A sheriff deputy arrived after about 10 minutes because that part of the county is cut off from patrol zones, Snyder said. A neighbour who tried to intervene and rescue them was stabbed in the attack, but managed to call the emergency hotline and is now recovering in a hospital. Nothing. Even a police dog’s bite didn’t deter Harrouff from biting the dead man’s face. Fisher’s father, Steve Fisher, told WPTV-TV his son suffered a stab wound to the neck, three to his back and one to his side.
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Harrouff has been hospitalized under guard and under sedation.
Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said Tuesday that deputies captured 19-year-old Florida State University student Austin Harrouff as he was biting Stevens’ face.
He played football and wrestled – earning all-conference status – at Suncoast High School in Riviera Beach, from which he graduated in 2015.
Deputies did not shoot Harrouff because they were concerned about striking the victim, Snyder said.
Harrouff’s health has deteriorated since being sedated at a hospital, and he is now in life-threatening condition, Snyder said.
Mr and Mrs Stevens both died at the scene.
Snyder said deputies did not fire their guns to try to stop Harrouff because the bullets could have hit the Stevens.
“It’s very troubling that we walk our dog past the house and the people that were killed were innocent”, said Fallon standing beside her sister, 21-year-old Meghan Fallon, with a dog in tow Tuesday.
Tests have ruled out heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine use but more complex synthetic drugs such as flakka take longer to show up.
Martin County Sheriff’s Office deputies found the suspect on top of the husband, biting and removing pieces of the victim’s face with his teeth when they arrived.
The chain of events that led to the stabbings – Snyder called it “inexplicable” – began sometime near 9 p.m.at a local resturant, when Harrouff apparently became upset over an issue with the service and left the restaurant.
Tequesta and Jupiter police departments helped sheriff’s officials, Snyder said, and a Tequesta police K-9 was used on Harrouff to get him off Stevens. He is expected to survive after emergency surgery.
“There was an enormous amount of violence in that garage”, Snyder said.
His father, Dr. Wade Harrouff is an implantology and cosmetic dentist in the Palm Beach area, licensed since 1986, state records show. The male victim was later identified as John Joseph Stevens III, 59. She said they would sit in the garage with the door open while watching television and wave and talk to passersby while their Labrador retriever played in the yard.
“I think once we find the missing female. things will start to clear up”, he said. He said the assailant had attacked a woman, who was lying motionless in her driveway. CBS News reports that police are blaming the drug “flakka” for motivating the suspect to try eating the face off another man, to the horror of witnesses.
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Tequesta is a small, affluent community on the Atlantic coast about 30km north of Palm Beach. The man’s wife was found dead in the garage. The bites caused substantial trauma to the victim’s body, Snyder said. Sheriff’s deputies told CBS12 that there is no known connection between Harrouff and the murder victims.
