The boy was who stabbed a Florida couple and bit their faces, Austin Harrouff, reportedly gave an interview with Dr. Phil prior to his arrest.
According to the sheriff’s office, there was no legal way that the authorities could have prevented the interview. However, the son of the man who was murdered has stated that the sheriff could have arrested the cannibal sooner, according to the Palm Beach Post.
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The segment that is expected to air on Dr. Phil on Friday is called “The frat boy dubbed ‘cannibal killer’ breaks his silence from his hospital bed.” The show programmers have said that they were given an “exclusive interview, right before his arrest.” The program will air at 4 p.m. on WPEC-12.
Neither photos nor promotional videos have surfaced from the interview as of yet.
“Harrouff speaks out for the first time from his hospital bed,” the preview said. “What does he say caused him to go from popular student to an accused killer?”
On Monday night, Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said that his department was aware of the phone interview. He revealed that it was conducted several days prior to Harrouff’s arrest on October 3.
“We were surprised,” Snyder said in regards to the Dr. Phil interview.
John Stevens IV, the son of the deceased John Stevens whom Harrouff is charged with killing, spoke out and said that the sheriff’s office should have arrested Harrouff sooner. If law enforcement had done so, Stevens IV believes that there might not have been an opportunity to give an interview with Dr. Phil’s team.
“It may be his right to give a phone interview, but if the process would have been followed like any other double murderer (and he was arrested immediately), he may have not been so inclined to give an interview from jail,” Stevens said.
Stevens IV also believes that Austin Harouff has been given the benefit of white privilege since his arrest.
“I’ve never seen a black or minority suspect with such an inherent sympathetic spin (as Harrouff is getting),” he said. “They make him seem as sympathetic as possible because he’s privileged and white, and it’s really and really sad.”
Austin Harrouff is imprisoned at the Martin County Jail after being charged with two counts of second-degree murder with a weapon, one count of attempted first-degree murder with a weapon, and one count of burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery.
The state prosecutors will be seeking to get a first-degree murder charge.
Stevens concluded by saying, “I really hope people can use their brains and see that (Harrouff) is a monster.”
What are your thoughts about the cannibal murderer Austin Harrouff being given time to do an interview with Dr. Phil?
[H/T Palm Beach Post]
