Miami zombie attack victim Ronald Poppo speaks out over attack

News of the zombie attack broke around the world in May. Poppo was left severely disfigured after Rudy Eugene, nicknamed the 'Miami Zombie' by the media, ate Poppo's face during the unprovoked assault.

In an audio recording obtained by CBS Miami, Poppo, 65, is heard telling detectives that Eugene "ripped me to ribbons".

"He chewed up my face. He plucked out my eyes," Poppo said. "Basically that's all there is to say about it."

At the time of the attack, it was widely reported that Eugene had been on bath salts when he embarked on the frenzied assault. However, toxicology tests could only identify marijuana in Eugene's system.

But Poppo tells detectives in the tapes that Eugene "must have been souped-up on something".

Poppo said of the attack: "For a very short amount of time I thought he was a good guy. But he just went and turned berserk. He apparently didn't have a good day at the beach and he - he was coming back. And I guess he took it out, took it out on me or something. I don't know."

Pressed to explain further, Poppo went on: "He just started to scream. And was talking kind of funny talk for a while too. That I was gonna die. And he was gonna die."

Poppo is in recovery after several surgeries, but has been left blind.

Image: Getty