was her to be truthful about her past and she refused. More on that after a quick commercial break. We'll be right back. Okay, so one would think there were all sorts of red flags in Randy's interviews. Plastic bullets. A shifting timeline, changing stories, tensions in the marriage, accusations of affairs, divorce papers. We had to give this to Randy. He sure did give the police a lot of information.

Starting point is 00:39:38 He seemed incredibly confident that the police would feel this was a cut and dried investigation, and turns out he was right. Now, before we get into how police concluded Sean's death was a suicide, we should talk about the crime scene in evidence police collected. Here is David reading from Officer Franklin Snell's report, describing the horrific scene where Shawna was found. The body is lying with the head near the headboard. The body is covered from the waist down with a sheet and a small red blanket. The head is lying on a pillow.

Starting point is 00:40:10 There are pillows lying to the right or on the left side. There are two 8 by 10 picture frames. with photos lying on the bed to her left. The body is clothed from the waist up with a pullover gray-colored hoodie. Her hair is pulled back in a ponytail. There is a large wound to the center of the forehead that is consistent with a gunshot wound. There is blood covering the forehead and has run down both cheeks. There is also blood coming from both nostrils.

Starting point is 00:40:44 Both arms are bent at the elbows and extend. ended out and away from the body. The hands are clenched into a fist and both hands are lying across her chest. There is a Taurus 38 revolver lying on her right shoulder. Her right thumb is lying across the hand grip portion of the revolver. The top of the barrel and hammer are lying against her right cheek and the hammer is down. The barrel is pointing to the south or toward the headboard. There is a cell phone lying to the right of the body and the phone is on. There were numerous calls and text messages coming in on the phone during our investigation at the scene. The photos lying on the bed were of her and Randy, as if she had been looking

Starting point is 00:41:35 at them before killing herself. Her head was propped up by three pillows. Her thumb was still on the revolver, which was on the top of her chest. I would be very interested to hear from forensic experts about this. Officer Snell's report included a lot more details about the alleged suicide note on the dining room table that the first officer seemed to forget about for a minute. On the dining room table was a handwritten letter that states, quote, I, Shauna Bialis, wish that my daughter be left to my parents, Lucky and Teresa Graham, if something should happen to me. I also wish that all my personal affect, such as my house,

Starting point is 00:42:20 located at 104 Cheyenne Street in Patau, Oklahoma, be left to them. I leave nothing to my spouse, Randy Bialis. These are my final wishes. Signed Shauna Bialis, 1-4-2012. Um, they called that a suicide note that she wrote the day before. And our opinions, that does not sound like a suicide note at all. It sounds like a woman who was terrified for her life and wanted to let someone know that she was not in good standing with Randy.

Starting point is 00:42:58 It's also important to point out other scene anomalies noted by responding officers and detectives. Indoor plant knocked over in the office area with debris on the floor. Coffee table, out of place, vacuum cleaner in the middle of the living room. washing machine contained damp bedspread and sheets, liquor bottles on the kitchen counter, empty wine bottle and glass on the table, cardboard boxes packed as if someone was preparing to move. A black-slash-grey underarmor jacket in the master closet with a reddish stain on the left sleeve collected for crime lab testing, blood spatter on the ceiling above the bed, the bedroom door,

Starting point is 00:43:38 and south and east walls. According to the case file, Detective Phyllis, the neighborhood and interviewed four neighbors. Three out of four neighbors interviewed said they did not notice any activity from the Bialis house. One neighbor said around 10 that morning, he heard a door shut from the Bialis home and noticed their garage door was left open, which was unusual. He said around 2 p.m. he saw Randy's vehicle in the garage and the car taillights were on. Five days after Shauna's death, Officer Larry Phillips interviewed a man named Brian, who was the father of Shaana's daughter, who hadn't spoken to Shauna in months. What he had to say, though, was interesting and definitely worth noting. Here's David with the summary from that report. He said about a month ago,

Starting point is 00:44:22 he received a phone call from a person who identified himself as Grace Jones. He said the person said he was a marriage counselor and worked for Randy Bialis. He said Grace asked him several questions. If he was protecting Shauna for any reason, who he was employed by, was his relationship with Shauna brief or long term. He said Grace told him, Shauna said he worked for the government as a hitman, and if anything happened to her, that I would hunt Randy down and kill him, and no one would know who did it. He said he is employed in the medical field, in the operations of a hospital. He said he became uneasy in the questioning. Grace was asking and he stopped answering his questions. He said he has contacted him by email once since the phone conversation. Uh, a man named Grace, what? According to the case

