A 17-year-old boy in Florida has been charged with the murder of his mother, just a year after killing his father in Oklahoma. According to authorities, Collin Griffith called 911 on Sunday night, claiming his 39-year-old mother, Catherine Griffith, had been stabbed in the neck after she attacked him with a knife during a fight. He told police she fell on the knife, but investigators quickly found evidence that contradicted his account.
When officers arrived at the home, Catherine was already dead. Collin initially spoke with police but became "uncooperative" when asked for details and demanded a lawyer. Witnesses nearby reported hearing a loud argument between Collin and his mother outside the home. They saw Collin drag his mother inside the house by her hair while she begged, “Let me go.”
One neighbor, Nancy K. Jones, said she heard the commotion and saw Collin forcibly pulling his mother inside. "He just grabbed her — looked like he grabbed her by the hair," Jones told local news station WFLA.
Collin’s grandmother, who owns the house where the incident took place but was not present at the time, informed police that the teen had a history of violent behavior toward his mother. According to reports, she had previously mentioned that Collin “had problems” and had been physically or verbally aggressive in the past.
An autopsy confirmed that Catherine had died from a deep knife wound to the neck. The medical examiner determined the wound was not consistent with an accidental injury, further discrediting Collin's story.
This isn’t the first time Collin has been linked to a violent death in his family. In 2023, when he was just 15 years old, Collin fatally shot his father, Charles Robert Griffith, during a confrontation in their Oklahoma home on Valentine’s Day. At the time, Collin claimed he shot his father in self-defense after being cornered. He fired two shots, one to the chest and one to the head, and the charges were eventually dropped, as self-defense couldn’t be ruled out.
After his father's death, Collin was reunited with his mother. Despite her efforts to help him, including paying $50,000 for his bail, their relationship remained volatile. According to authorities, Collin had even threatened to kill his mother at one point before the tragic incident on Sunday.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd did not hold back his condemnation of the teen. "Collin Griffith is a violent predator — he has now killed both his father and his mother,” Judd said in a statement. “We will hold him accountable in Polk County and do everything we can to keep him separated from civil society.”
Collin has been charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, and violating a no-contact order.
