Silke Jasso
Fresh off his arrest, accused face-biter Austin Harrouff complained to his parents about adjusting to jail life. He was bored, lonely and he heard the guards talking about him. They thought he was a monster, he said.
Videos by Rare
“It just sucks. I just want to be a normal kid again,” Harrouff said.
The State Attorney’s Office in Martin County this week released hundreds of jail calls between Harrouff and his family since he was brought to the jail Oct. 3 on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder.
Martin County Sheriff’s deputies say Harrouff stabbed John Stevens III, 59, and Michelle Mishcon, 53, to death at their home on Southeast Kokomo Lane on Aug. 15 and was found biting Stevens’ face. He also seriously injured a neighbor who tried to intervene.
RELATED: Shocking crime-scene photos emerge of bloody “cannibal frat boy” after double murder
Initially, investigators thought Harrouff may have been on drugs when he attacked the couple. Harrouff told deputies the night of the fatal stabbings that he had no drugs in his system, though court documents show he told paramedics that he smoked marijuana and drank alcohol. Toxicology reports showed he had neither common drugs nor designer drugs, such as flakka, in his system.
Harrouff’s attorneys have said their client was “struggling with severe mental illness and the judicial process will bear all of this out in due time.” Since then, the lawyers have not said if Harrouff has been diagnosed.
When Harrouff, a 20-year-old former Jupiter resident, first arrived at the jail, he cried constantly, complained about how bored he was and said that he wanted to be home. In later recordings, he speaks in a monotone, answers with one word or repeats a word over and over. He laughs briefly and at awkward points in conversations. But he tells his parents he’s “doing good.”
At the beginning, Harrouff asks for books, magazines and things to write and draw with. He’s bored. He cries to his parents, saying he needed a therapist. His father, Wade Harrouff, tells him to stay strong and be strong. His mother, Mina Harrouff, tries to comfort him as she hold backs her own tears.
“This is a nightmare, dad,” he says.
“I know it’s a nightmare,” Wade Harrouff says. “It wasn’t you, Austin. This thing that happened wasn’t you.”
Over and over, Wade Harrouff assures his son he will do whatever it takes to get him out of jail.
RELATED: Teen “cannibal killer’s” shocking revelation to police officers will chill you to the bone
“This is hard on all of us,” Wade Harrouff says in one conversation. “What you have to understand is that I’m working as hard as I can and paying a bunch of (expletive) money to get this thing taken care of, and there’s hope. There’s hope that we can get something done.”
“I just missing being a normal kid,” Harrouff says.
“That’s something you’re going to have to get used to,” his father replies. “You’re no longer a little kid anymore.”
“I know I’m almost 20.”
“The toughest time is now. These are your toughest days.”
In the later recordings, Harrouff jokes with his family, talks about his dinners and going outside. The tone in his voice is brighter than at the beginning of his stay, but in some aspects his speech is slower and he repeats words.
It’s unclear if Harrouff is on any medication at this time, but at the beginning of his stay, he told his parents the jail gave him anti-depressants and something to help him sleep.
In the last recordings, with unknown dates, Harrouff and his father talk about former FBI director James Comey’s upcoming testimony and Donald Trump. They say it’s “like a Civil War” between Democrats and Republicans.
“These are exciting times to live in, buddy. I’m telling you that. (Expletive) the whole government has gone crazy,” Wade Harrouff says.
Austin chuckles at the other end of the phone from the confines of his jail cell.
Harrouff’s next court date is scheduled for July 25, according to court records.
