Money seen as motive in killing of woman, 91

Utah man stood to gain $480,000 upon death of relative, Balto. Co. police say

A Utah man accused in the murder of his 91-year-old relative in Parkville stood to gain access to roughly $480,000 in the event of her death, police wrote in charging documents.

John Robert Malko, 72, of Salt Lake City was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Nadia Evanowicz Schaible after she was found dead on her basement floor last week. Baltimore County police announced his arrest Monday, alleging he staged a burglary at her home in the 8200 block of Evergreen Drive.

Malko — a longtime professor of economics at Utah State University — is being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center, and no attorney is listed for him in court records. A person who answered his home phone in Utah declined to comment.

In charging documents filed in District Court in Towson, police say Malko told officers he was visiting Schaible and had been in and out of the house that day. He said he came home to find a rear kitchen door broken and jewelry scattered around her room, and that he discovered her body in the basement.

While police have referred to Malko and Schaible as cousins, the charging documents describe Schaible as his aunt.

A medical examiner concluded that Schaible suffered a severe beating and had defensive wounds on her hands and forearms, the documents state.

During interviews with police, “it was learned that he stands to gain access to approximately $480,000 upon the death of Victim Nadia Evanowicz Schaible from bank accounts and the property located [on Evergreen Drive],” police wrote.

In one interview, Malko acknowledged he broke a back kitchen window to make it look like an intruder had entered the home, according to the charging documents.

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