A 25-year-old Florida man who murdered a couple and chewed the husband’s face, could end up walking the streets again.
Warning: Graphic content
In 2016, Austin Harrouff, a former Florida State University fraternity member, randomly hacked John Stevens and his wife Michelle Mischon to death with a machete, reported New York Post.
The cannibalistic double murderer was deemed not guilty by reason of insanity Monday. Relatives and friends of the slain couple expected the case to go to trial Monday after six years of delays. But they were stunned to learn that the matter was closed. According to the Associated Press, the trial has been delayed by the coronavirus pandemic and legal wranglings. Harrouff was also recovering from critical injuries that he suffered while drinking a chemical during the attack.
Cindy Mishcon, the sister of Michelle, said, “Here we are opening the prison doors for a double murderer." She shared that only four words come to her mind, and they were, "White, rich boy justice.”
Harrouff will now be sent to a mental hospital rather than a jail cell. He could be released from there if he is no longer deemed a threat to others.
Harrouff, then 19, had stabbed and beaten the victims to death in the garage of their Tequesta house. He also chewed off part of Stevens' face and injured a neighbor who tried to help, reported New York Daily News.
Harrouff and his parents, including his father, Wade, said that he was mentally ill at the time of the incident. His lawyers issued a not guilty plea. Families of the victims angrily rejected that portrayal. They argued that Harrouff was a coddled drug addict who was cognizant of the crime that he committed.
Judge Sherwood Bauer said that both Harrouff’s high-priced defense team and Martin County prosecutors agreed to nix a trial in favor of the plea accord.
In 2017, Harrouff told Dr. Phil McGraw of “Dr. Phil” fame that he had been running from a demon-like figure named Daniel, and that he felt "terrible." He said that he was "deeply sorry to the family that was affected. I hope that something like this never happens again.”
