Suspect who beat woman into a coma at Beanie Babies billionaire’s mansion bizarrely claims Katy Perry told him to do it via psychic link

An Army veteran accused of breaking into Beanie Babies founder Ty Warner’s California mansion and beating a woman into a coma bizarrely claimed he is psychically linked to singer Katy Perry, who told him to commit the heinous crime.

Russell Maxwell Phay, 43, of Nevada, is facing felony charges of attempted murder, burglary, kidnapping and assault for allegedly beating Linda Malek-Aslanian nearly to death at Warner’s $400 million Montecito estate on May 21.

Authorities have said that Phay broke into the estate while the reclusive billionaire was home with Malek-Aslanian, 60, and held her against her will while Warner escaped and called for help.

When police then responded to the sprawling 6.58-acre coastal mansion in southern California, they found Phay locked inside a second-floor bathroom, before he tried to escape out a window.

He was then met on the ground by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office deputies and K9 officers, who took him into custody.

Following his arrest, Phay told investigators he is married to Katy Perry and has a ‘head link’ with her, Detective Matthew Maxwell testified at a preliminary hearing earlier this month, according to the Santa Barbara Independent. 

He said Phay told officers he believed Perry told him to go to the home, which he believed was hers, and did not expect anyone to be at the house.

When he then saw Malek-Aslanian inside, Phay said he believed she was Perry’s mother who had been molesting her, Maxwell claimed.

The ensuing attack was caught on camera, allegedly showing Phay kicking and stomping on Malek-Aslanian, a financial services expert who once worked for Warner’s hotels division, before dragging her outside and dumping her into a pond, the Independent reports.

Maxwell went on to claim that Warner was at his sprawling estate at the time, and heard a ‘blood-curdling’ scream coming from another room.

Warner then rushed over to investigate and found Phay, who chased him through the house, Maxwell said.

Eventually, though, Warner was able to make it to the garage and fled the property in his Mercedes to the nearby Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore, where he directed employees to call 911.

As authorities continued to investigate the brutal beating, which left Malek-Aslanian ‘comatose due to a brain injury,’ deputies learned it was Phay’s second assault within a matter of days, Maxwell testified.

He said investigators soon learned the former soldier was a suspect in another assault in Arroyo Quemado, where Elaine Jensen said she found Phay in her yard, drinking water from a hose.

When Jensen asked him to stop, Phay attacked her for ‘infringing on his basic right to water,’ the detective said.

She was later found unconscious in her front yard by a driver on his pickup route who called the local police. 

Speaking to officers following his arrest for the attack on Malek-Aslanian, Phay allegedly said he thought he had killed both women – and was shocked to hear that Jensen had survived.

He claimed he saw her soul leaving her body, and said that if she were in fact still alive ‘she would be a zombie,’ Maxwell said. 

Meanwhile, family members came forward saying they had tried to warn authorities that ‘he was in crisis’ and could be dangerous.   

‘We left multiple messages over the course of the week expressing our fear that Russell was spiraling and could harm someone,’ Phay’s relatives told NBC News.

The family claims Phay, who served in the Army roughly 20 years ago, suffers from ‘severe schizophrenia’, which they allege transformed him from a kind person to an unrecognizable man who is ‘unstable’ and ‘at times violent’.

Phay’s ‘heartbroken’ family have condemned his alleged ‘senseless act of violence’ and hit out at authorities, claiming ‘this tragedy might have been preventable’ had officials intervened.

‘We are devastated that our efforts to sound the alarm went unanswered,’ the family told the news outlet.

 Phay’s family explained that they had received worrying calls from him in the weeks leading up to the attack at Warner’s estate.

A sibling, who spoke to NBC on the condition of anonymity, alleged that although Phay did not make any specific threats, he ‘made little sense’ on during the call and failed to provide details about his whereabouts.

His concerning calls prompted the family to contact corrections officials, but they never heard back.

The sibling claims the family did not learn that Phay had been arrested until four days after the alleged attack when he called a relative from jail.

Although many of the family has distanced themselves from Phay due to ‘safety’ concerns, his loved ones say ‘we tried to take action when we saw warning signs that he was in crisis.’

But despite his and his family’s claims, Phay was found competent to stand trial after two psychologists testified that he understood the nature of the criminal proceedings against him and was able to rationally assist his own defense.

He has a criminal history spanning multiple states that includes guilty pleas to violent acts including assault, stalking and menacing, court records reveal.

He was named in a complaint as recently as last year, after he allegedly threatened a couple over the phone.

The ex-Army combat soldier was arrested in Siskiyou County in 2018 and charged with battery and assault, but the case was dismissed last year.

Phay also appeared in court in 2014 after he allegedly threatened his wife and followed her across state lines after she tried to flee with their son.

A violent attack against his wife resulted in a prison sentence, but after his release Phay was eligible for diversion programs that targeted ex-military personnel battling mental health issues.

He told The San Francisco Gate after his release: ‘They’ve recognized that I am salvageable. I need treatment, and I’ve gotten treatment. I feel like people here understand the brotherhood.’

Phay left the Army as a trained infantry combat soldier with specialized weapons training, telling the newspaper how he had been ‘trained to eliminate you’. 

He admitted that his remark ‘sounds crazy, but it is true.’ Phay was expecting to serve in Kuwait, but his tour of duty expired before he could be deployed.

He was ordered to remain on parole in Colorado for two years after completing a 512-day prison sentence in 2021.

Phay, accused of assaulting someone with a baseball bat, pleaded guilty to felony menacing in June that year.

It is unclear if he was on parole at the time of the alleged attack in Montecito, though his family members claim state corrections officials said he was.

Phay is now being held at a Santa Barbara County Jail without bail, and is due to appear back in court on February 2.