Miami Zombie Attack Scene Becomes a Tourist Attraction; Rudy Eugene Attended Bible Study Days Before Crime
In what seemed like a perfect Saturday afternoon, one of the most grisly crimes ever heard of would be enacted underneath a Miami causeway. Now the scene of the crime has even been added to a sightseeing tour by a museum. The HistoryMiami museum has added the location of the attack to its "Mystery, Mayhem and Vice" crime tour.
"Horrible as it was, it is part of our history. Currently, our tour takes us over the causeway right past the site, so this fits well," Dr. Paul George of the museum told the South Florida Business Journal.
But more intriguing about the crime is that the assailant seemed to be an avid Bible reader and even referred to as a "preacher" from his friends. Just two days before he committed the horrendous crime of gnawing off a homeless man's face, Rudy Eugene attended a Bible-study session at a friend's house, Tampa Bay Times reports.
He had even posted a Bible verse on his Facebook page: "Deliver me from my enemies, O my Lord; Defend me from those who rise up against me. For the Lord God is my defense. - [Psalm 59]'. His friend Bobby Chery told the newspaper that Eugene had vowed to give up marijuana as they both discussed how to be better men according to the word of God.
So what caused Eugene to snap and attack another man like a vicious wild animal? Police suspect that he had been high on bath salts or another sort of LSD - which can lead to psychotic behavior. Toxicology reports will be released in a few weeks.
Eugene's on and off girlfriend told newspaper that the Rudy who attacked the homeless man was not Rudy. She says he must have been under a voodoo curse or that something supernatural came over him. "I don't know how else to explain this," she told Miami Herald.
Eugene was known to family and friends for reciting Bible verses out loud and always reading Scripture.
"If someone was lost or didn't know God, he would tell them about him," Rudy's girlfriend told Miami Herald. He was a believer of God. Something happened out of the ordinary that day. I don't want him to be labeled the Miami Zombie. He was a person. I don't want him to go down like that."
Eugene's mother also comes to Rudy's defense, saying that he was a nice kid. "Everybody says that he was a zombie, but I know he's not a zombie; he's my son," she told CBS. "I don't know what they injected in him to turn him into the person who did what he did." His mother, who didn't want to be named, also says that Rudy should have been tasered, not shot to death.
WATCH: Man Eating Face Surveillance Video
Eugene attacked Ronald Poppo off a causeway in Miami at 2 p.m. Saturday. He was shot by police 12 times after being repeatedly ordered to stop eating the victim. But after simply growling at the officers and continuing the gory feast, police were forced to bring the attack to an end. Eugene was killed by the multiple gunshot wounds.
