The belongings of an Arkansas mother and her six-year-old twins were discovered in a trash can just days after a tragic shooting left them dead in their home earlier this month.
This unsettling update follows the deaths of Charity Bearis, 40, and her children, who were found with gunshot wounds in their $760,000 mansion in Bonanza on December 3. Their deaths came amid an ongoing and tense divorce from her estranged husband, a doctor with a violent history.
Three days after the murders, a large black garbage bag was uncovered by dumpster divers in Fort Smith, about ten miles from the family’s house. Inside, authorities found gold necklaces engraved with the names of Bearis’ children, framed family pictures, and even some of their artwork and school assignments.
The bag contained documents linked to the murdered mother and appeared to have some religious artwork as well. A woman who found these items quickly alerted the police, realizing they belonged to a family affected by the tragedy.
After handing over the belongings to law enforcement, she led detectives to a dumpster not far from her apartment and later met with Bearis’ eldest son, John Powell, along with his attorney to share her discovery.
When Powell informed the homicide detective about what he had found, it reportedly caught the detective off guard, with the question, “How did you know?” following shortly after.
As of now, police have not made any arrests or identified any suspects in this unsettling case.
The three bodies were discovered following a welfare check at the family home, the day after Bearis attended a divorce hearing where her ex-husband, Randall, 56, gained joint custody of the children.
The couple had been married since 2015 but separated in March after Randall was arrested for strangling Bearis, leading to domestic violence charges. He pleaded guilty and received a suspended sentence, along with court cost obligations.
According to court documents, Bearis was seeking full custody of the children in their divorce settlement.
Interestingly, on the same day that the bodies were found, Randall’s attorney filed to dismiss the divorce case by stating that “the plaintiff is deceased.”
Bearis had expressed her fears about her husband harming her and the children, even reaching out to Senator Terry Rice for assistance in securing custody.
Senator Rice mentioned that he directed Bearis to resources provided by the Arkansas State Police Children’s Crimes Unit for further support.
However, Randall’s lawyer previously stated that he was innocent of the crimes, asserting that he had been cooperative with the authorities as they continue their investigation. In fact, attorney Michael D. Pierce committed to helping uncover the truth behind the deaths.
