Former Green River Teacher, Coach Beaten With Baileys Bottle Dies

The former Green River teacher and school board member whose wife is accused of beating him with a bottle of Baileys as he sat disabled in his recliner has died, Sweetwater County’s elected prosecutor confirms. 

Linda Malone, 65 of Green River, was charged Sept. 11 with second-degree attempted murder and three counts of abusing a vulnerable adult.

The charges pertain to her husband John Malone, who was under her care and was largely immobile, according to court documents. 

Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe confirmed Wednesday to Cowboy State Daily that John Malone has died. The prosecutor’s office expects to issue a different charge, of second-degree murder instead of its "attempted" variation, he added.

The potential penalties are within the same range under the law: between 20 years and life in prison, and up to $10,000 in fines.

However, the outcome may make a difference because Wyoming judges have a significant amount of discretion within lawful sentencing ranges as they consider different cases and defendants. 

Second-degree murder is not a death-penalty charge in Wyoming. 

Each count of abusing a vulnerable adult is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

Linda Malone’s case is ongoing in Rock Springs Circuit Court.

Local outlet SweetwaterNow reported that she is a former Green River High School counselor.

Six-Pound Bottle

The investigation started Sept. 9 when Linda Malone called 911 to say her husband had been hit in the face and had facial abrasions, says an evidentiary affidavit Erramouspe compiled from the investigative notes of Green River Police Department Officers Kevin Lennon and Amy Apostolope.

Lennon and GRPD Sgt. Gary Bach went to a home in town and met with Linda Malone, who pointed toward the living room.

Lennon noticed John Malone, Linda’s husband, lying in a recliner chair, conscious with labored breathing and obvious injuries to his head and face, the document says.

Linda Malone said she hit John Malone in the face with a bottle, though it was “uncalled for,” the affidavit says. She tried to clean John, but determined he needed medical attention and called 911, she added.

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’d retrieved from a kitchen cupboard, says the document.

The affidavit says John Malone had severe swelling on the right side of his head and his face showed dark black and purple bruising.

“Linda A. Malone stated she hit John approximately eight hours prior to officer’s (sic) arrival,” says the affidavit. “(She) stated she knew it wasn’t right to hit him.”

John Malone could not move on his own except for minor movement of his extremities and he needs constant help, Linda Malone told investigators.

EMTs on scene learned that he has daily medications, the document continues, adding that John Malone told the EMTs his wife had deprived him of his medication for days and that he’d neither eaten nor drank water, in days.

He spoke through strained breathing, and officers were “unable to understand him,” says the affidavit.

Both eyes were swollen shut and showed “severe” swelling with bruising, the document adds.

Dried blood that looked several hours old crusted his lips, mouth and chin. He also was missing several teeth, moaning and trying to speak with officers, says the affidavit.

Two Hours

Linda Malone told investigators that between 2 and 4 p.m. Sept. 8, her husband was “hollering out” to her that he didn’t have his phone and couldn’t move in his chair, the affidavit says.

She’d been in the dining room area and went to the kitchen, retrieved the bottle, walked to the side of John’s chair and hit him with the bottle, says the document.

“Malone stated she was holding the neck of the bottle with both hand and hit John with a chopping, straight downward motion,” authorities wrote. “(She) stated she was overwhelmed and hit John to make him stop hollering.”

She didn’t want to hurt him, the document relates from her interview, yet he’d yell things periodically and she’d hit him with the bottle because she was frustrated “intermittently.”

She estimated she hit him with the bottle five times in that two-hour span, says the affidavit.

It was the same downward motion each time, she reportedly said, but it was “not as hard as he could have been hit.”

An investigator asked her why she waited so long to call 911.

She responded that she was just upset and tried to clean him up, but realized he need to go to the hospital, the document relates from her interview. She wasn’t trying to kill him, she was just trying to make him stop.

About A Week Earlier

The affidavit says Linda Malone told investigators that about a week before, she hit John and didn’t know what happened.

She broke the cartilage of his ear, leaving John struggling to hear and sustaining a bruise on his eye, says the document.

“When she hit John a week ago,” the affidavit continues, “she just remembers hitting him and hearing the crunch twice and thinking, ‘Oh my God.’”

She didn’t believe he was “hollering” during that incident, adds the document.

John was life-flighted to the University of Utah Hospital with multiple brain bleeds and skull, jaw, and orbital fractures, concludes the affidavit.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.