Tyreese Lamar Edward Malloy was 39 years old when he died on Thursday, June 28, 2018, in Studio City. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma at 3882 N. Fredonia Drive. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department Valley Bureau Homicide case.
Tyreese was born on January 23, 1979. An obituary published online describes him as "Tyreese Lamar Edward Malloy of Brooklyn, NY," who "passed away on June 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, CA," and says he was the husband of Dr. Melanie T. Malloy. He was known by the nickname "King Thai."
He was also a writer. A theater production called WHAT IT IZ: The Spoken Wordical, presented by the UCLA Prison Education Program with the Hip Hop Theater Collaborative and directed by Bryonn Bain, lists him among its writers. Later performances, staged in partnership with the Geffen Playhouse, were dedicated "In loving memory of Tyreese 'King Thai' Malloy " calling him "The original 'Platinum' and a writer of WHAT IT IZ." A social media page under the name King Thai also promotes a book titled The Lost Society: The Prison Memoirs of Tyreese Malloy, which suggests that he wrote about his own time behind bars, though the details of that history were not found in the public record. Years after his death, his words were still being performed on stage in Los Angeles.
Little has been made public about how he died. The record does not say whether he was beaten in a fight or attacked by a stranger, whether he died at the scene or later at a hospital, whether anyone saw what happened, or whether detectives identified a suspect. No news story about his death could be found.
Studio City is a neighborhood in the southeastern San Fernando Valley, named for the film studio lot that has operated there since the 1920s. Its flat streets near Ventura Boulevard are lined with shops and restaurants, while the hills rising to the south hold winding residential roads and homes with views over the Valley. Fredonia Drive is a residential street, and the address in the record is a house number, which suggests that he may have been hurt at or near a home, though that is only an inference.
Los Angeles recorded about 260 homicides a year in 2018 and 2019, among the lowest yearly totals in more than half a century, yet many of those killings still went unsolved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Tyreese Lamar Edward Malloy could be found in news archives or public records. More than seven years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Tyreese, who was near Fredonia Drive in Studio City in late June 2018, or who spoke with him in the days before June 28 may hold information that could help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
