AUBURNDALE, Fla. (TCN) — A 17-year-old who was charged with allegedly killing his father last year in Oklahoma is now accused of fatally stabbing his mother in the neck during an argument and claiming she fell on the knife.
According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, on Sunday, Sept. 8, Collin Griffith called the sheriff’s office and said he and his mother “had a very long fight and she fell on a knife and she’s bleeding from the neck.” Dispatchers gave instructions on how to provide lifesaving techniques while deputies and first responders made their way to the residence. When deputies arrived, Griffith reportedly met them outside and appeared “calm, cool, collected” and “not upset.” The teen reportedly had blood on his body.
Judd said deputies discovered a 12-inch knife with an 8-inch blade. Griffith reportedly kept saying his mother fell on the knife. The medical examiner conducted an autopsy the next morning and determined there was “no reasonable or plausible” way the victim, Catherine Griffith, died that way.
Judd added, “Our investigation clearly and unequivocally shows the situation did not occur.”
Witnesses allegedly saw Collin Griffith pull his mother by the hair and drag her into a mobile home, where she was killed.
On Feb. 14, 2023, Collin Griffith reportedly called law enforcement in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, and claimed his dad, Charles Griffith, pulled out a knife on him, so he shot him in the head and chest in self-defense. He was initially charged with first-degree murder, but prosecutors dropped the charges soon after because they could not rule out his explanation of self-defense.
In March 2023, Griffith moved in with his mother in Charlotte County, Florida. Several months later, he was Baker Acted, which is a temporary involuntary hold due to a mental health emergency. After he got out of the hospital, he allegedly told authorities, “I’ll kill myself or my mother by shooting or stabbing her.”
He was Baker Acted right after that and released several days later.
Griffith was arrested in November 2023 for allegedly beating his mother because she “took his video game privileges away.” He reportedly argued it was self-defense, but his grandmother was also present and disagreed with that statement.
Collin Griffith and Catherine Griffith reportedly kept getting into arguments, and at one point, his grandmother said she did not feel safe with him around. Judd said Collin Griffith was turned over to DCF custody on Feb. 12, and two days later, he went back to his mother’s care.
According to Judd, Collin Griffith allegedly said he “didn’t want to go home and will use any force necessary to avoid it, including killing his mother.”
Collin Griffith and Catherine Griffith reportedly had a dispute on Sept. 6 at her house in Charlotte County. He fled to his grandmother’s home in Auburndale, Polk County. Catherine Griffith drove up to the grandmother’s house at 4:30 p.m., and they allegedly kept fighting. Two hours later, he called 911.
Judd said Collin Griffith “used similar language in the 911 call when he shot and killed his father.”
Judd called Collin Griffith a “psychopath,” adding, “At 17 years of age, he’s already shot and killed his father and got away with it and stabbed his mother in the neck so hard that the knife went all the way through and was to the back of her neck.”
The sheriff’s office is requesting the state attorney’s office charge him as an adult.
Prosecutors in Oklahoma reached out to Judd and reportedly said they would reopen the investigation if Polk County detectives “develop information” related to Charles Griffith’s killing.
He is being charged with capital murder, kidnapping, and violation of a no-contact order.
“He is violent. He’s dangerous. He showed zero remorse,” Judd said. “He is a dangerous human being.”