GhLinks Media
A 17-year-old boy is accused of murdering his mother in Polk County, just one year after being accused of murdering his father in Oklahoma.
According to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Collin Griffith killed his mother, Catherine Griffith, 39, in his grandma’s Auburndale, Florida home on Sunday.
During a news conference on Wednesday, Sheriff Grady Judd said Collin and his mother had an “argument about chores,” leading him to run away to his grandmother’s home.
The grandmother was in the Keys at the time.
On Sept. 8, Catherine drove up to the home after Collin refused to return home.
Catherine arrived around 4 p.m. when neighbors say they saw the two arguing out front.
According to witnesses, Collin grabbed his mother by the hair and dragged her inside the home.
About two hours later, PCSO received a call from Collin stating, “he had a fight with mom, and she is bleeding from the neck.”
PCSO said investigations revealed that Collin used a kitchen knife to stab his mother in the neck twice.
Deputies arrived on the scene where they say Collin immediately told them, “I know my rights, I want an attorney.”
Collin was arrested and is facing a first-degree murder charge. Judd said he was a part of a Charlotte County correctional program previously.
“He’s violent. He’s dangerous. He’s showed zero remorse…zero remorse,” Judd said, adding, “Everybody that should be special to him in his life is dead because they crossed him.”
Judd also said this is not the first time that Collin has been accused of murdering a parent.
According to an affidavit, on February 14, 2023, around 1 p.m., deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma received a call that from Collin saying he had shot his father, Charles Griffith.
Collin stated that there had been an argument between him and his father, Charles. Collin claimed the father allegedly pulled a knife on him and “chased him through the house.”
Collin said he had been cornered in the bedroom by the father. Judd said that’s when Collin picked up the gun and shot Charles twice, once in the head and once in the chest.
Collin was arrested on charges of first-degree murder of his father, which were later dropped.
The affidavit says there were inconsistencies with the evidence on the scene and the story initially given to dispatch by Collin.
According to PCSO, Collin was baker acted after the incident involving his father and claimed he was going to “kill himself,” after he was released.
According to reports, Collin was arrested for domestic violence previously after he was accused of beating up his mother. Collin’s grandmother witnessed the incident and said it was not self defense.
Collin is in the Polk County Jail facing a first-degree murder charge for the death of his mother. PCSO said they have asked that the state attorneys office to prosecute him as an adult.
Judd said the sheriff’s office has asked Oklahoma to reopen the murder investigation of his father.
