A suspect has been arrested for breaking into the California mansion of Beanie Babies billionaire Ty Warner, where the man then brutally beat a 60-year-old woman into a coma before barricading himself in a bathroom, prosecutors said.
Russell Maxwell Phay is facing charges of first-degree attempted murder and residential burglary with a person present in addition to several other counts related to the violent home invasion earlier this month, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, NBC News reported.
Authorities responded to the residence in Montecito on May 21, just after 4:30 a.m., the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. When they arrived on the scene, deputies found Linda Malek-Aslanian suffering from “severe injuries outside” the mansion on Fairway Road, and she was immediately rushed to the hospital.
The 60-year-old victim, a financial services expert, was named in a criminal complaint obtained by NBC, which also described her as “comatose due to a brain injury” resulting from the attack. It also identified Warner — who, according to Forbes, boasts a net worth of $6 billion — as the homeowner. Police said the 80-year-old CEO was there when the suspect broke in, but that he managed to flee.
“He was present,” Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch told PEOPLE. “He was not physically harmed. He was able to escape and contact authorities.”
Phay, meanwhile, was “barricaded” in an upstairs bathroom when authorities arrived on the scene. As they tried to talk him out of hiding, Phay managed to slip out the window, though he was apprehended a short time later and booked into the Santa Barbara County main jail. He was being held on $1 million bond.
An investigation into the matter is ongoing. Savrnoch said it’s still unclear whether Phay knowingly targeted the Warner, the mind behind one of the most popular toys in the ’90s. He added as of now, there does not appear to be any connection between the suspect and victims.
“It’s a big house,” he said, “but of course it’s in an area with a lot of big houses.”
