Father's Fury: Dad Sues Ex for Son's Road Rage Execution; Claims Her Middle Finger Doomed 6yo| Crime Alert 6AM 01.15.2026

A dad blames his ex-wife for their son's road rage murder; he's suing the mom claiming raising her middle at another car finger put their 6yo in the crosshairs. 

A grave insult for a slain Arkansas mom: she's buried alone, as her abusive ex claims their twins bodies following a triple shooting. Plus, a gym floor face off goes from thrusts to cuffs. Jennifer Gould reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Now.

Speaker 1 (00:03):
I'm Jennifer Gould, a grieving California mother who watched her
six year old son die in her arms after a
road rage shooter targeted her car, is now facing a
fresh nightmare, a bombshell wrongful death lawsuit from the boy's
own father. The lawsuit, filed by Jose Laos Junior in

(00:25):
Orange County Superior Court, slams Joanna Kloonan's decision to flip
the bird at a stranger on the fifty five Freeway
in Orange County was the catalyst that sparked the fatal gunshot.
It names Kloonan, shooter Marcus Aries, his then girlfriend Winnie Lee,
and Kloonan's own mother as defendants, alleging that if Kloonan

(00:48):
had not provoked the shooter, little Aiden Laos would still
be alive today. Here's the prosecutor in court during the
gunman's trial, Mister.

Speaker 2 (00:58):
Cluten Hov lane and began to move over towards the
right to get off the freeway, and she gave the
middle finger to the vehicle to the male passenger out
of anger, something she'd come to regret.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
Beyond covering the whore unfolded. On May twenty first of
twenty twenty one, when Kloonan was driving Little Aiden to
kindergarten and Yorba Linda. After being cut off by a
white Volkswagon, Kloonan extended her middle finger towards the vehicle.
In response, passenger Marcus Harries pulled a Glock seventeen and

(01:41):
fired a single round. The bullet tore through the trunk
and the back of Little Aiden's booster seat, piercing the
boy's liver, lung, and heart. Kloonan pulled over, held her
dying son, and called nine one one. Aiden was pronounced
dead at Children's Hospital of Orange County less than an
hour later. Ariz was convicted of second degree murder in

(02:05):
twenty twenty four and sentenced two forty years to life,
while Lee pleaded guilty to accessory charges and received a
lighter sentence. Despite these criminal convictions, the boy's father insists
Kloonan bears civil responsibility for the quote reasonably foreseeable retaliation
end quote, adding insult to unimaginable injury. The lawsuit also

(02:30):
accuses Kloonan a quote unjust enrichment end quote, alleging she
hoarded nearly five hundred thousand dollars from a go Fundme
meant for Aiden's burial and parental support. Klunan, who previously
filed a restraining order against Laos for domestic violence in
twenty nineteen, has slammed the suit as quote unquote torture.

(02:55):
Her attorney described a suit as a quote outrageous abuse
of the system end quote. Hearing an Orange County Superior
Court is expected in the coming weeks. More crime and
justice news after this. A prominent Arkansas doctor, already a

(03:16):
convicted wife beater, has been handed a final sickening victory
after a judge gave him sole control over the remains
of his six year old twins, leaving their murdered mom
to be buried alone. Charity Ballis, forty, was laid to
rest in Bonanza, Arkansas, separated in death from the young

(03:38):
son and daughter. She spent her final breaths trying to
protect her. Eldest son, John Powell, is now living a
secondary nightmare, revealing that his mother's abusive ex husband has
gone radio silent, refusing to even say if the kids
have been buried or even cremated. The horror began on

(03:59):
decem when a wellness check at the family's seven hundred
and sixty thousand dollars mansion uncovered a scene of pure carnage.
Charity and her twins were found executed, each suffering from
fatal gunshot wounds. Charity's devastated dad, Randy Powell, spoke to

(04:19):
k n WA NBC News, there's.

Speaker 2 (04:23):
Nobody else in the world at any reason.

Speaker 1 (04:26):
To harm her of those babies, but the timing was
bone chillingly precise. The bodies were discovered just twenty four
hours after a final bitter divorce hearing where Charity fought
for soul custody to keep her kids away from doctor
Randall bialis Fort records show the well connected family practitioner

(04:50):
was convicted in October of twenty twenty five for domestic
battery after strangling Charity in front of the children. Before
she was silenced, you already posted a haunting public warning
slamming a quote broken justice system and quote that shielded
her high profile abuser while treating her like a problem.

(05:12):
Adding to the mystery, a dumpster diver discovered a bag
of the family's most intimate treasures, including a gold necklace
engraved with the twins' names on it and their school artwork,
all discarded in the trash about fifteen miles away from
where the doctor lived. While the Sebastian County Sheriff's Office

(05:34):
has served nearly twenty search warrants and is receiving help
from the federal agencies, no suspects have been named. This
is not the first time, though a woman close to
the Good Doctor met a violent end. His second wife
was found shot dead in twenty twelve, a case that
was briefly reopened in twenty twenty one before stalling in

(05:56):
the meantime. These three deaths are still under investigation. Police
have not named Randall as a suspect, and finally talk
about a high intensity interval from hell. Arilyn Martinez twenty
four found herself in a massive plate of trouble after
allegedly turning a routine trip to a Texas twenty four

(06:17):
hour fitness into a full blown combat zone. Deputies say
the domestic drama peaked on Lake Plaza Drive in Harris
County when Martinez spotted a woman she recognized as her
partner's side piece his other interest, if you will. The
workout went from burn to battery when Martinez reportedly chucked

(06:39):
a twenty five pound weight plate directly at the victim's head.
That's a heavy metal meltdown. Authorities hauled the hot headed
Hotty to the Harris County Jail, where a judge noted
that alcohol likely fueled the heavy hitting heist. Now barred
from the gym and the booze, Martinez faces aggravated assault charges.

(07:00):
It's a weighted lesson in romance. When you try to
crush the competition, the law will always do the heavy lifting.
For the latest crime and justice news, follow the Crime
Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app with this
crime Alert, I'm Jennifer Gold.