ROCK SPRINGS — A retired Green River High School guidance counselor faces charges of attempted second degree murder and abuse of a vulnerable adult following an incident where she allegedly beat her husband in the face with a bottle of Baileys last week.

Linda Malone, 65, is being held in the Sweetwater County Detention Center on a $300,000 cash or surety bond. The alleged victim in the case is former Sweetwater County School District No. 2 board member and retired GRHS educator John Malone. Her preliminary hearing was scheduled for Sept. 19 at 8:30 a.m.

Linda faces a minimum of 20 years to life in prison for the attempted second-degree murder charge, while the three counts of abuse of a vulnerable adult each carry a prison term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to $10,000, with Linda’s name being listed in the state’s central registry.

According to court documents, Green River Police Department officers were dispatched to the Malone residence Sept. 9 when Linda called the combined communications dispatch center at 12:14 a.m. to report a man had been hit in the face.

Officers met with Linda and she pointed to the living room where John was lying in a reclining chair. John was conscious, with obvious injuries to his head and had labored breathing.

When Linda was asked what happened, documents state she told officers that she hit John in the face with a bottle, admitting it was uncalled for and had tried to clean him up before deciding to seek medical help. She showed officers the bottle she used — a large, filled bottle of Baileys that weighed about six pounds.

John was observed having swelling on the right side of his head and face, with dark black and purple bruising. Linda told officers she hit John about eight hours before officers came to the home, saying she knew it wasn’t right to hit him. She said John had been unable to move on his own, with the exception of minor movement in his extremities and needed assistance at all times. She said John had prescription medications but allegedly told emergency medical providers she hadn’t given him his medications for days, saying he also had not had any food or drink in days. John attempted to speak with officers, but they were unable to understand him due to the extent of his injuries and his labored breathing. 

Linda told officers that John was hollering Sept. 8 sometime between 2-4 p.m. because he did not have his phone and couldn’t move from the chair. She allegedly then hit him. She said while John was hollering, she was in the dining room, going into the kitchen to retrieve the bottle. She told officers she walked to the side of John’s chair and struck him with a “chopping straight downward motion” while holding the neck of the bottle with both hands. 

Linda told officers she was feeling overwhelmed and hit John to make him stop hollering, saying she didn’t want to hurt him, but just wanted him to stop yelling. When asked why she waited so long to report the incident, she said she was upset and tried to clean him up before deciding he needed to go to the hospital. Officers asked if she was trying to kill John, which Linda replied that she wasn’t – she was just trying to quiet him.

Linda told officers she had hit John a week prior to the call, saying she didn’t know what happened, but she had hit John in the ear and broke his cartilage. She said he had been having difficulties hearing and his eye was bruised from that incident. She told officers she didn’t think John was hollering at that time and said she wouldn’t hurt him again. 

John was flown to University of Utah Hospital for treatment of his injuries. Detectives learned the strikes caused multiple brain bleeds, along with skull, jaw, and orbital fractures.