"Shoot me now I deserve to . Harrouffs father, Wade Harrouff, told investigators they had gone for a walk the afternoon before the killings and came across two turtle shells. Austin started to mentally decompensate in the weeks, days, and moments leading up to the incident. 0:32. Harrouff is conscious at St. Mary's Medical Center, but remains in the hospital for several more weeks as he recovers. He stabbed them in their garage and . Austin Harrouff The families of John Stevens III and Michelle Mishcon voiced disgust and anger on Monday, as a judge accepted the insanity plea from defendant Austin Harrouff, 25. Harrouff ""had the delusion that he could run 'super fast' because he was 'half-man, half dog.' . I would say you could probably find a psychologist to say whatever you want them to say.". Discussing Bruces criticism of the advocate and of being kept in the dark about the lack of a potential death penalty, White said he could not speak to that because he was only on the case recently. The then 19-year-old was found by police at the scene of the crime on top of the man John Stevens, 59, chewing his face. The just-released 11 pages of findings in the evaluation reveal bizarre, frightening, and dark delusions. Austin was a 19-year-old college student at FSU with good grades, a gentle demeanor, a penchant for working out, and no prior criminal record. The now 25-year-old former-frat boy is still awaiting trial as his lawyers have claimed he is mentally ill and the FBI found no evidence of illicit drugs in his system, other than THC. In papers filed Monday, defense lawyers asked that Gamache be held in contempt of court for failing to provide records requested by the defense during a Jan. 25 deposition conducted via Zoom. More: Videos give insight into accused killer Austin Harrouff's life inside Martin County Jail A former student at Florida State University, Harrouff, 23, faces two counts of first-degree. "My hope is that one day, when I think of them, I can veer my focus off the brutality of their murders and have happy memories instead," she said in an interview with The Palm Beach Post, the first she has given since their deaths. Not only for myself but for my family. The Martin County State Attorneys Office sought a second opinion from another doctor, who concluded that Harrouff was likely on drugs or in withdrawals during the crime, and not simply crazy. The interview took place over video chat while Harrouff was at St. Mary's and just days before his arrest. Austin Harrouff, 25, had decided to face the judge, not a jury, for killing couple John Stevens III, 59, and Michelle Mishcon, 53, in a grisly beating and stabbing double homicide.Authorities said Harrouff also stabbed the couple's neighbor Jeffrey Fisher, who attempted . That theory is later debunked by toxicology reports. Court documents: Murder suspect Austin Harrouff tells Martin deputies he 'ate humans'. Aug. 15, 2017: John Stevens IV talks to The Post about loss of his father a year after his death, dealing with the international spotlight and raising his children without a grandfather. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Two other mental health experts have been consulted since, with neuropsychologist Michael Gamache contradicting the other findings. He became grandiose and paranoid, his behavior extreme and out of character. Though he was conscious when he arrived at the hospital, the sheriff's office said Harrouff was in critical condition and put under sedation. He cared a lot about people. It should be a very smooth transition for him and for the facility. 2023 Cable News Network. He said that prosecutors and the defense agreed that Harrouff had not formulated mental intent in the attack on the couple in their garage; doctors determined he suffered a psychosis during a manic episode of bipolar disorder. He said he thought he was a half-dog, Cindy Mishcon said. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Reached Tuesday, Stevens IIIs son, John Stevens, who lives in Kansas, said he hadnt been told that Harrouff was no longer at the Martin County Jail. As far as Stevens and Mishcons families are concerned, thats not justice. This story has been shared 103,543 times. Now I Could 'Do It 20 Times Better' Have a tip or story idea? Where is Austin Harrouff now? Its just unbelievable. Judge Bauer said: This case needs to come to a resolution. Thank you, she said, sardonically. Prosecutors may push for changes or additions to some Florida laws which, they said, tied their hands when it came to trying to get a prison sentence for a double murderer. A neighbor, Jeff Fisher, tried to intervene when he heard the commotion outside, but he was also attacked by Harrouff. Austin Harrouff, 19, has been charged with killing Michelle Mishcon, 53, and her husband John Stevens, 59. Law-enforcement officers say they do not know what prompted the attacks, but believe it may been a drug-fueled crime. First published on March 5, 2020 / 5:40 PM. "Anytime we have a not guilty by reason of insanity, basically we are