Cobb woman beat her longtime husband in the face with three-hole punch

An argument turned into a three-day attack that left William Ralph Long stuck on his living room floor with multiple facial fractures.

His wife of more than 20 years waited two days before calling 911.

A Cobb County judge sentenced Barbara Joanne Long, 69, to five years in prison on Friday for the August 2016 beating of her husband, according to a news release from the district attorney’s office.

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After the beating, William Long never came home.

He died at North Fulton Hospital in early 2017. The Fulton medical examiner ruled his death to be of natural causes but did not do an autopsy on the man, whose body was cremated, said Cobb DA spokeswoman Kim Isaza.

The 72-year-old man had a “lengthy list of medical conditions even prior to the beating,” Isaza said.

Pprosecutors considered homicide charges but felt there wasn’t enough evidence, she said.

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The argument between the couple was over “long-standing marital issues,” prosecutors said.

Barbara Long punched William Long, kicked him, hit him with a a boot and beat him with a steel three-hole punch 8½ inches long and 1½ inches wide, according to a warrant.

She told investigators that she had taken the batteries out of all the phones in the Austell home because of bill collectors. The beating started on a Friday — Aug. 19, 2016 — and she didn’t call 911 until Sunday.

Barbara Long has been on out on bond awaiting trial, but a condition of her release was to have no contact with her husband.

Prosecutors said she will have five years of supervised release after prison. If she serves all her time, she’ll be free from state obligation at age 79.

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