MONTECITO, Calif. (LOOTPRESS) — A Nevada man is behind bars after allegedly breaking into the Montecito home of Ty Warner, the billionaire creator of Beanie Babies, and brutally assaulting a woman who remains in a coma, according to state prosecutors.
Russel Maxwell Phay, 43, was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary, and assault following the May 21 attack at Warner’s upscale Fairway Road estate. The victim, Linda Malek-Aslanian, 60, was found outside the home with severe injuries and transported to a hospital, where she remains in a coma due to brain trauma, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.
Court documents identify Aslanian as a respected financial professional who has worked with Warner for decades. Sources familiar with the two told reporters they have known each other for 25 years and may have had a personal relationship.
Warner, 80, who has long maintained a low public profile despite his estimated $6.1 billion net worth, was reportedly home at the time of the incident but was not harmed.
Law enforcement responded to the property around 4:31 p.m. and found Phay barricaded inside a second-floor bathroom. A crisis negotiation team attempted to de-escalate the situation before Phay jumped from a window and was taken into custody at the scene.
Phay, an Army veteran, has a history of legal trouble. In a 2014 San Francisco Chronicle article, he was featured in a story about a court program for military veterans and made disturbing statements about his combat training, claiming, “I have been trained to eliminate you.” He has previously faced charges for battery and stalking, though some were later dismissed.
The investigation is ongoing, and Phay is currently being held at the Santa Barbara County Southern Branch Jail. He is scheduled to appear in court on June 2.
Aslanian is a financial advisor with NYLIFE Securities and previously worked as an asset manager for the Four Seasons Hotel on Manhattan’s Billionaires’ Row, a property owned by Warner. A trained architect, she also contributed to a renovation of the hotel roughly a decade ago and holds graduate degrees from Columbia University and Baruch College, according to public records.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office has not commented on a possible motive.
