The Martin County Sheriff’s Office says Austin Harrouff, a 19-year-old Alpha Delta Phi brother at Florida State University, was found biting at the face of John Stevens, 59, at his Tequesta home late Monday.
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Martin County investigators say Harrouff is stable and conscious, but unable to speak because of a breathing tube down his throat.
On Tuesday, Snyder told reporters that Harrouff’s condition was “life-threatening”. Doctors have tested the teen, who is now in a Palm Beach County hospital, for drugs like cocaine, opiates, meth and marijuana – all of which had negative results. Harrouff was sedated in a local hospital in serious condition and was tested for various drugs including bath salts, spice, and flakka.
The condition can cause paranoia and hallucinations that can make the user violent and raise a person’s body temperature to unsafe levels. Three police deputies had to wrestle Harrouff, grunting and making animal-like noises as he gnawed at John Stevens’ face.
Why would a 19-year-old Florida State University student randomly attack a Martin County couple sitting in their garage?
The teen, who has no criminal record, was eating dinner with his family not far from Stevens’ home when he reportedly stormed out angry over slow service. His parents were so anxious by his behavior that they called police and some of his fraternity brothers in a futile attempt to find him before the attack.
“It’s inexplicable”, Snyder said.
“One of the first things we try to do at our #Crime scene is begin to understand the motive of the offender”, Snyder said at a #News conference on Tuesday. “I’ve lost my mind help me find it”.
His mother called everyone Harrouff would have been going to see, but no one had seen him, according to the report.
Following the grisly murder of a Jupiter couple inside their garage, police have released an audio recording of the 911 call the accused killer’s mother made to police prior to the attack. Matt Dame, a quarterback now at Columbia University, told The Palm Beach Post that coaches were frustrated with Harrouff’s aggression, even at 6-feet tall and 200 pounds. A YouTube channel containing multiple videos of Harrouff contains the statement: “I’ve got a psycho side and a normal side”. Officials said it looked like the husband tried to fight back. When police arrived, Michelle was already dead, and Harrouff kept tearing at Stevens’ despite multiple Taser shots and a police dog pulling at him. Snyder said they didn’t shoot, fearing their bullets would strike the victim. She is fine, has no connection to Harrouff and did not recognize him when shown his photo, Snyder said.
Snyder told The Post that Harrouff’s actions point to an overdose of the synthetic drug flakka – a more potent form of what is commonly known as bath salts.
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Stevens died in the driveway.
