The Miami 'Bath Salts Zombie' Chewed Off The Face Of Ronald Poppo

On May 26, 2012, the world came to know the gruesome case of the Miami Zombie (also called the Causeway Cannibal or the Bath Salt Face Eater). The gist is that a man named Rudy Eugune, reportedly high on ‘bath salts’, ate the face of a homeless person under the MacArthur Causeway overpass. Most of the public believe drugs were to blame for this horrific scene, but they found no drugs in Eugune’s system after the attack.

Ripped To Ribbons

It may be a good thing that the video of Rudy Eugune chewing off the face of Ronald Poppo is difficult to see. The view from the security camera is often obstructed and, for most of the event, both the killer and victim are out of the frame.

Still, it’s harrowing to watch, knowing that for nearly an hour he severely beat Ronald Poppo unconscience before he chewed his face off and spit out on the ground.

Officer Jose Rivera was the first at the seen and according to official reports, he “ordered Eugune to stop, but Eugene just growled at him, so Rivera shot him.”

After the first bullet failed to stop the zombie-like Rudy Eugune, Rivera fired three more times until finally he let go of Ronald Poppo’s face.

“He attacked me. He just ripped me to ribbons. He chewed up my face. He plucked out my eyes.”

80% of Poppo’s face (all above the beard) had been chewed up and spit back on the pavement.

Ronald Poppo, before and after he was brutally attacked by the Miami Zombie Rudy Eugene.

Why Bath Salts?

Most people believe Eugene attacked Poppo after he ingested ‘bath salts’, which are a synthetic hallucinogens.

Rudy Eugene was completely naked before he attacked Ronald Poppo.

Several reasons for this belief are that, well, the obvious of chewing someone’s face off, but also users and addicts will often shed their clothing and consume an extensive amount of water, both of which Rudy Eugene did before he attacked Poppo.

However, nothing other than THC weed was found in Eugene’s system during the autopsy and toxicology report.

Two separate forensic labs tested Eugene’s liquid blood and found nothing that could easily explain why he brutally ate Ronald Poppo’s face off.

A friend of Eugune’s, Bobby, said “It had to be some sort of drug that somebody must have slipped on him, because Rudy wouldn’t so much as pop a Tylenol pill.

Rudy’s girlfriend, Yovonka Bryant, also publicly stated that her boyfriend never drank nor smoked and was a good caretaker of her children, showing no signs of anger.

“There’s no answer for it, not really.” “Anybody who knew him knows this wasn’t the person we knew him to be. Whatever triggered him, there is no answer for this.” - Rudy Eugene’s younger brother, Charles.

God Hates Zombies

In both this case, and in the previous post I’ve written on Austin Harrouff, both men were heavy into religion.

Rudy Eugene and his girlfriend were both religious, often reading both the Bible and Quran.

Yovonka Bryant, Eugune’s girlfriend, publically stated that her and Rudy would often read the Bible and Quran together and would often watch religious sermons in the morning.

Rudy’s mother even called her son a “church boy”.

Also found at the scene was Eugene’s bible, which he had carried with him for at least three miles after he abandoned his car to walk in the midday sun.

I’m not saying that God told both Austin and Eugene to snack on faces, but it is a coincidence in my opinion.

Facing Life’s Challenges

Ronald Poppo is still alive and is grateful for police (and doctors) for saving his life.

Ronald Poppo is still alive, albeit without his original face. Poppo is completely blind, but is grateful to be alive.

He describes being “ripped to ribbons” and having his eyes “plucked out”, but according to him, he’s content with his life.

Noone really knows what caused Rudy Eugune to attack Poppo in such a brutal manner.

Police have figured out that Rudy was behaving oddly prior to the attack and that he had driven his car to South Beach for Urban Beach Weekend.

Was he slipped a mysterious drug while on the beach?

Did his mental capacities finally deteriorate to full-blown mania?

What do you think?