Mistrial declared after victim’s eyeball popped out during testimony

A trial in  Philadelphia has ended in mistrial by eyeball. It was the assault trial Commonwealth v. Brunelli, involving an early morning fight outside the New Princeton Tavern in Burholme where one punch cost John Huttick his left eye.

Huttick, 48, was on the witness stand on Wednesday, weeping as he told the Common Pleas Court jury about the impact of losing an eye when his replacement prosthetic eye popped out.



Two jurors, seated feet away, gasped and started to rise as if they wanted to leave. Huttick caught the $3,000 prosthetic blue eye and cried out.

"I couldn't believe it just came out," said Huttick after Judge Robert P. Coleman granted the mistrial motion by defence attorney Eileen Hurley. Coleman set a new trial for March 4, declaring it an "unfortunate, unforeseen incident."