A tragic incident unfolded in Arkansas when a mother took the lives of her six-year-old twins before ending her own, following a court decision granting her husband joint custody and proceeding with their divorce.

Authorities discovered the bodies of 40-year-old Charity Beallis and her twins, Eliana and Maverick, in their $750,000 home in Bonanza. The sheriff’s deputies found them in December, all having succumbed to gunshot wounds.

An autopsy report released on Wednesday confirmed that Charity killed her children shortly after the court awarded her husband, Randy Beallis, joint custody of the children.

Michael Pierce, Randy’s attorney, commented to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, saying, “The autopsy findings were not unexpected; we were aware that Mr. Beallis was not involved in the deaths of his wife and children.”

He added, “Mr. Beallis continues to cope with the devastating loss of his children.”

In a prior incident, Randy had been convicted of domestic battery after admitting to strangling Charity in front of their children the previous year.

The doctor’s previous wife also died from a gunshot wound in 2012, though her death was ruled a suicide. 

Randy was awarded joint custody on December 2 after a full-day court hearing, where Charity represented herself, the outlet said. 

Charity Beallis, 40, and her twins were found dead inside her home on December 3 

Autopsies found that Charity had killed her twins Maverick and Eliana

She had been court-ordered to bring her small children to Randy on December 5, but the night of the court hearing, she took her children’s lives and her own. 

The sheriff’s office also said that Charity wished to reconcile with her husband and that the three were found dead less than 24 hours after he refused and the divorce was finalized, 5 News reported.

Deputies discovered their bodies the next day after using a key to gain access to the home. 

Investigators later determined that Charity had ‘exclusive access’ to the home and that no doors or windows had been open after she deactivated the alarm on her phone at 10pm. 

Randy’s Tesla was also not in the vicinity of the murder, nor did his phone ping off any cell towers in the area, investigators said. 

Court records show Charity had been seeking full custody of the twins and had obtained a protective order against Randy, citing his history of abuse. 

The details of the custody ruling were not made public, but Charity’s attorney told the Daily Mail that she failed in that effort and that a judge awarded joint custody at the final hearing on December 2.

In her final text exchange with her older son, John Powell, Charity voiced hope for a future away from Randy, beyond the years of abuse her family claims she was forced to endure.

The murder-suicide took place the same day the court ordered her estranged husband, Randy, be given joint custody 

Her attorney said she failed to prove he was abusive, and therefore, couldn’t get sole custody of the children. Randy had pleaded guilty to domestic battery last year for strangling her in front of their children 

‘She was going to move somewhere else, get a good job and let the kids have a good life,’ Powell previously told the Daily Mail.

‘Then she wanted to hopefully one day become a good grandmother and just enjoy the things that any normal family would want.’

Powell claimed that in the months before her death, Charity confided numerous times that she was ‘terrified’ of her husband.

‘She was always worrying about something happening,’ he said. ‘She was fighting so hard to protect her kids.’

Court records show Charity obtained a restraining order against Randy in February 2025 after he attacked her at home. She filed for divorce the following month and Randy later pleaded guilty to domestic battery, receiving a suspended sentence.

Powell and Charity’s father, Randy Powell, have both said they do not believe Charity would have been capable of harming her children.

‘I can’t picture my mom shooting with a gun and killing my little brother and sister at six years old,’ said the younger Powell.

‘She was terrified, and she was hoping that she could get out of there safe and go on with her life to become the person she always wanted to be.’

She and the children were found inside their $750,000 home in Bonanza 

Three days after they were found dead, a dumpster diver sifting through trash 15 miles away in Fort Smith found a garbage bag filled with Charity’s belongings and other intimate family keepsakes, including photos and a gold necklace engraved with the kids’ names.

It remains unclear how the items came to be discarded.

Investigators with Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office also called the discovery a ‘red flag’ but declined to elaborate further.

Randy, a family practitioner licensed in Arkansas for nearly two decades, has faced multiple complaints involving his family, which were reviewed by the Arkansas State Medical Board, records first obtained by 5News show.

In January 2018, the board reprimanded Randy for prescribing opioid medication to Charity following a surgery – conduct he later acknowledged was inappropriate. He faced no disciplinary action.

The board reviewed Randy again in February 2021 following a dispute involving Charity’s son, John Powell, in which Randy and Charity were accused of slashing the teenager’s truck tires with knives during an argument.

Randy later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor criminal mischief and received a suspended sentence. The medical board again took no action.

Randy appeared before the board again last year after Charity filed domestic abuse charges, claiming he attacked her in front of their children.

John Powell (left), Charity’s older child, said  his mother was terrified of her husband 

In written responses, Randy denied the allegations, saying the incident stemmed from a dispute over her phone and insisting he never choked or strangled her.

He later pleaded guilty to third-degree battery and was issued a suspended sentence.

No disciplinary action had been taken against Randy by the time Charity and the children were found dead. State records show his medical license remains active and is due to expire in February 2027.

If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or actions, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 988.