Starting point is 00:45:23 file we have, there were no follow-ups on this strange tip that Brian told police. In fact, they didn't follow up on much at all. Search warrants were obtained for both Randy and Shauna's iPhones on January 6th the day after Shauna's death. Randy's iPhone was returned on that same day while Shauna's phone was returned three days later. I would be shocked if they did any digital forensic testing on either phone during that time. According to the case file, sadly, it appears like Brian was the only one in Shauna's life, aside from Randy, who was interviewed by police. The Sebastian County Sheriff's Office focused their investigation, large on whether or not Shauna purchased the bullets that killed her, like Randy said.

Starting point is 00:46:11 In the front seat of Shauna's car, police found a 50-count box of the same ammo that killed her, Remington 38 Special, in a Walmart plastic bag with a receipt that clocked 6.42 a.m. on that morning as her time of purchase. On January 12, 2012, police interviewed the Walmart associate who sold Shauna her ammo on the morning of her death. I'll have David read the summary of that interaction. She said she wanted the ammunition for home defense. He said she was not knowledgeable regarding the ammunition. She asked what people normally buy for home defense. He said he told her there were two to choose from, a hollow point and a round-nosed bullet referring to a full metal jacket. He said they were out of the hollow point 38 caliber ammunition, so he showed her a 9-millimeter bullet,

Starting point is 00:47:08 hollow point, so she could see the difference. He said she asked what the difference was in the two bullets. He said he asked her if she was purchasing the shells for someone or herself. He said she replied for herself. He told her the hollow point would mushroom, flatten out, and do more damage. said she was not in a bad mood. She asked what the difference in the grain of the bullet was. I told her one had a little more powder than the other. I asked myself if she really needed to be shooting a high-calibre gun if she did not know much about the caliber. I sell a lot of shells

Starting point is 00:47:50 to females, but normally it is in smaller caliber, 25 and 380. I do not remember the exact time I waited on her it was just before I got off. I get off at 7 a.m. Most people tell me specifically what caliber and grain they want, and sometimes they will look at them to make sure that is what they want. She asked me which one would do the most damage. I told her the hollow point would do more damage. She asked me if the full metal jacket would kill someone if they came through the door. I told her it would kill someone if it hit them. And that was pretty much the end of the investigation, from what the case file says at least. It appears as though the police believed, since this part of Randy's story had checked out,

Starting point is 00:48:45 that other parts of the story must also click into place similarly. Police obtained video footage as Shawna making the purchase as well. The investigation reminds me so much of my guess. police used video of her purchasing a weapon and ammo on the day of her death as convincing evidence that she killed herself, when so many have wondered, well, what if she was buying that gun to protect herself? And so we have to ask the same question. What if Shauna wasn't suicidal that morning? What if she was truly afraid for her life like she told the Walmart associate? According to the case file, Shauna's parents, Teresa, and Lucky Graham also had a hard time accepting the conclusion of suicide. On January 16th, police showed her parents the evidence they had of Shauna purchasing the bullets, quote, just like Randy had told them. And the detectives were putting a lot of weight in that. In that January 12th meeting, Shauna's parents asked about the toxicology report, and they told her the report would take about six months to return. According to this case file, the Sebastian County Police didn't

Starting point is 00:49:45 do much investigating at all during those six months. In June, Shauna's father called to ask about the investigation, and Detective Phillips told him that nothing was found on Randy's or Sean's phone or computer that was suspicious in nature. Again, I would love to know what they searched through. Detective Phillips noted that Lucky Graham was not happy with that statement. In fact, these notes mark a number of times when Sean's parents were pesky and asked questions of police and demanded answers. Finally, on October 15, 2012, the toxicology report was completed and the investigation

Starting point is 00:50:20 was officially closed. Here is the opinion of the medical examiner. David? It is our opinion based on the circumstances surrounding death and the findings at autopsy limited to the head that Shauna Bialis died as a result of injury to the brain due to gunshot wound of the head. Mrs. Bialis was a 34-year-old white female who was found dead in her bed with a single gunshot wound to her forehead.

