Cause of Mistrial: Fallen Eyeball

Glass eye pops out during emotional testimony
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 7, 2013 4:49 AM CST
Cause of Mistrial: Fallen Eyeball
An eyeball popped out in court, prompting a mistrial.   (Shutterstock)

A witness in a Pennsylvania courtroom was relating the tragedy of his lost eye when out it popped, forcing the trial to shut down. John Huttick caught the glass eyeball as shocked jurors looked on, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "I couldn't believe it just came out," Huttick says. A mistrial was called and a new trial scheduled due to what the judge amazingly termed an "unforeseen incident."

The backstory: Prosecutors say defendant Matthew Brunelli punched Huttick late one night outside a bar. Brunelli, they say, was holding a key that "stabbed" Huttick in the eye, bisecting it. Brunelli's lawyers, however, say it was just a fist that hit Huttick. For his part, Huttick says he lost his job, his girlfriend, and all his money thanks to vision troubles and resulting depression. (More eyeball stories.)

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