Woman who beat elderly husband with 3-hole puncher sent to prison

Barbara Long mugshot 

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A Cobb County woman is spending the next several years in prison after pleading guilty to charges that she beat her elderly husband with a three-hole punch.

Barbara Joanne Long, 69, admitted in court last week that over a period of three days in August 2016, she used a three-hole punch, a boot, and her fists and feet to attack her husband, who was left lying on the floor in their living room with multiple facial fractures.

Long waited two days to call 911.

The couple had been married for more than two decades, and they were arguing about long-standing marital issues when the beatings took place.

William Long died in early 2017 at age 72.

Barbara Long pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated assault family violence, one count of elder neglect, and four counts of elder abuse.

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“This was a tough case, with strong factors in aggravation and mitigation,” said Senior ADA Jason Marbutt, who prosecuted the case and also is chairman of the Cobb Elder Abuse Task Force. “Justice was done.”

On Friday afternoon, Cobb Superior Court Judge A. Gregory Poole sentenced Barbara Long to 10 years, with five years to serve in prison and the balance on probation.