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'He tried to rip my eye out': Victim of man 'high on ice' tells of terrifying attack

A Craigieburn man has been forced to face the possibility he might lose an eye, after he was viciously attacked in his own home.

The father of three was savagely beaten in front of his family in an early-morning attack.

Photo: 7 News
Photo: 7 News

Grant O’Neill told 7 News his attacker was a neighbour who he believed to be high on ice.

It’s believed the man was still roaming the streets after police let him free.

Mr O’Neill and his wife Lisa were asleep when they were woken by the sounds of yelling and banging.

Afraid the noise would wake their children, the 45-year-old opened the front door.

“I was just worried about my family, I tried to stay awake so he didn’t hurt them,” he said.

“He tried to rip my eye out and just kept kicking me.”

Mr O’Neill eventually blacked out as his attacker repeatedly kicked and stomped on him.

“There was just blood, you couldn’t see his face...I thought one, two more blows and he would’ve been gone,” Lisa O’Neill said.

Surgeons are now working to save Mr O’Neill’s eyesight while his other injuries heal.

He needed plastic surgery on his lip, suffered two fractured cheekbones and a broken nose.

Photo: Grant O'Neill was brutally bashed in his own home.
Photo: Grant O'Neill was brutally bashed in his own home.

The couple said they knew who was responsible for the attack.

Police conducted an interview with the alleged suspect but have since let him free.

The couple was frustrated and disappointed by the way police handed the situation.

They were afraid to return to their home.

“It’s a joke, an absolute joke,” Mr O’Neill said.

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