‘White, rich boy justice’: Victim’s kin enraged as face-eating killer Austin Harrouff found not guilty
MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA: Austin Harrouff, 25, the "cannibal" accused of killing Martin County couple John Stevens, 59, and his wife, Michelle Mishcon Stevens, 53, in 2016, and then chewing on Stevens' face is held not guilty by reason of insanity on two counts of first-degree murder and other offenses. The judge's Monday, November 28 decision comes against the plea deal terming him insane at the time, and will be sent to a mental institution for treatment.
Some say that he may likely walk free if he doesn't get in trouble or harm anyone at the hospital, others said that it was equal to life imprisonment. Harrouff, who was a student at Florida State University before the incident, will be confined to a secure mental health facility until physicians and a court determine that he is no longer a threat. Judge Sherwood Bauer told the court that both Martin County prosecutors and Harrouff’s high-priced defense team agreed to cancel the trial in favor of the plea accord, reported the New York Post.
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Family members of the slain couple have expressed anger at the decision and made victim impact statements directed at Harrouff, his family, the defense team, and prosecutors. “Here we are opening the prison doors for a double murderer,” said Cindy Mishcon, the shellshocked sister of victim, Michelle Mishcon and also an attorney. “Four words come to mind. White, rich boy justice,” the report quoted Mishcon saying. “I didn’t really know you could brutally murder two people, attempt to kill another, and not even have a trial,” said Jodi Bruce, another sister of Mishcon, in a statement to the court on Monday. “That was news to me,” Bruce added.
Harrouff's insanity defense was reportedly based partly on FBI testing data that indicated no drugs in his system after the crime and three physicians' conclusions that he had suffered a serious mental breakdown. However, Mishcon mocked the decision and while reading from the long list of messages before Harrouff executed the slaying, he allegedly heavily relied on drugs including cocaine, and even before the murder, he had expressed his desire for fame and of doing something crazy before he dies. “Why the f**k just not do what you want. Just do the craziest shit you can. I just want to be great before I die,” Harrouff wrote in one of the messages, as per the report.
In another message, Harrouff said he wondered if he was insane — but concluded otherwise. “I thought I was crazy, but really not,” he wrote. “I just know that for me personally the drugs are taking a toll on me and I can’t handle it.” Mishcon also targeted Harrouf's father, who appeared on 'Dr. Phil' in 2018 to defend his son and discuss his mental health issues. “He had the symptoms for about two weeks prior,” he said during the appearance. “I just thought he’d snap out of it. He went from a happy person to, he can’t sleep, pacing the floors. He could barely work, he was tired. There’s no question that he had mental problems.” Harrouff's father also stated that his son drank a "caustic" chemical after the murders, as proof of his son's mental instability.
"Was Austin insane?” Michelle’s brother, Mason Mishcon questioned. “That seems to be the only thing anyone has cared about for the past six years, not the two dead people that he butchered. It does not seem like anyone cares that Michelle and John are dead. Not his parents. Not the defense, the county, or the state. Everyone just wants to get this over with, so Austin can get a slap on his wrist and go home and go on with the rest of his life. He will be back home in a matter of months, not years, most likely,” a report in Law and Crime quoted Mason saying.
The agreement worked out between the defense and prosecution avoided a trial that had been scheduled to start on Monday before Circuit Judge Sherwood Bauer and had been expected to last three weeks. The judge as per WPTV said that Harrouff will remain in the Martin County Jail until he is taken to a secure mental health facility monitored by the Florida Department of Children and Families. Bauer said he will not be allowed to leave the facility without a court order.
Craig Trocino, a University of Miami law professor, said that finding Harrouff not guilty by reason of insanity would effectively be a life sentence because "it's highly unlikely" that they would risk releasing a killer as notorious as Harrouff.