Sheriff's Office: Suspect in step-father's shooting was schizophrenic
This story was corrected 10 a.m. May 13, 2015, to reflect that the disposition of a speeding and broken seal ticket is unknown and was not handled by the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office.
A teenager accused of fatally shooting his step-father in Burton last week had been taking medication for schizophrenia and making threats to harm his family, according to recent Beaufort County Sheriff's Office reports.
Bryan Malonis, 22, had asked deputies to transport him to Beaufort Memorial Hospital for an evaluation just a week before he reportedly killed his step-father, Joseph Cochran, at the family's Pleasant Farm home, one report said.
Malonis was arrested at the home May 4 and charged with murder by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division, which took over the investigation because Malonis' father is a Sheriff's Office deputy.
On April 27, when Malonis called the Sheriff's Office to Westbury Park Apartments in Bluffton, he told officers he "didn't feel like he was in control of his body" and wanted to go to the hospital, the report said.
Malonis was transported for evaluations then and at least two other times.
Three weeks earlier, on April 7, his mother Kelley Cochran called the Sheriff's Office to have Malonis involuntarily admitted to the hospital, another report said.
The deputy who went to the Burton home noted Malonis seemed calm but was telling conflicting stories and repeating them over and over.
He admitted he had been feeling more religious recently and had been talking about God. He said in the report he had called his father, Michael Malonis, to say he loved him, and had told his mother he felt his late grandather's spirit around them.
Kelley Cochran told deputies her son had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and was prescribed three different types of medication, though he didn't take them regularly.
Cochran said in the report Bryan Malonis had been talking about hurting people and his family.
Kelley Cochran told deputies she didn't feel safe in her home and worried Malonis would hurt her other children or himself.
"Bryan also talks about demons telling him to do things," the report said.
Malonis refused to go to the hospital on his own April 7, and was handcuffed and transported involuntarily, the report said.
The Sheriff's Office also has a report of Michael Malonis bringing his son to the emergency room at Beaufort Memorial in February 2012.
The report states Bryan Malonis appeared emotionally disturbed and was ordered to the psychiatric unit for further evaluation.
Bryan Malonis has owned at least two guns, several reports said.
In January 2014, he bought an SCCY Industries 9 mm semi-automatic handgun for a girlfriend who wanted to learn to shoot and eventually join a local law enforcement department.
In November 2013, Malonis told deputies he had a FEG PMK .380 under his passenger seat while the officers were investigating him and two others for possession of cocaine.
He and his friend claimed they were buying the cocaine from the third suspect, while that man claimed Malonis was the seller.
While Malonis was charged in that incident with cocaine and marijuana possession, the case was dropped in January after he completed pre-trial intervention, according to a Sheriff's Office report.
In another case, in July 2012, Malonis was cited for speeding and a broken seal after deputies found an open bottle of vodka in his car, a Sheriff's Office report said. The disposition of that case was not available Wednesday.
Bryan Malonis was living with his father in Bluffton until recently, when Michael Malonis began proceedings to evict the 22 year old, according to court records.
On May 4, Bryan Malonis reportedly shot Joseph Cochran twice in the chest and once in the back of the head, according to an arrest warrant. Kelley Cochran found him holding a gun and called the Sheriff's Office. Bryan Malonis told officers he shot his step-father, the warrant said.
Malonis remains at the Beaufort County Detention Center, pending a bond hearing next week.
His lawyer, public defender Trasi Campbell, declined to comment on the case.
Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.
Related content:
- Bluffton man accused of shooting step-father in Burton , May 5, 2015
This story was originally published May 12, 2015 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Sheriff's Office: Suspect in step-father's shooting was schizophrenic."