Snyder said Harrouff, a Florida State University sophomore studying pre-exercise science, was eating dinner at Duffy’s, a sports pub down the block, with his parents when he got mad, possibly about slow service, and stormed out.
Advertisement
“It looks like an unprovoked and random attack on two people sitting in a garage”, said Sheriff Snyder, who outlined the disturbing details of the attack during a news conference on Tuesday morning.
“When we see a case like this, when someone is biting off pieces of somebody’s face, could it be flakka, the answer is it absolutely could be flakka case, we don’t know”, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said. Neighbor Jeff Fisher called 911 at 9:20 p.m.to report the attack, which apparently began in the garage where the couple liked to sit at night.
When police responded they found the suspect on top of the male victim chewing and removing parts of his face.
The son of a dentist, Harrouff is muscular – he wrestled and played football at Suncoast Community High School in nearby Riviera Beach, where rosters listed him at 6-feet-tall and 90kg.
A student was allegedly found biting a dead man’s face after stabbing a couple to death at random, police said.
Snyder said they transported Harrouff to the hospital, where he was growling and grunting.
Snyder said the hospital tested Harrouff for the presence of heroin and opiates and the test results were negative, but he suspected that Harrouff might have used Flakka or bath salts.
Sheriff William Snyder says Harrouff’s condition has deteriorated and may not survive.
Harrouff has not yet been arrested because he is still in the hospital, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. He was being treated for serious injuries but was expected to survive. He was believed to be high on flakka, a synthetic drug similar to bath salts, known to cause freakish behavioral problems.
While in police custody, the Palm Beach Post reported that the FSU student initially gave police a fake name – Austin Moore – while continuing to “make animal noises, saying nothing rational in a statement to deputies”.
Snyder told reporters that Harrouff may have been on drugs when he attacked the couple.
“I didn’t think he would hurt a fly, to be honest”, said Matt Dame, the Chargers quarterback during Harrouff’s time as a defensive lineman.
They placed couches and a TV in the garage and usually kept its door open, Maddox said.
“The suspect in this case apparently was abnormally strong”.
Police then went into the garage, where they found the deceased victim’s wife, who was also killed.
The suspect and the victim “clearly knew each other”, Snyder said.
“Although we know a lot about what happened last night”, Snyder said, “there are some things we do not yet know, and there are some things that we will not be able to release just yet”.
Advertisement
Deputies attempted to Tase the suspect, identified as Austin Kelly Harrouff, 19. Snyder said she might be “an ex-girlfriend or something”.
