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Teen accused of murdering mom to be tried as adult, investigators reevaluating father's death

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Published  September 20, 2024 6:24pm EDT
Polk County
FOX 13 News

Teen charged with stabbing mom will be tried as adult

A seventeen-year-old boy charged with stabbing his mother to death in Polk County is now being tried as an adult. More than year earlier — he was also accused of killing his father in Oklahoma.

BARTOW, Fla. - A 17-year-old boy charged with stabbing his mother to death in Polk County is now being tried as an adult. More than a year earlier, he was also accused of killing his father in Oklahoma.

Collin Griffith made his first court appearance Friday afternoon on charges of first degree murder and kidnapping.

Eric Reyes says he became Catherine Griffith's attorney in November of last year when her son, Collin, was charged with domestic battery against her. The incident happened in their Port Charlotte home.

"Catherine did everything for him," said Reyes. "She helped him with school. Tutored him. He had a high school degree, a car, and a job. He had a life. Her love is undying and unfortunately in this case, it caused her death."

A Polk County Grand Jury indicted the teenager on a charge of first degree murder after deputies say he killed Catherine in his grandmother's home in Auburndale last week.

Investigators say Collin called 911 for help around 6 PM after saying he and his mother had gotten into a fight. He claimed his mother lunged at him with a knife and then fell on it which caused a deep stab wound to her neck. However, Sheriff Grady Judd said that couldn't have happened.

PREVIOUS: Grady Judd says teen accused of murdering his mother also killed his father: 'Violent predator'

'Kay,' a resident of the Hamptons community, told FOX 13 she was housesitting for her neighbor, Collin's grandmother, who was away in the Florida Keys. While she was sitting on the front porch, she saw a confrontation happen outside.

"They were yelling at one another, and he grabbed her and drug her into the house. Like I said, I don't know what happened on the inside. I really don't. I feel so sad for the grandmother. She's a friend of mine and I feel really bad for the whole family."

"I made the decision to charge the 17-year-old as an adult based upon the egregious facts and circumstances of this case," said State Attorney Brian Haas of the 10th Judicial Circuit. "Charging a minor as an adult is not a decision I take lightly, but as state attorney, it's my responsibility to do so when warranted."

Courtesy: Polk County Sheriff's Office

Investigators in Oklahoma say Collin also shot and killed his father in February of last year after claiming his father pulled a knife on him, but the charges were later dropped because he claimed self-defense.

"Polk County law enforcement continues to work with the authorities in Oklahoma to be sure they're provided all the relevant information and evidence to allow them to evaluate their case as they deem necessary," said Haas.

Reyes says Collin made numerous threats to kill Catherine and she tried to get her son help and counseling. She even asked DCF to remove her son from her home because she was scared for her own safety, but the agency refused.

"DCF says, 'Hey, you better let him because we don't have a place to place him,'" said Reyes. "Catherine was a teacher, and she loved teaching kids. She had a license and she could lose her license and be charged with abandonment because 'we have no other place to put Collin.'"

Despite the blaring red flags, Reyes says Catherine never saw this coming.

"No parent or mother wants to believe that her own son is going to brutally murder her by stabbing her in the neck," said Reyes. "It's unthinkable."

Collin is being held in the Polk County Jail without bond and his next court appearance is in October.

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