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A TEENAGER has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his mom to death after claiming she fell on his knife, just a year after police say he shot and killed his dad.
Collin Griffith, 17, reportedly stabbed his mom Catherine in the neck twice on Sunday night.
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Griffith told Florida police that his mom, 39, had fallen on his knife during an argument, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office told local NBC affiliate KFOR.
This incident comes just a year after Catherine paid $50,000 to bail her son out of jail after he was charged with first degree murder for the death of his father in Oklahoma.
Prosecutors later dropped the charges because they could not rule out self defense.
On Sunday, neighbors reported seeing him drag his mom out of the house by her hair at around 4:30 pm.
Two hours later he called the police.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd described Griffith as a “psychopath.”
“He didn’t say [he] killed her, just said [she’s] bleeding from the neck,” Sheriff Judd said during a news conference.
“So our 9-1-1 operators appropriately were giving him instructions on how to do life-saving techniques.
“When the deputies arrived, he met the deputies outside and he was calm, cool, collected, not upset, and he had blood on him.
“What we found was this knife. This knife is 12 inches long. And of the 12 inches, eight inches of that is the blade.
“So he’s saying that his mother fell on this knife. We started our investigation at this point,” Sheriff Judd explained.
“The next morning at the medical examiner’s office and the autopsy, the medical examiner said it is not reasonable or plausible that she died the way that he said she did.
“Just didn’t happen.”
Griffith has been charged with first-degree murder for his mom’s death.
The 17-year-old will be tried as an adult, Judd said.
“When I look at him, I see a psychopath,” he said.
“He’s violent. He’s dangerous. He showed zero remorse.”
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
LAST WORDS
Police released a series of chilling text messages Catherine sent to her neighbor in the hours leading up to her death.
“Please do NOT let Collin OR the police into my home. I’m not opening my door,” one message read.
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“I’m safe and I’m fine. Collin just hates me and honestly I’m tired of this crap.”
The neighbor responded to the text, “How am I going to stop him?”
Catherine told her neighbor on Sunday that Collin was violating his probation and was hiding at his grandma’s house, according to Southwest Florida Fox affiliate WFTX.
“He knows the time deadline and he’s choosing to skip it and hide at my mom’s house in Polk County which is also a violation,” she wrote.
“He won’t listen I am going to drive to get him and if he doesn’t get in the car then Polk County can deal with him,” Catherine said in the last text she sent to her neighbor.
REPEAT OFFENDER
Griffith faced a first-degree murder charge in Lincoln County, Oklahoma – a 45-minute drive from Oklahoma City – last year after he shot and killed his father, Charles, in February 2023.
Reports revealed that he shot his dad once in the chest and once in the head.
Collin Griffith case – an overview
Who: Collin Griffith, 17, from Port Charlotte, Florida.
Crime: Griffith is accused of killing his mom by stabbing her twice in the neck on September 8.
Witnesses: Neighbors told police that Griffith had been arguing with his mom. They saw him drag her outside the house by her hair just two hours before he called the police. When police arrived, his mom had two stab wounds in her neck.
Defense: Griffith told police his mom lunged at him with a knife during an argument before falling on the blade, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Lincoln County District Attorney’s office dropped the charges after Griffith argued he shot his dad in self-defense.
He was released in March 2023 and went to live with his mom in Florida.
“When you look at this and see how violent and dangerous he is, it makes you wonder to what extent and what depth of investigation was done, because they released him from that murder charge that was lodged apparently within a month or so,” Sheriff Judd said.
“When I look at him, I see a psychopath.”
Sheriff Grady Judd
The sheriff has reportedly reached out to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office.
“And they say if we develop information during this investigation that allows them, they will reopen the murder investigation in Oklahoma and potentially charge him out there,” Judd said.
“If Oklahoma had been able to act, Catherine would be alive and well today.”
BAKER ACT
Six months after the charges against Griffith were dropped, he was involuntarily confined for a psychological exam under Florida’s Mental Health Act after making suicidal statements and injuring his mom.
Griffith was then arrested for domestic violence against Catherine in November 2023 after she took his video game privileges away from him.
“He’s violent. He’s dangerous. He showed zero remorse.”
Sheriff Grady Judd
His mom accused him of pushing her to the ground and stomping on her, but he claimed his actions were in self-defense.
Griffith’s grandmother witnessed the incident and corroborated Catherine’s account.
Griffith ran away from his mom’s house in February and said he would use any force necessary to avoid being reunited with her.
He allegedly said this included “killing my mother.”
