College student 'drank chemicals' before allegedly stabbing couple to death and eating victim's face

A US college student who allegedly killed a Florida couple before eating the face of one of his victims, was reportedly high on illicit drugs and had been drinking ‘caustic’ chemicals before the attack, according to authorities.

It's believed Austin Harrouff had possibly consumed the chemicals inside the garage of Michelle Mishcon Stevens, 53, and John Joseph Stevens III, 59, before stabbing the pair to death, a hospital report has claimed.

Local media reported police arrived at the couple’s Jupiter home last Monday night, to find Harrouff biting flesh off the face of Mr Stevens.

The 19-year-old Florida State University student was reportedly high on a drug known as ‘flakka’, which causes paranoia, hallucinations and psychosis.

Authorities believe he paused in the Stevens’ garage where he drank a concoction of chemicals before carrying out the attack.

“It's a typical garage, so there were solvents,” Martin County Sherriff William Snyder told local media.

"There were things he could have consumed and that first night at the hospital, the hospital speculated based on what they were seeing in his body fluids, that perhaps he had ingested something caustic from the garage.”

In another bizarre twist, the shorts Harrouff was wearing on the night of the attack were found 1.5km away from the crime scene, with police confirming that the accused wasn’t wearing pants at the time of the incident.

The shorts have been taken as evidence.

Harrouff, an exercise science student, is still in a critical condition in hospital, too unwell to give an official statement to police.

Guards are reportedly stationed outside the hospital door as the teen recovers.

Local media reported Harrouff attended a restaurant in the area on the night of the alleged attack, with CCTV capturing him exiting the venue just 45 minutes before approaching the Stevens’ home.

Police described the sophomore student as “abnormally strong” during the arrest and said a neighbour was also stabbed while trying to help the couple.

"Somebody not feeling pain, not responding to a dog bite, repeated stuns from a Taser, taking three to four deputies and officer dog to get him off. That’s somebody with a lot more strength than you would normally encounter,” Sheriff Snyder said.

While authorities are confident Harrouff was under the influence of flakka, further testing will confirm the substance.

More commonly known drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin and meth have been ruled out.