A Florida man who murdered a couple and chomped on the husband’s face will go on trial this week, with his fate hinging on whether a judge deems he was sane or insane at the time of the vicious attack.
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Austin Harrouff, 25, randomly went after John Stevens, 59, and his wife, Michelle Mishcon, 53, in August 2016, stabbing and beating them to death in the garage of their Tequesta home.
The then 19-year-old also gnawed off part of Stevens’ face and wounded a neighbor who tried to help.
Harrouff faces two counts of first-degree murder, along with other charges. A student at Florida State University at the time of the murders, Harrouff has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and has waived a jury trial.
If Circuit Judge Sherwood Bauer rejects the insanity defense, Harrouff gets life in prison. If the insanity defense prevails, he’ll be confined to a mental hospital until he’s no longer considered a menace.
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The year after the crimes, he told Dr. Phil McGraw of “Dr. Phil” fame that he’d been running from a demon-like figure named Daniel.
“I feel terrible, I really don’t have words to explain how I feel,” the killer said on the show. “It’s like a nightmare. I never imagined that this would ever happen. I am deeply sorry to the family that was affected. I hope that something like this never happens again.”
Harrouff’s trial was delayed by the pandemic and his recoverry from ingesting “caustic” chemicals, as authorities described it at the time. There were no traces of street drugs in his system. He had written about death and being bullied before the unprovoked, random attacks.
Harrouff’s attorneys must demonstrate he had a major mental breakdown that rendered him unable to understand his actions or perceive that they were wrong.
With News Wire Services
