In the quiet, manicured community of Sun City Hilton Head, a tranquil morning was shattered by violence that ended a man's life within his own home. William Bryant, a 45-year-old man, was shot and killed on March 30, 2015, in the Okatie, SC, residence he shared with his mother and grandmother. An autopsy later confirmed that Bryant died from multiple gunshot wounds.
The person responsible for his death was his own mother, Marilou Bryant.
Investigations by the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office painted a grim picture of the moments leading up to the fatal shooting. William Bryant, who stood at an imposing 6-foot-5 and weighed 230 pounds, had reportedly been behaving aggressively and had made recent threats of violence against his mother and his 91-year-old grandmother. On that Monday morning, at approximately 7:20 a.m., he was attempting to force his way into his grandmother's bedroom when his mother intervened.
Fearing for her elderly mother's safety, Marilou Bryant fired a gun, striking her son multiple times. The Sheriff's Office, after a thorough investigation of the scene on Raven Glass Lane and interviews with those involved, concluded that she had acted in defense of another person. The evidence gathered at the scene was substantial enough to support her claim of self-defense.
In the wake of the investigation, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office, in consultation with the 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office, announced that no criminal charges would be filed against Marilou Bryant. The authorities determined that her actions were justified under the circumstances, bringing a close to the official investigation into the tragic death of William Bryant.
