The former Green River teacher and school board member whose wife is accused of beating him with a bottle of Baileys while he was disabled in his recliner has died, according to Sweetwater County’s elected prosecutor.
Linda Malone, 65, of Green River, was charged on September 11 with second-degree attempted murder and three counts of abusing a vulnerable adult.
The charges are against her husband, John Malone, who was in her care and was largely immobile, according to court documents.
Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe confirmed Wednesday to Cowboy State Daily that John Malone had died. The prosecutor’s office expects to file a second-degree murder charge rather than the “attempted” variation, he said.
The potential penalties are the same as under the law: 20 years to life in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
However, the outcome may matter because Wyoming judges have significant discretion within lawful sentencing ranges when considering different cases and defendants.
Wyoming does not carry the death penalty for second-degree murder.
Each count of abusing a vulnerable adult is punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Linda Malone’s case is currently pending in Rock Springs Circuit Court.
SweetwaterNow, a local outlet, reported that she is a former Green River High School counselor.
Six-pound bottle
The investigation began on September 9 when Linda Malone called 911 to report that her husband had been hit in the face and had facial abrasions, according to an evidentiary affidavit Erramouspe compiled from Green River Police Department Officers Kevin Lennon and Amy Apostolope’s investigative notes.
Lennon and GRPD Sgt. Gary Bach went to a house in town and met Linda Malone, who pointed to the living room.
According to the document, Lennon noticed Linda’s husband, John Malone, lying in a recliner chair, conscious but breathing laboriously and with obvious injuries to his head and face.
Linda Malone claimed she hit John Malone in the face with a bottle, which was “uncalled for,” according to the affidavit. She attempted to clean John but realized he required medical attention and called 911, she explained.
According to the document, she showed Lennon and Bach the bottle she used—a “very large” Baileys bottle made of glass, full of fluid, and weighing about 6 pounds—which she had retrieved from a kitchen cupboard.
According to the affidavit, John Malone suffered from severe swelling on the right side of his head, as well as dark black and purple bruising on his face.
“Linda A. Malone stated she hit John approximately eight hours prior to officer’s (sic) arrival,” according to the complaint. “(She) stated she knew it wasn’t right to hit him.”
Linda Malone told investigators that John Malone is unable to move on his own except for minor movements of his extremities and requires constant assistance.
EMTs on the scene discovered that he takes daily medications, according to the document. John Malone told the EMTs that his wife had denied him his medication for days and that he hadn’t eaten or drank water in days.
He spoke with strained breathing, and officers were “unable to understand him,” according to the affidavit.
Both eyes were swollen shut, with “severe” swelling and bruising, according to the document.
Dried blood, which appeared to be several hours old, crusted his lips, mouth, and chin. He was also missing several teeth, moaning, and attempting to communicate with officers, according to the affidavit.
Two hours
Linda Malone told investigators that between 2 and 4 p.m. on September 8, her husband was “hollering out” to her about not having his phone and being unable to move in his chair, according to the affidavit.
According to the document, she had been in the dining room and went to the kitchen to retrieve the bottle before walking to the side of John’s chair and hitting him with it.
“Malone stated she was holding the neck of the bottle with both hand and hit John with a chopping, straight downward motion,” according to the authorities. “(She) stated she was overwhelmed and hit John to make him stop hollering.”
She didn’t want to hurt him, according to the interview transcript, but he’d yell at her and she’d hit him with the bottle because she was frustrated “intermittently.”
According to the affidavit, she estimated that she hit him with the bottle five times in two hours.
She said it was the same downward motion each time, but “not as hard as he could have been hit.”
An investigator questioned why she had waited so long to call 911.
She responded that she was upset and tried to clean him up before realizing he needed to go to the hospital, according to the document based on her interview. She wasn’t trying to kill him; she just wanted him to stop.
About A Week Earlier
According to the affidavit, Linda Malone told investigators that she had hit John about a week before and had no idea what happened.
According to the document, she broke the cartilage in his ear, causing John to struggle to hear and bruising his eye.
“When she hit John a week ago,” the statement of claim continues, “she just remembers hitting him and hearing the crunch twice and thinking, ‘Oh my God.'”
She did not believe he was “hollering” during the incident, according to the document.
The affidavit concludes that John was life-flighted to the University of Utah Hospital with multiple brain bleeds as well as skull, jaw, and orbital fractures.
