A central Pennsylvania man has been ordered to stand trial on charges that he tried to kill his mother with a sledgehammer.
The (Altoona) Mirror reports that 30-year-old Matthew Baldessaro showed no emotion Monday during a preliminary hearing at which Blair County District Attorney Richard Consiglio showed photos of the 55-year-old victim, who was hospitalized with a fractured skull, broken jaw and broken orbital bone.
"Practically every bone in her face was broken; her brain was damaged; her ribs were broken; and her lung was possibly damaged," Consiglio said, according to the paper.
State police said Baldessaro said his mother was beaten by a burglar on New Year's Eve, but her texts and calls indicated that he beat her while searching for prescription drugs shortly after release from a drug rehab center.
Assistant Public Defender Ed Ferguson argued that the case was circumstantial and there was no evidence that his client intended to kill his mother.
Baldessaro remains in Blair County Prison unable to post $500,000 bail, according to court documents.
