Mistrial Called When Man Loses Eyeball On The Stand

A Philadelphia court case ended in a mistrial when a man’s eyeball fell out while he was testifying.

John Huttick took the stand Wednesday at a Philadelphia assault trial, describing in detail how he lost his eye in a bar fight. The loss cost him his job, his home, and almost destroyed his relationship with his girlfriend, reports MSN. As he went down his list of troubles, Huttick began to openly weep on the stand, which caused his $3,000 prosthetic eyeball to slip out of its socket.

He caught it before it hit the ground, but the sight of the evacuated eyeball shocked the jury.

“I couldn’t believe it just came out,” the 48-year-old said after the defense was granted a mistrial. The judge scheduled a new trial for March 4, calling Huttick’s eyeball loss “unfortunate,” and, yes, “unforseen.”

Philly.com reports that Huttick’s alleged assailant, 23-year-old Matthew Brunelli, left the New Princeton Tavern around 2:30am with a girlfriend, but got into an argument with another bar patron that turned into a fight in the parking lot. After somebody came into the bar to relay the news, Huttick decided to exit and intervene.

Huttick tried to pull Brunelli from his opponent, and Brunelli threw a punch at Huttick’s left eye. Brunelli’s attorney said that the punch was in self-defense. However, Huttick’s attorney says that his eyeball was pierced by a key that Brunelli was holding between his fingers. His eyeball bisected and collapsed.

Huttick is suing both Brunelli and the New Princeton Tavern.