FBI: No hallucinogens in face-biting suspect

This October 3, 2016 file photo shows Austin Harrouff in a booking photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office. Picture: Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP

This October 3, 2016 file photo shows Austin Harrouff in a booking photo provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Office. Picture: Martin County Sheriff's Office via AP

Published Nov 24, 2016

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Stuart, Florida - The Florida college student accused of randomly killing a couple and chewing on the dead man's face had no detectable hallucinogenic drugs in his system, according an FBI toxicology report released on Wednesday.

Austin Harrouff had a trace of amount of marijuana in his system when he allegedly beat and stabbed John Stevens, 59, and his 53-year-old wife, Michelle Mishcon, outside their Tequesta-area home on August 15, according to the report.

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder had previously speculated that Harrouff may have been on flakka or bath salts, but those drugs weren't detected.

Harrouff, 19, was hospitalised for two months after the killings for a burned oesophagus, possibly from ingesting chemicals found in the couple's garage.

Nellie King, Harrouff's attorney, said in a statement on Wednesday that her client is mentally ill.

"The judicial process will bear all of this out in due time," King said.

Prosecutors declined comment.

Harrouff has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and other charges. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Deputies had said that when they arrived at the couple's home, they found the then-muscular former high school football player and wrestler in his underwear, making animal noises and biting Stevens' face as he pinned his victim's body to the driveway.

According to court documents, one deputy ordered Harrouff off Stevens at gunpoint while another used an electric stun gun on him but he wouldn't let go. Snyder has said the deputies didn't shoot Harrouff because they feared hitting Stevens.

Finally, a deputy with a dog arrived and its bites enabled deputies to subdue Harrouff. Mishcon's body was found in the garage.

Harrouff, who had no previous arrest record, told deputies, "Help me, I ate something bad" and then admitted it was "humans" as he spit out a piece of flesh, court documents show. He begged deputies to kill him after they pulled him off Stevens' body, according to the records.

"Shoot me now, I deserve to die," Harrouff said.

According to other documents released on Wednesday, Harrouff's parents told detectives he had been acting strangely in the hours leading up to the attack.

Harrouff's father, Wade Harrouff, told investigators that they had gone for a walk and came across two turtle shells. He said his son pulled out a knife and said something was going to happen. He said he convinced his son to put away the knife, which was later found near the victims. He said his son then sprinted off, but when he returned he said he was hungry so they drove to a nearby sports bar.

Wade Harrouff said that after they were seated, his son then complained that the food was taking too long and left. Harrouff apparently walked to his mother's house nearby, where she said she found him about to drink cooking oil. She said she told him to stop. She said she soon found him eating a bowl of cooking oil mixed with cheese. After Wade Harrouff called her, she took her son back to the restaurant.

His father says that when his son returned to the table, he grabbed his son by the shirt and told him to stop acting strange. He said his son cocked his fist but didn't swing. Instead, he left.

Surveillance video from the restaurant shows him calmly walking out about 45 minutes before the stabbings. He apparently walked the 4 miles to the victims' home, which was near his father's house. It is unknown how the encounter started, but Stevens and Mishcon were known to sit in their garage with the door open, watching television and chatting with passers-by.

The crime reports detail a fierce attack, with blood found all over the couple's driveway and their bodies displaying major wounds. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.

Harrouff's mother, unaware of the attack, called police to report him missing; she told the dispatcher he had been acting strangely for about a week, claiming to have superpowers and to have been sent here to help people.

Harrouff's parents issued a statement days after the slayings expressing their condolences to the Stevens family and apologies to neighbour Jeff Fisher, who was stabbed as he tried to rescue the couple.

AP

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