Remember that man who attacked a couple in their Florida home in 2016 by biting, beating, and stabbing them? At the time of the attack, many were quick to say that the young college man simply suffered from a mental illness. However, the family of the woman who was attacked, Michelle Mischcon Stevens, filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this week against Austin Harrouff, the young man who attacked her and her husband.
Remember that man who attacked a couple in their Florida home in 2016 by biting, beating, and stabbing them? At the time of the attack, many were quick to say that the young college man simply suffered from a mental illness. However, the family of the woman who was attacked, Michelle Mischcon Stevens, filed a wrongful death lawsuit earlier this week against Austin Harrouff, the young man who attacked her and her husband.
The family decided to file the suit against Harrouff because they are “frustrated by the lack of progress in the murder case and how Harrouff has been portrayed to the public.” Michelle’s sister, Jodi Mischcon-Bruce, spoke out and said:
“We are tired of and sickened of Austin being portrayed by ‘his team’ as an ordinary college student who didn’t do any drugs and must suffer from mental illness because there’s no other explanation for what he did…Austin is a monster, and he deserves to pay with his life or, at a minimum, to be locked up in prison for the rest of his life, but, again, we have no control of that. Our only recourse at this point is to file a civil lawsuit against him and show the world exactly who Austin is.”
According to the family’s lawsuit, “Harrouff was a drug and alcohol user who displayed violent behavior before the killings.” The family claims that “Harrouff had abused a slew of drugs including marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, acid, Ecstasy, hallucinogenic mushrooms, Vyvanse, Xanax, and Adderall.” Additionally, the suit alleges “Harrouff recorded songs that showed his desire to kill with a knife.”
On the day of the deadly attack, Harrouff’s mother claims he had “stormed out of a restaurant following a fight with his father.” She later “found her son drinking a concoction of cooking oil and Parmesan cheese that was mixed with hallucinogenic mushroom,” according to the suit. About 45 minutes later, Harrouff broke into the Stevens’ home and carried out his attack, “leaving their mangled and bloody bodies in their driveway as deputies arrived to find the horrifying scene.” When deputies arrived, “Harrouff, then 19, was found wearing only underwear, making animal noises and biting Stevens’ face as he pinned his victim’s body to the driveway.”
The lawsuit is seeking more than $15,000 in damages and to cover expenses. For now, however, Harrouff is “awaiting trial and is being held without bail on charges including first-degree murder.” Since his arrest, his attorney, Nellie King, has argued that her client simply has a severe mental illness and noted that “tests determined Harrouff was not on flakka or bath salts at the time of the incident.”
Sources:
Florida face-biting suspect gets sued by victim’s family for wrongful death 2 years after killing
Lawyer for Florida face-biting suspect calls wrongful death suit ‘illogical’ due to mental illness
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