surrendering the outcome to a bunch of paid experts, and psychology is not a hard science. I feel so terrible for them, that they will never get to experience the love that my father and Michelle couldve given them, the memories that couldve been made with them, and the lessons they couldve learned from them.. At the scene, a bloody knife and a pair of scissors were found, according to crime-scene photos. Ivy Stevens, who is Johns daughter and Michelles stepdaughter, described in detail the absence and trauma Harrouff created. "Mr. Harrouff reports that he saw a figure which he perceived as having a white face and black clothes that frightened him. Austin Harrouff, 19, also begged deputies to kill him after they pulled him off John Stevens' body, according to the records, obtained Monday by the Palm Beach Post. Wade Harrouff appears on Dr. Phil McGraw's TV show. The victim that you and your family see in all of this is you and the Harrouff name, she said. Austin Harrouff to face two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder following gruesome August 15th killings . The five-hour evaluation was done by Dr. Gregory Landrum, who was hired by the state. He never mentions anything about that. Both experts found that Harrouff was unable to distinguish right from wrong, meaning he meets Floridas criteria to be acquitted by reason of insanity. Catch up on old episodes of Episode 149 - Stranger In The Night - The Case Of John Stevens & Michelle Mishcon. One speaker, who identified herself as Hailey, told Harrouff that his parents enabled him. In reviewing his mental condition at the time of the attack Landrum concluded the now 23-year-old Harrouff suffered "an acute psychotic episode" and that he . Phil.'. It is in that garage and their driveway that Harrouff killed the couple. Harrouff, from Palm Beach County, was legally insane at the time, according to a forensic psychological exam. The then 19-year-old was found by police at the scene of the crime on top of the man John Stevens, 59, chewing his face. They said he tried to test his powers and said things like, "I've become like almost immortal.". November 2016: After news of Austin Harrouff saying he ate humans made international headlines, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to the Martin County Sheriff's Office asking that the teen be put on a vegan diet while in jail. But the victims relatives have flatly rejected that portrayal, arguing in court Monday that Harrouff had a documented history of hard drug use and manufactured a mental illness defense. Family of the victims expressed their anger with the judicial system in the courtroom. That is where Sheriff William Snyder says Harrouff violently beat the innocent. The doctor ultimately recommended that Harrouff be involuntarily admitted to a mental hospital, if the court does rule him legally insane. Bauer granted the defense several weeks to prepare for a hearing scheduled for June 20 and 21 to determine whether the state will be allowed to call Gamache as a witness. Harrouff, now 25, butchered John Stevens and Michelle Mischon in their Jupiter, Florida, garage with a machete in 2016, and was found by police gnawing on Stevens face as he lay dying. [emailprotected]. austin-harrouff-ap Back in 2017, Harrouff was interviewed by another known psychologist . Austin was a college student when he committed the murders of a couple. ", It goes on to say, "He remembers having a machete in his hand and stabbing her 'and it was like she was covered in darkness.' According to police reports, the former college footballer had been acting strangely in the run up to the attack. CNN has reached out to the prosecutor for comment. Harrouff, who did not know the couple, stabbed the them to death while they were watching . Harrouff was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the killings of John Stevens, 59, and his wife Michelle Mishcon Stevens, 53, according to his attorney Nellie L. King. The now 25-year-old former-frat boy is still awaiting trial as his lawyers have claimed he is mentally ill and the FBI found no evidence of illicit drugs in his system, other than THC. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Austin Harrouff was accused of randomly killing a couple and chewing on the dead mans face, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). "Right now, we have not guilty by reason of insanity, which, for all intensive and purposes, it gets the defendant off completely," White said. Something went way wrong," Wade Harrouff told 'Dr. Nov. 23, 2016: In hundreds of pages of court documents released by the 19th Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office, a toxicology report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation says no designer drugs were found in Austin Harrouff's system, only trace amounts of marijuana. The parents of a five-week-old baby mauled by two rottweilers have spoken for the first time since their little girls life was taken. Aug. 15, 2018: Two years after her father and stepmother's deaths, Ivy Stevens