TEQUESTA, Fla. – A college student accused of fatally stabbing a married couple after deputies found him biting a man's face during an attack late Monday night in Martin County didn't know his victims, Sheriff William Snyder said.
Snyder said the suspect, identified by authorities as Austin Harrouff, 19, might have been on drugs when he attacked a couple in their home, as well as a neighbor who tried to stop him.
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Martin County Sheriff's Office deputies said they found Harrouff on top of the dead husband, biting and removing pieces of his face.
The first deputy who arrived tried to stop Harrouff with a Taser, but the stun gun didn't stop him, Snyder said. More deputies were called and eventually overpowered Harrouff, who was taken to a Palm Beach County hospital with minor injuries.
Snyder said Harrouff had "super-human" strength and was making "animal-like sounds" at the hospital.
The neighbor who tried to help the couple was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The neighbor's father said his son, Jeff Fisher, 47, was walking his dog when he heard a commotion in the couple's garage and confronted the culprit.
"He was (lying) on the floor, bleeding pretty badly," Steve Fisher said of his son.
Jeff Fisher was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach.
The man whose face was bitten died at the scene.
Deputies also found a woman's body inside the garage of the home. Former North Miami Beach Mayor Jeff Mischon said the victim was his daughter, Michelle Stevens.
Stevens was a 1981 graduate of North Miami Beach Senior High School. Her husband, Jeff Stevens, graduated from Miami Killian Senior High School.
Snyder said it appeared to be a "completely unprovoked and random attack."
Harrouff, a Florida State University student, was in town with his fraternity brothers and lived with his mother a few blocks away, Snyder said.
"He doesn't have a past (criminal history)," Snyder said.
Snyder said Harrouff was at a Duffy's restaurant in Jupiter with his parents earlier Monday evening when he became agitated and walked away.