Downers Grove man pleads guilty to beating his mom with ax on Mother's Day

A Downers Grove man accused of slashing his 80-year-old mother in the face and head with an ax on Mother's Day 2017 has pleaded guilty to aggravated domestic battery.

John Flick, 58, of the 4000 block of Earlston Road, has been held on $500,000 bail since the attack. When he is sentenced early in the fall he could face between three and 14 years in prison.

Flick's sister called police after she went to visit her mother for the 2017 holiday and found the woman with lacerations over her head and face and her nose severely damaged.

Authorities said the attack apparently took place when an intoxicated Flick returned to the home he shared with his mother and, at some point, attacked her.

Prosecutors said the woman's bed was covered with dried blood and an ax and machete were near the bed.

"This case is a very disturbing example of how domestic violence is not confined to spousal abuse," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a written statement. "The very idea that an individual would attack another with a hatchet, let alone their own mother, is outrageous. Thankfully, the injuries (Flick) inflicted upon his mother were not life threatening."

Prosecutors said Flick was upset about having his 15-year-old daughter taken from his custody and he was "not happy with the way his mother was influencing his daughter."

Flick's sentencing date will be set during his Aug. 21 court appearance.