spoke with The Post about learning to cope with the loss. He also described paranoia at night and a heightened religiosity. When the officers shouted at Harrouff to get off Stevens, he growled like a dog and had to be physically removed. Judge rules:Judge rules Austin Harrouff not guilty by reason of insanity in murder of Tequesta couple, Troubled signs:Austin Harrouffs parents noticed odd behavior in son before Martin couples fatal stabbing | Photos, video. The now 25-year-old former-frat boy is still awaiting trial as his lawyers have claimed he is mentally ill and the FBI found no evidence of illicit drugs in his system, other than THC. Bauer further noted a defense expert found Harrouff suffered from a mental illness, specifically, Bipolar I Disorder with psychotic features.. denies Austin Harrouff's defense attorneys' motion to find Florida's insanity defense law unconstitutional. Prior to his alleged attack, Harrouff walked out of a restaurant, where . You are the reason I think life is disposable and can be taken away in an instant. Eventually, after another fight with his father, he leaves and finds himself wandering the streets near Southeast Kokomo Lane. A full report detailing the days before the attack was released and says that Harrouff felt "as if God was talking to him" and "dog spirits were part of him". But he's not sad about what he did, he's sad that he's about to go to jail," John Stevens IV said of Harrouff. Loved ones argued that Harrouff knew what he was doing when he killed the couple and injured neighbor Jeffrey Fisher. Why my two beautiful boys will never have grandparents. State witness Gamache did not believe that Harrouff met the legal standard of insanity during the crime. Two psychologists one hired by the defense and one for the state have concluded that on Aug. 15, 2016, Harrouff was suffering an acute psychotic episode when he attacked and killed Mishcon and Stevens III during a vicious, unprovoked attack. The reason I think someone is waiting inside my house to stab me to death when I get home every day. This story has been shared 117,876 times. I had special abilities.". That seems to be the only thing anyone has cared about for the past six years, not the two dead people that he butchered. Sept. 7, 2016: Wade Harrouff appears on Dr. Phil McGraw's TV show. State psychologist: Austin Harrouff legally insane when he murdered a Tequesta couple, Defense psychiatrist: Austin Harrouff, suspect in face-biting deaths, didn't know conduct was wrong. "He also remembers seeing a man and 'he was like glowing white'. Now prosecutors have released startling images which show the 19-year-old student being handcuffed and taken away by police and with his mouth agape, The Sun reports. If not with his life, then with the only thing we can get from him, which is a civil judgment.". This case was always about mental illness, she said. We've received your submission. appreciated. and is booked into the Martin County jail on two counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and burglary. But that doctor suffered a recent health setback that made him unavailable to testify at trial, White said. When the police came to the scene, both John and Michelle had been beaten and stabbed outside their Florida home. 1:22. "I look at my daughter every day (and think) how much joy he would have gotten out of knowing her. 2. Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers, and is writer and co-host of Uncertain Terms, a true crime podcast. White said he would contact state lawmakers to ask them to support the legislative changes and additions in the next session, feeling Gov. A judge in Martin County, Florida, decided Friday that additional recordings of a hospital-bed interview between Austin Harrouff and TV's Dr. Phil McGraw will be released to the public. A judge accepted a "face biter" murder defendant's insanity plea the morning his bench trial was scheduled to start. What Happened To Austin Harrouff? Do you know what you said to him? Police have told how when they arrived at the tragic couples home, they found the accused sitting in his underwear making animal noises and biting Mr Stevens face. He also injured another victim, to near fatality, but they survived. All rights reserved. Assistant State Attorney Brandon White in court Tuesday said after the Jan. 25 deposition, Gamache sent to the state 45 gigabytes of materials on a flash drive but it was lost in shipping and once it arrives, will be shared with the defense. Smooth transition for him and for the facility strangely in the evaluation reveal bizarre,,. Austin-Harrouff-Ap Back in 2017, Harrouff walked out of a restaurant, where ; me... What he was a college student when he killed the couple and injured neighbor Jeffrey Fisher girls was... August 15th killings, told Harrouff that his parents enabled him detail the absence and trauma Harrouff created done! Beat the innocent of John Stevens, he leaves and finds himself wandering the streets near Kokomo. 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