Fla. Face-Eating Suspect: 'I've Got a Psycho Side'

Austin Harrouff now in stable condition: police
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 18, 2016 8:44 AM CDT
Fla. Face-Eating Suspect: 'I've Got a Psycho Side'
Austin Harrouff speaks in a YouTube video.   (YouTube)

"It's like he just—changed." That's how Austin Harrouff's mom described her son's behavior to a 911 operator Monday after the 19-year-old fled a Florida restaurant following an argument with his father, reports the Miami Herald. Mina Harrouff said her son had been acting oddly for a week, claiming he had superpowers and was "here to protect people," but said she didn't believe he was a danger to himself or anyone else, reports the AP. During his walk home, police say Harrouff fatally beat and stabbed two strangers—John Stevens, 59, and Michelle Mishcon, 53—in their garage in Tequesta. He allegedly used a pocket knife and several "weapons of opportunity" within the garage, before gnawing on Stevens' face, says Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.

Though described as a nice, quiet kid in high school, Harrouff—now listed in stable condition at a hospital—had recently appeared aggressive and was known to party, neighbors say. "I've got a psycho side and a normal side," the Florida State University student wrote on his YouTube channel, where he posted rap videos and talked about his aversion to steroids in bodybuilding, per the Tallahassee Democrat. Tests show he wasn't on cocaine, meth, or heroin on Monday, though tests for steroids and flakka are pending, says Snyder. Harrouff will eventually be charged with two counts of first-degree murder and aggravated battery on a Good Samaritan, but "as long as he is not under arrest, the hospital bills are his responsibility and his insurance," Snyder adds. (More murder stories.)

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