A California father was convicted last week for beating his 24-year-old son nearly to death with a sledgehammer earlier this year.

A Ventura County jury found Anthony Nardini, 42, guilty of three felonies, including attempted murder, in the March 2023 attack on his son as he was sleeping on a sofa.

“While this conviction will never repair the emotional and physical scars inflicted by his father, we hope that this affirmation by the jury will bring some solace to the young man who experienced an unfathomable attack on his life,” Senior Deputy District Attorney Stu Gardner said in a statement.

The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office said that Nardini and his son had recently reconnected after a lengthy period of being estranged. On March 19, the two were staying with family members near Simi Valley and got into an argument, which turned physical.

Other family members broke up the fight, and Nardini left the house and drove away in his truck. When he returned, he “insisted” that the other family members go to bed and then grabbed a sledgehammer he found on the property and began to bludgeon his son, who was sleeping on the couch, with it.

The other family members immediately returned to the living room upon hearing the commotion and found “the victim suffering from severe head injury.”

Nardini fled the house on foot, scurrying out the back door.

Deputies arrived on scene and found a bloody sledgehammer outside the house.  The victim to a hospital, where he was placed into a medically induced coma. He ultimately survived the attack.

Nardini will return to court on November 1 for sentencing and faces a maximum of life in prison with the possibility of parole. He is in custody without bond.

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[Featured image: Anthony Nardini/Ventura County District Attorney’s Office]