Harrouff gave interview to Dr. Phil

Teen charged in fatal stabbings spoke by telephone from hospital; ‘cannibal killer’ segment to air Friday.

Before Austin Harrouff was arrested and charged with the fatal stabbings and infamous face-biting of a Martin County couple in their home in August, he gave a bedside interview with the “Dr. Phil” TV show, The Palm Beach Post has learned.

The sheriff ’s office said there was no legal way it could have prohibited the interview, but the son of the man killed by Harrouff told The Post in an exclusive interview that the sheriff could have arrested the Jupiter teenager sooner.

In a segment called “The frat boy dubbed ‘c a nnibal ki l l e r ’ breaks his silence from his hospital bed,” the show programmers say they have “an exclu- sive interview, right before his arrest” that is set to air Friday. The program airs at 4 p.m. on WPEC-12, the local CBS affiliate.

“Harrouff speaks out for the first time from his hospital bed,” the preview reads. “What does he say caused him to go from popular student to an accused killer?”

There was neither a promotional video to tease the story nor photos on the show’s website. The show’s staff provided a blurb for the upcoming program and made no other comment.

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told The Post on Monday night that his department was aware of the phone interview, conducted a few days before Harrouff ’s arrest Oct. 3, but there was nothing it could have done legally to stop it even if he were arrested. He said his office can’t bar anyone from speaking with the media.

“We were surprised,” Snyder said of the interview.

John Stevens IV, the son of John Stevens, whom Harrouff is