Wrongful death suit filed against face-biting suspect

Family members of one of two people killed in a cannibal-style attack in Martin County in 2016 have filed a lawsuit that says the young man accused in the case was a habitual binge-drinker, user of illegal drugs and pills, and purchased a switchblade at a gun and knife show one day before the gruesome attack.

Austin Harrouff, 21, of Jupiter, is facing first-degree murder and other charges in connection with the Aug. 15, 2016 attack that killed Michelle Mishcon, 53, and husband John Stevens, 59, inside the garage of their Martin County home.

When deputies arrived at the couple’s home, they saw Harrouff, then 19, in the garage on top of Stevens' body gnawing at his face and making animal-like noises. Harrouff is also accused of biting into Stevens' abdomen during the attack.

On Tuesday afternoon, the family of Mishcon filed a wrongful death suit against Harrouff in Martin County partly out of frustration with the slow pace of the criminal case and Harrouff’s portrayal as a victim of mental illness.

“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,” said Jodi Mishcon-Bruce, Michelle’s sister.

In the filing, Michelle Mishcon is referred to by her married name, Stevens. The lawsuit is being filed about a week before Florida’s twoyear statute of limitations runs out to file such actions.

The lawsuit states that, contrary to claims of mental illness, Harrouff demonstrated a pattern of drug and alcohol abuse and violent behavior prior to the murders.

At times he told family and friends he was, “evolving, immortal, a centaur, and/or had super powers,” the suit says.

The suit lists marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, acid, Ecstasy, hallucinogenic mushrooms, Vayvanse, Xanax, and Adderall among the drugs Harrouff abused.

The suit also claims Harrouff frequently used these drugs and engaged in “binge drinking” alcohol until he “blacked out” and that this was permitted to happen in his parents’ homes while he was underage. Parents Wade and Mina Harrouff divorced in 2010.

His frequent and chronic aggression and violent behavior forced family members to lock their doors at night out of fear, the suit stated.

Harrouff had also recorded songs with lyrics that referenced desires to kill, “with a knife,” the suit said.

The day before the murders, Harrouff’s father took him to a gun and knife show where he was allowed to buy a switchblade.

The day of of the murders, he got into an argument with his family at a restaurant and stormed off.

The lawsuit describes how Harrouff broke into the Stevens’ home and attacked Mishcon, stabbing her nine times, fracturing eight ribs, puncturing her lungs and heart, fracturing her skull and knocking out several teeth among other injuries.

When John Stevens arrived home to find Harrouff mutilating his wife’s body, Harrouff attacked him and, “proceeded to bite and otherwise eat John J. Stevens,” the suit stated.

During the double-murder investigation, Harrouff’s family and friends told detectives he exhibited increasingly disturbing behavior, that they considered having him committed for 72 hours of mental evaluation, and that there was a history of mental illness in the family.In Skype interview that

a never aired on the Dr. Phil syndicated television show, Harrouff told psychologist Phil McGraw, “I never wanted this to happen.”

In the months following the murders, Austin Harrouff's attorney, Nellie King, said in a news release her client has "severe mental illness."

She said that FBI lab tests determined Harrouff was not under the influence of flakka — a highly addictive rock-like substance that can cause erratic behavior — or hallucinogens known as bath salts.

Tests did find minimal amounts of THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana, in his system, along with drugs that were "medically introduced," or given to him at the hospital where he was treated for cuts sustained during the attacks, court documents showed.

The lawsuit is seeking reimbursement of medical and funeral expenses, lost potential income, and other damages exceeding $15,000.