A 60-year-old lady is in a coma after being brutally attacked throughout a violent break-in on the Montecito mansion of Ty Warner, the billionaire founding father of Beanie Infants. The extraordinarily weird incident came about on the afternoon of Could 21, 2025, at Warner’s secluded property in one in every of California’s wealthiest enclaves.
In response to charging paperwork and legislation enforcement stories, which had been simply made public, the suspect, 42-year-old Russell Maxwell Phay of Henderson, Nevada, broke into the property, claimed it was his house, and assaulted the lady so severely that she was discovered comatose from a mind damage. Authorities later recognized the sufferer as Linda Malek-Aslanian, a longtime monetary companies govt who beforehand labored as an asset supervisor for Ty Warner Accommodations & Resorts.
Warner, who’s notoriously non-public and barely seen in public, was reportedly inside the house through the assault however was not harmed. It’s unclear if Warner and the suspect had been ever in the identical room.
A Weird Standoff and Tactical Response
Malek-Aslanian’s LinkedIn profile and monetary information point out she at the moment works as an advisor at NYLIFE Securities and beforehand held a senior position at Warner’s resort firm from 2004 to 2015.
When sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene, they discovered Malek-Aslanian exterior the residence, barely acutely aware. In the meantime, Phay had barricaded himself inside a second-floor rest room. Regulation enforcement initially feared a attainable hostage state of affairs, prompting a dramatic response that included a helicopter, Ok-9 items, disaster negotiators, and a BearCat armored automobile.
After refusing to give up, Phay tried to flee by leaping from a second-story window, the place he was rapidly subdued by the sheriff’s canine and arrested.
by way of Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Workplace
A Violent Historical past
Phay has been charged with first-degree tried homicide, kidnapping, residential housebreaking, assault with power prone to trigger nice bodily damage, and resisting arrest. He’s being held on the Santa Barbara County Jail on $1 million bail. Phay pleaded not responsible at his first court docket look. A preliminary listening to is scheduled for June 3.
Santa Barbara County District Legal professional John Savrnoch described Phay as a severe menace to public security and added particular allegations to the case, citing his violent prison historical past and poor efficiency whereas beneath parole and probation supervision. Phay stands six ft three and weighs roughly 250 kilos. Prosecutors allege that though no weapon was used, the assault was premeditated and carried out with excessive power.
This isn’t Phay’s first brush with the legislation. He was beforehand featured in a San Francisco Chronicle column a few particular court docket that had been organized for army veterans. In response to the Chronicle, Phay served within the army almost twenty years in the past and was as soon as slated for deployment to Kuwait. After his discharge, he was jailed for violently attacking his spouse when she tried to go away with their little one. He has additionally confronted a number of different incidents involving battery and assault, together with an arrest for attacking ladies aboard a bus in Mt. Shasta after claiming somebody stole his instruments.
At numerous factors, Phay was eligible for diversion applications designed for veterans with psychological well being challenges, however prosecutors say his offenses have grown extra frequent and extra extreme over time.
Ty Warner (Through Getty)
Beanie Infants & Luxurious Accommodations
Ty Warner made his first fortune within the Nineteen Nineties because of his invention, Beanie Infants, probably the most profitable toy crazes of all time. On the top of the Beanie Infants’ recognition, Ty Inc. was profiting $700 million per yr on $1.4 billion in gross income. Ty privately owned 100% of the corporate.
As we speak, Ty Warner’s web value is $6 billion. However there is a caveat: He did not earn a $6 billion web value solely from Beanie Infants. He earned it by turning plush toys into plush actual property.
In 1999, Warner made his first main transfer into the luxurious hospitality area by buying the 4 Seasons Lodge New York for $275 million. He later spent $120 million renovating the property and continues to personal it outright—an unusually uncommon association within the 4 Seasons portfolio. Although the resort has remained closed since 2020 attributable to administration disputes and renovations, it has been valued at over $1 billion.
Utilizing his Beanie Infants dividends, Warner quietly constructed probably the most priceless collections of luxurious accommodations and resorts on the planet, all of which he owns privately. His identified acquisitions embody:
4 Seasons Lodge New York – Bought in 1999 for $275 million Las Ventanas al Paraíso, Los Cabos, Mexico – Acquired in 2004 for an undisclosed sum 4 Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara – Bought in 2000 for $150 million San Ysidro Ranch, Montecito, California – Bought in 2000 for $150 million 4 Seasons Resort Hualalai, Kona, Hawaii – Acquired a stake within the early 2000s; later took full management
Warner’s holdings are among the many most prestigious within the international hospitality market, with some properties identified for internet hosting presidents, royalty, and Hollywood elites. All of it stems from a fortune constructed one Beanie Child at a time.