Judge Shannon Blatt Gave Custody to Charity Beallis’s Abuser — 24 Hours Later, Mom and Kids Were Dead

Hidden Killers With Tony Brueski | True Crime News & Commentary

True Crime Today

True Crime, News, News Commentary

3 • 791 Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Charity Powell-Beallis spent nine months fighting for her life in the Arkansas court system. She reported that her husband strangled her in front of their children. She filed for divorce. She sought full custody. She told a state senator she feared for her life. She posted on Facebook that the system was protecting her abuser while silencing her as the victim.

One day after a judge reportedly awarded joint custody to her estranged husband — a doctor with a domestic violence conviction — Charity and her six-year-old twins were found shot to death in their home.

When her father called the court the day the bodies were discovered, Judge Shannon Blatt says he told a clerk she "might as well have pulled the trigger herself." The judge filed a police report against him. Randy Powell says he only called to ask if he could see his grandchildren's bodies.

This video examines the custody ruling, the documented warning signs the court had access to, and the research showing that strangulation is the number one predictor of domestic violence homicide — increasing a woman's risk of being killed by 750 percent. We also look at the exposed facts that show family courts exposed a pattern where courts reject abuse allegations and award custody to abusive fathers at alarming rates.

The investigation into the deaths is ongoing. No suspect has been named. No arrests have been made. We reached out to Judge Blatt's chambers for comment and have not received a response.

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24/7: 1-800-799-7233.

#CharityBeallis #JudgeShannon Blatt #ArkansasMurder #DomesticViolence #FamilyCourt #CustodyBattle #JudicialAccountability #SystemFailed #TrueCrime #JusticeForCharity

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is Hidden Killers with Tony Bruske.
0:03.1	Here now, Tony Bruske.
0:06.8	On December 3rd of 2025, Randy Powell learned that his daughter was dead.
0:12.6	Charity Powell Bialis, 40 years old, shot to death in her home in Bonanza, Arkansas, her six-year-old twins.
0:19.4	His grandchildren, a boy and a girl, shot dead beside her.
0:25.7	And according to Judge Shannon Blatt's account, Randy Powell called the Sebastian County Circuit Court that same day.
0:32.5	The judge said, he was irate.
0:35.8	Oh, gee, his daughter was just shot.
0:37.4	What do you think?
0:39.6	She says he told a court clerk
0:42.4	that she, the judge,
0:45.1	might as well have pulled the trigger herself.
0:49.0	She says he blamed her for the deaths
0:51.7	of his daughter and grandchildren.
0:56.4	Eight days later, Judge Blatt filed a formal letter with the court documenting the call.
1:02.2	She also filed a police report with the Fort Smith Police Department against the grieving grandfather.
1:08.4	Randy Powell tells a different story.
1:10.1	He says he called the court to ask if he
1:11.9	could see his grandchildren's bodies. He says the judge's complaint was actually in response to
1:16.5	something he'd posted on Facebook. Here's what's not in dispute. One day before those three bodies
1:21.7	were found, Judge Shannon Blatt, presided over the final hearing in Charity's divorce and she was alive.
1:28.3	According to Randy Bialis' attorney, the judge awarded joint custody to Charity's estranged husband that day.
	...

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