Break-in at Beanie Babies billionaire’s California home leaves woman in coma
A woman is in a coma after she was violently attacked during a break-in Wednesday at the California mansion of Beanie Babies billionaire Ty Warner, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office said.
Russell Maxwell Phay, a 42-year-old from Nevada, was arrested last week after allegedly breaking into a home in Montecito, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The sheriff’s office allege that during the May 21 incident, Phay “violently” beat a woman at the home and then barricaded himself in an upstairs bathroom.
A criminal complaint, obtained by NBC affiliate KSBW of Salinas, identified the victim as “L. Malek-Aslanian,” who is said to be “comatose due to brain injury” as a result of the attack. The homeowner was identified in the complaint as “T. Warner.”
Amber Frost, a communications specialist for the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, confirmed to NBC News that “T. Warner” is Ty Warner.
The news station reported that Warner, who is known for being reclusive, was home at the time of the attack, but was not harmed. The woman was a 60-year-old financial services expert who previously worked for Warner’s hotels division, KSBW reported.
The criminal complaint said that the victim “was particularly vulnerable.”
When deputies arrived at the home, they found the woman suffering from “severe injuries outside the residence,” the sheriff’s office news release states. She was immediately rushed to the hospital.
Phay had barricaded himself inside the home. The sheriff’s office said deputies initially did not know if Phay had taken anyone hostage, and called a special enforcement team and crisis negotiation team for assistance.
After learning that no other occupants were in the home, deputies attempted to talk Phay into coming out of the bathroom. Phay, however, ” attempted to flee by climbing out of a second-story bathroom window” and jumping to the ground below, the sheriff’s office said. He was then apprehended.
He was charged with attempted murder, burglary, kidnapping, and assault, according to the complaint. He is being held on $100,000 bail, and it is unclear if he has retained a lawyer.
Phay was featured in a 2014 San Francisco Chronicle article about a special court exclusively for military veterans. At the time, Phay had been accused of following his wife and threatening her after she took their son to Colorado, according to the article. KSBW also reported that Phay was charged in 2018 with battery and assault, but the case was dismissed last year.
