Mistrial Again for Woman Accused of Castrating Husband : Court: Defense contended that the scissors attack came after years of abuse. Second jury to hear the case deadlocks.

A mistrial was declared Thursday after a jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of a woman charged with castrating her husband with a pair of scissors.

It was the second time a jury has deadlocked in the case, and Deputy Dist. Atty. Lydia Bodin said she was not sure whether Aurelia Macias, 36, will be tried a third time on a charge of battery with serious bodily injury.

This time, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury announced that it was unable to reach a verdict after deadlocking 7 to 5 in favor of acquittal.

Prosecutors said the defendant attacked her 40-year-old husband, Jaime Macias, in a fit of rage over his repeated infidelity. Defense attorneys said the woman acted in self-defense after years of spousal abuse.

Testimony during the trials indicated that just before the attack, the Maciases had spent several hours at a baptismal party next door. Prosecutors said that during the party, Jaime Macias drank and flirted with other women. The couple went home, and there are two versions of what happened next.

Aurelia Macias testified that her husband was drunk and tried to force her to have sex while she was attempting to give milk to their 6-month-old baby. She said she attacked Jaime Macias with a large pair of scissors, snipping off his testicles, after he grabbed her.

Prosecutors said she attacked her husband as he slept. They said Jaime Macias awoke with an agonizing pain in his groin and staggered into the bathroom to find he had been castrated.

The Maciases resolved their differences after the attack and did not want the case to be tried, but the state pressed charges anyway. Officials said Jaime Macias can have normal sexual relations but cannot father children.

Aurelia Macias was ordered Thursday to return to court Feb. 28, when the district attorney’s office will announce whether it will seek a third trial.