Santa Barbara County Sheriff's deputies respond to the 1000 block of Fairway Road in Montecito, Calif., on May 21, 2025. Prosecutors said a man broke into the home of Ty Warner and assaulted a woman there.

An Army veteran accused of breaking into billionaire Ty Warner’s California mansion and nearly killing a woman inside said he is psychically linked with singer Katy Perry, a detective recently testified in court. Russell Maxwell Phay, 43, of Nevada faces felony charges of attempted murder, burglary, kidnapping and assault.

On May 21, 911 dispatchers received a call for help at a home on the 1000 block of Fairway Road in Montecito. According to a criminal complaint filed by the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office, the owner of the property is Warner, the reclusive billionaire who made his fortune as the CEO of the Beanie Babies brand. Warner was home with a 60-year-old financial services expert who once worked for Warner’s hotels division when Phay allegedly broke in.

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