Police Find Attacker Biting Off Man’s Face at Scene of Grisly Murder

Sheriff's deputies in Martin County, Florida, received a call Monday evening from a man reporting that he'd been stabbed trying to break up a fight at his neighbor's residence.

When the first deputy arrived on the scene, the sheriff said she discovered a man on top of another man in a driveway, biting his face, WPEC-TV reported.

According to the sheriff, the suspect was aggressively removing the victim's flesh with his teeth.

Multiple deputies eventually arrived to the home with a K-9 unit. But only after using a stun gun and the force of every officer present were they able to remove the attacker from the victim.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene, and his wife was later found dead inside the garage of their home.

Authorities have not released the ages or identities of the victims or suspect, but the sheriff did note that the suspect knew the slain couple.

According to WPEC, the neighbor who called 911 suffered substantial injuries after trying to save his neighbor from his attacker. He was airlifted to St. Mary's Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. His condition is unknown.

The suspect was also taken to St. Mary's, where he is receiving treatment for unspecified ailments. His motive remains unclear.

"When we see a case like this, when someone is biting off pieces of somebody's face, could it be flakka, the answer is it absolutely could be flakka case, we don't know," Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said, according WFOR-TV.

Flakka is an inexpensive designer drug that has been on the rise in Florida lately. The amphetamine-like stimulant has been linked to dozens of cases of bizarre and disturbing behavior in the past year. It can be snorted, smoked, injected or swallowed.

Flakka contains the same type of chemical used to make bath salts, a drug that has sparked similar out-of-control behavior, including a 2012 case involving a Miami man who allegedly chewed another man's face while high.

"It will be some time before we get any kind of toxicology report," Snyder said of Monday night's incident in Martin County, "but I would not be surprised, though, if we end up finding out that is the case."