Starting point is 00:50:51 A weapon was recovered lying next to the decedent. at the top of her right shoulder. Reportedly, her past medical history was significant for depression. Examination of the body and autopsy limited to the head revealed a single gunshot wound on the forehead. Around the gunshot wound were stellet lacerations and the frontal bone of the skull was exposed in the bed of the wound. Soot was detected on the frontal bone. These findings indicate that the barrel of the gun was placed as tightly against the forehead at the time the trigger was pulled. Death would follow such an injury quickly. In addition, soot deposition was detected on the palm of the decedent's left hand.

Starting point is 00:51:42 A bullet was recovered from the skull and retained after being photographed. Specimens retained for toxicological testing. However, no testing was performed. manner of death, suicide. The medical examiner for this autopsy was Daniel W. Di MD, and it was reviewed by Frank J. Peretti MD, and Chief Medical Examiner Charles Kochs MD. It is important to note that nowhere in this case file

Starting point is 00:52:15 did officers attempt to gather any medical history on Shawna to prove whether or not she was depressed. It appears that they made that conclusion. entirely based off the word of Dr. Randy Bialis, a man who now has two dead wives who have been investigated by the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office and determined to be suicides. To make this clear, Randy Bialis has never been charged with anything related to Shana's death, and we are not saying that any of this evidence that we have pointed out today is proof that he is responsible for Shana's death.

Starting point is 00:52:53 But we answered our biggest question in this case. Was Randy's second wife's death thoroughly investigated by the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office? The answer, in our opinion, is no, and that is important to know, as it appears right now that the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office is also not thoroughly investigating the deaths of Charity and her babies. What worries me is that this case was re-examined in 2021, when, oddly enough, Charity's family member, who she reportedly had a complicated relationship with, told police that Charity admitted involvement in Shauna's death, and she, quote, said she was glad that the detectives didn't fingerprint the wineglass that she drank out of at the scene. We are going to dive more into this on a later episode about,

Starting point is 00:53:48 what exactly was said, and please, if you have any information, reach out to us at info at lunasharkmedia.com. Sources close to Charity have said this statement was blown out of proportion in that Charity did not kill Shauna, but we're really curious. How did she know about the wine glass? And what other details did Charity know about Shauna's death? We will unpack that in a later episode. What's concerning is that we're, when this tip came in. The Sebastian County Sheriff's Office barely investigated it.

Starting point is 00:54:24 Officer Gregory Napier was asked to review the case and wrote, quote, I reviewed the incident report and found that the detectives conducted a very thorough investigation. Did he read the same report? The report that didn't ever mention as detectives bothered verifying any part of Randy's story, aside from Shawna buying bullets at Walmart that day. bullets that she told the clerk she wanted to use to protect herself. The reviewing officer's report appeared to put a lot of weight in Randy's word that Shauna was severely depressed and suicidal. He didn't bother to call charity and simply ask if she said that, or ask how she knew about the wineglass. He just

Starting point is 00:55:09 put his stamp of approval on the investigation and the case remained closed. The question is, Is there any chance that they could reopen it now, or at least do another review of the evidence? Two of Randy Bialis's wives were found shot to death at their homes while he was apparently in the process of divorcing both of them. Could that possibly be a coincidence? And is this same small town sheriff's office capable of handling the Bialis investigation now, Now that we know that their standard for a thorough investigation is this low. And how much can even be investigated in Shauna's case, considering that there is a court order to destroy the evidence?

Starting point is 00:56:00 And are they going to do the same thing in Charity's case with destroying evidence because they think that she died a suicide? We have so much more to dig into the massive in expanding Biala's case. Please email us if you have any tips on or off the record that could help our investigation. Until next time, stay tuned, stay pesky, and stay in the sunlight. True sunlight is a Luna 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

Starting point is 00:56:45 mission and membership at LunaSharkmedia.com. Interruptions provided by Luna and Joe pesky. Alex Murdoch, I need police and an ambulance immediately. Murdoch, Death in the Family Official Podcast is here. I'm joining Patricia Arquette, Jason Clark, and the cast to uncover all things Murdoch. Family first. To unravel the story piece by piece was really surprising because you don't want to believe it. Murdoch, Death in the Family Official Podcast, Wednesdays. And stream Murdoch, Death in the Family on Hulu and Hulu on Disney Plus for bundle subscribers.

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Murdaugh Murders Podcast - TSP #146 [Part Two] - The Strange Similarities between the Deaths of Dr. Randy Beallis’ 2nd and 3rd Wives

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