An unidentified husband and wife said to be in their late 40s or early 50s were killed in Martin Country, Florida, on Monday night in a gruesome attack in which the suspect was found eating the face of one of the victims when police arrived to the scene. The couple’s neighbor called the Martin County Sheriff’s Office after being stabbed and seriously injured when he tried to intervene in the situation, but the neighbor is expected to recover from his injuries.
Police found the suspect, tentatively identified as 23-year-old Austin Michael Moore, crouched over the body of the husband in the driveway. His wife was later discovered deceased in the garage.
The suspect was biting and removing pieces of the victims face with his teeth, MCSO says. The deputy tried to remove the suspect, using a stun gun, but it had no effect. A K-9 arrived, biting the suspect, but was still unable to get him off the victim. MCSO says deputies were eventually able to pry the suspect off and take him into custody.
So far authorities have no motive for the killing and have not confirmed if the suspect knew the victims beforehand. However, at this time they are not ruling out that the suspect may have been under the influence of a drug like flakka.
The whole story is eerily reminiscent to the 2012 “Causeway Cannibal” incident in which a man high on bath salts assaulted Ronald Poppo and mutilated his face by biting at it and eating it. Poppo, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to survive his attack.
UPDATE: The suspect has since been identified as 19-year-old Florida State University student Austin Kelly Harrouff, and police are currently describing the killings as a “random, violent and unprovoked attack.” Audio of the 911 call from the neighbor, 47-year-old Jeff Fisher, has since been released, below.
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(Via NewsChannel 5, NBC 6 Miami)