The family members of Michelle Mishcon and John Stevens have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against their accused killer, Austin Harrouff, claiming he was a binge drinker, illegal drug user and bought a switchblade the night before the murder.
On Aug. 15, 2016, Harrouff allegedly broke into the couple’s home and stabbed Mishcon nine different times. She suffered fracture ribs, punctured heart and lungs and a fractured skull from the attack. When Stevens came home later and saw his wife being viciously attacked, Harrouff jumped on top of him and proceeded to chew his face.
When police arrived at the home, they said they saw Harrouff gnawing on Stevens’ face and making animal-like noises.
As police investigated the murder, Harrouff’s family said that he was displaying disturbing behavior and that they were even thinking about putting him in a mental hospital. They claimed scary behavior forced them to lock their doors at night.
According to the lawsuit, Harrouff abused many types of drugs, including Xanax, Adderall, Vayvanse, ecstasy, marijuana and cocaine. He also frequently binged on alcohol and blacked out in his parents’ home.
Tests revealed that Harrouff had small amounts of THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana, in his system as well as drugs that were medically introduced.
“Austin is a monster and he deserves to pay with his life,” said Mishcon-Bruce, who is representing the estate of Michelle Mishcon-Stevens in the lawsuit. “Our only avenue of recourse at this point is to file a civil lawsuit against him and show the world exactly who Austin is.”
“We are tired of and sickened of Austin being portrayed by ‘his team’ as an ordinary college student who didn’t do any drugs and must suffer from mental illness because there’s no other explanation for what he did,” Jodi Mishcon-Bruce, Michelle’s sister, said.
The family is seeking damages in excess of $15,000 for the killings.
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