Son accused of trying to murder his father given 30-year DPHHS stint

A man accused of stabbing his father in the neck with a kitchen knife in 2024 later received a 30-year sentence to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.  

Prosecutors brought Anthony Louis Defazio, 41, up on a felony attempted deliberate homicide charge in Flathead County District Court following the alleged June 6 attack on Farm to Market Road. Defazio pleaded not guilty at his arraignment before Judge Heidi Ulbricht on July 11, 2024.  

Deemed fit to proceed nearly a year later, Defazio accepted a deal with prosecutors. He pleaded no contest to the attempted deliberate homicide charge on June 19, 2025.  

Ulbricht handed down the 30-year sentence Aug. 21 and gave Defazio credit for 442 days of time served.  

Defazio allegedly attacked his father as the older man finished up breakfast inside his home. Shoved from his chair, Defazio's father recalled feeling pressure on his neck as he lay on the ground, according to court documents.  

Hollering for help, the father summoned his wife, who struck Defazio with an object and forced him to back off, court documents said. They told investigators that Defazio was holding a 4- to 6-inch kitchen knife.  

Defazio fled before Flathead County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived at the home. They gave his father what court documents described as life-saving aid to a wound to his neck before mounting a search effort.  

Working in conjunction with Whitefish Police officers, deputies tracked down DeFazio's vehicle, inside of which they allegedly found a bloodied knife, and arrested him. 

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 406-758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.