The father of an accused face-eating killer believes his son drank poison

The father of a US college student accused of accidentally killing a couple and biting her dead husband’s face believes his son drank poison before the attack.

Austin Harrouff was accused of beating and stabbing John Stevens, 59, and his wife, Michelle Mishcon, 53, on Aug. 15 at their Tequesta home.

Dr. Wade Harrouff said his 19-year-old son was “not doing well” and remained in hospital nearly four weeks after the attack.

He said his son, a student from Florida, can open his eyes and squeeze his hand, but he has pneumonia and cannot speak.

The dentist believes his son was having a mental breakdown, so he took off most of his clothes before the attack.

He believes that Austin drank poison before the attack, which would explain the burn on his esophagus and the animalistic noises he made during the attack.

“He was very dehydrated and wanted something to drink,” Dr. Harrouff said in two brief telephone conversations with the AP.

It took several Martin County sheriff’s deputies, an electric shock from a stun gun and the bite of a police dog to get Austin Harrouff away from Stevens.

The Florida State University exercise science graduate was a bodybuilder who played football and wrestling in high school and could bench press more than 300 pounds, but his football teammates said their coaches criticized him for his lack of aggression.

Dr Harrouff said his son had not experienced violence before the attack.

The interviews were conducted the day after Dr. Harrouff appeared on an episode of the television program “Dr. Phil”, in which he described the case in detail for the first time.

Austin had been acting strangely for about a week before the attack – his mother told police before she learned of the killings that he thought he had superpowers and was sent to help people.

Dr. Harrouff told host Phil McGraw that his son, without explanation, left the restaurant where they were eating, went to his mother’s house two miles away and tried to drink a bottle of cooking oil.

She stopped him, but he poured some parmesan into a bowl and ate it.

She brought him back to the restaurant. Austin said he grabbed his son by the shirt and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”

He said his son stepped back and raised his fist, but Dr. Harrouff’s girlfriend told him to stop.

“Austin turned around and left,” his father said.

Video from the restaurant shows Austin calmly leaving about 45 minutes before Stevens and Mishcon attacked.

He apparently walked the four miles to their house.

Dr. Harrouff said he was first called by a police deputy at about 2 a.m., about five hours after the attack.

He told McGraw his first thought was “he’s dead.”

They told him they had found Austin and he was relieved, but then two deputies arrived at his house and showed him a photo of his abused son taken after the arrest.

Deputies told him his son was in the hospital and that he had “killed and eaten two people,” adding that “the blood you see is not his own.”

Dr Harrouff said he was stunned because he didn’t believe his son could do something like that.

“He was always the kindest and most caring child I ever saw. He always wanted to help people. He was always great. I called him ‘happy boy’,” said the tearful dentist.

“When he wakes up, he won’t be able to believe it, but he’ll deal with it. I want to talk to him because he will tell the whole story, even if he is guilty.”

Hospital blood tests showed no signs of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin or other common drugs in Austins system.

Detectives are awaiting tests for less common hallucinogenic drugs, such as flakka and bath salts, whose perpetrators become suddenly and irrationally aggressive.

Martin County Sheriff Wayne Snyder said Austin will be charged with murder if he recovers.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately comment on Dr. Harrouff’s television appearance.