Post by Graveyardbride on Aug 18, 2016 8:50:35 GMT -5
Florida Student Kills Couple, Tries to Eat Man's Face
TEQUESTA, Fla. – A 19-year-old Florida State University student and member of Alpha Delta Pi Fraternity killed a couple in their home and was discovered attempting to eat the man's face. Austin Harrouff (above right), 19, may have been on hallucinogenic drugs when he attacked Michelle Mishcon, 53, and John Stevens III, 59. Stevens was pronounced dead at the scene and later, police discovered Mishcon's body inside the garage. She is the daughter of the former mayor of North Miami Beach.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office officials said a female deputy arrived and found Harrouff on top of Stevens biting and tearing at his face and grunting like an animal. "When she got there she realized that the offender was actually biting the victim in the face and causing what turned out to be some substantial trauma to his face from bite marks," Sheriff William Snyder reported. Deputies were initially unsuccessful in getting Harrouff off the victim, despite the use of a stun gun and police dog, however, eventually, four deputies were able to pry him off and arrest him.
Jeff Fisher, a neighbor, intitially intervened and Harrouff stabbed him several times. He was transported to a nearby hospital and the 47-year-old man is expected to survive. "He's recovering. He's got multiple stab wounds in the left side of his head and in his back," his father, Steve Fisher, said.
"I think he had a knife," Jeff Fisher told a 911 operator in a tape of the call released Tuesday. Breathing heavily and bleeding profusely, Fisher told the dispatcher the assailant had attacked a woman, who was lying motionless in the driveway, and then turned the weapon on him when he tried to intervene. When asked if he knew the man, he replied, "I have no idea."
Harrouff was also taken to a hospital for treatment following the incident. Officials said his condition is life-threatening and it's unknown if he'll survive.
Police indicated Harrouff, a sophomore majoring in exercise science, has no criminal record. He has been described as a muscular young man who wrestled and played high school football. According to Snyder, a motive has not been established and he may have been under the influence of a drug such as Flakka. He is being tested for multiple substances. "We will be doing sampling of his blood to see if there was Flakka or bath salts, which are known to cause what we call the excited delirium, and he did have some indications that we might be working with that," Snyder related. He said the couple murdered did not know Harrouff and the FSU student initially gave a false name, which caused a delay in the investigation.
Michelle Suskauer, Harrouff’s attorney, said her client was working at home during the summer and taking college courses. She was unable, or unwilling, to confirm Harrouff was a drug user. "There are mental health issues that will have to be investigated here, we don't know if anything is going to show up on toxicology reports," she added. "There's a lot of unknowns and unanswered questions and things we may never know."
Harrouff and his family were having dinner at a nearby restaurant when the young man suddenly became angry because of the slow service and stormed off. His parents were worried and called both police and some of his fraternity brothers. Approximately 45 minutes after leaving the restaurant, Harrouff targeted Miahcon and Stevens. "It’s inexplicable," Snyder admitted. "One of the first things we try to do at a crime scene is try to understand the motive of the offender, because it is the motive of the offender that gets us going in the right direction. In this case, we can't establish a motive."
Some of Harrouff’s former high school classmates insisted he isn’t aggressive and "wouldn’t hurt a fly." But one of his fraternity brothers allegedly said the only reason Harrouff was allowed to join Alpha Delta Pi was because he was a "minority" – Harrouff is Muslim. The killer's father, Dr. Wade Harrouff, is a dentist, but has been labeled a "terrible dentist" and "crook" by some of his patients and on at least one occasion, was sanctioned by the Board of Dentistry.
Sources: WTVJ, UPI, People and Disqus.