--- description: “Help me," he said, "I ate something bad" title: Accused Face-Biting Murderer Told Officials He Ate Something Bad: 'Humans' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f0dd224bf12b340/6988a2bacd1bba216e70201d/austin-harrouff.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Accused Face-Biting Murderer Told Officials He Ate Something Bad: 'Humans' by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 1, 2016 8:48 PM CUT  Austin Harrouff, a 19-year-old Florida State University student, is accused of killing a married couple in Florida. Austin Harrouff, a 19-year-old Florida State University student, is accused of killing a married couple in Florida.Photo courtesy Martin County Sheriff’s Office by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 1, 2016 8:48 PM CUT A [Florida man](http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/national/accused-killer-told-deputies-ate-humans/onufXdQUsgEe8h2EaMdljJ/ "undefined") accused of murdering two people told officials he had eaten “humans” after chewing the face of one of his victims. [Austin Harrouff](http://time.com/4462310/austin-haurroff-face-bite-murder-flakka/ "undefined"), 19, was charged this month with two counts of second-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and burglary of a dwelling, after being found in August biting a victim’s face. He is accused of stabbing to death that victim, John Stevens III, 59, and his wife, Michelle Mishcon, 53, the Palm Beach _Post_ reports. He was taken to a [medical center](http://time.com/4456501/florida-face-biter-austin-harrouff/ "undefined") and according to Martin County court documents, he spit out a piece of flesh and said, “Help me, I ate something bad.” When a sergeant asked what he had eaten, he responded, “Humans.” Officers speculated that [drugs](http://time.com/4463687/florida-face-biter-austin-harrouff-caustic-drugs/ "undefined") may have played a role in the attacks, and staffers at the medical center say he ingested chemicals that may have been in the garage where the murders occurred. \[[_Palm Beach Post_](http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/national/accused-killer-told-deputies-ate-humans/onufXdQUsgEe8h2EaMdljJ/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4554007/florida-face-biting-humans/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4554007/florida-face-biting-humans/"},"headline":"Accused Face-Biting Murderer Told Officials He Ate Something Bad: 'Humans'","datePublished":"2016-11-01T20:48:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:33:38.312Z","description":"“Help me,\" he said, \"I ate something bad\"","url":"https://time.com/4554007/florida-face-biting-humans/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f0dd224bf12b340/6988a2bacd1bba216e70201d/austin-harrouff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3f0dd224bf12b340/6988a2bacd1bba216e70201d/austin-harrouff.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Austin Harrouff","caption":"Austin Harrouff, a 19-year-old Florida State University student, is accused of killing a married couple in Florida.","creditText":"Photo courtesy Martin County Sheriff’s Office","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4554007/florida-face-biting-humans/","name":"Accused Face-Biting Murderer Told Officials He Ate Something Bad: 'Humans'"}}]}] ```