In the small town of Bedford, Iowa, a distressing 911 call on April 23, 2014, reported a shooting at a residence on Bent Street, initially described as a possible suicide attempt. Upon arrival, authorities discovered 56-year-old Steven C. Malson, a White male, with what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to his head. He was quickly transported to a hospital in St. Joseph, Missouri, where he ultimately succumbed to his injury.
The investigation into his death swiftly shifted from a presumed suicide to a homicide investigation, as determined by the Iowa Medical Examiner's Office.
The case took a significant turn when law enforcement arrested two of Steven's own family members in connection with his death. His wife, Cindy Malson, who was 47 at the time, and his 24-year-old son, Zachary Malson, were taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. The investigation, a joint effort between the Taylor County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, pieced together a narrative of conflict within the family home. Court documents revealed that Cindy Malson had told investigators that she, Steven, and Zachary had been fighting over a gun, and she accused her son of firing the fatal shot. This account was further complicated when another family member reported hearing Zachary confess to the shooting later that same evening.
As the legal process unfolded, the stories from the accused began to diverge and change. Zachary Malson provided conflicting accounts of the event and, at one point, implicated his mother, Cindy, as the one who intentionally shot his father. Cindy's narrative also reportedly shifted and did not align with the evidence found at the scene. In a surprising development in August of that year, the murder charges against Cindy Malson were dropped.
Ultimately, in November 2014, Zachary Malson entered into a plea agreement. In exchange for the first-degree murder charge being dismissed, he pleaded guilty to two counts of willful injury, assault while participating in a felony, and going armed with intent. He was subsequently sentenced to an indeterminate prison term of up to 25 years.
