Sheriff: Boy who killed father last year kills mother in Polk County

POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A 17-year-old boy who killed his father last year killed his mother Sunday evening near Auburndale, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Wednesday during a news conference.

▶ WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

Judd said that Collin Griffith, 17, of Port Charlotte, fatally stabbed his mother -- Catherine Griffith, 39, also of Port Charlotte -- at an age-restricted mobile home park known as The Hamptons Golf & Country Club.

He said that Collin Griffith called 911 on Sunday, saying that he and his mother “had a very long fight, and she fell on a knife and was bleeding from the neck.”

The sheriff said that a 911 operator delivered CPR instructions to Collin Griffith, who was calm but bloody when deputies met him at the door.

Investigators said that they discovered a 12-inch knife at the home, and witnesses told them that they saw the boy dragging his mother into the home by her hair.

Read: Body of missing kayaker, 18, recovered from lake in Polk County

Deputies said that the home belongs to the boy’s grandmother, who was at her other home in the Florida Keys at the time of the stabbing.

On Valentine’s Day 2023, Collin Griffith fatally shot his father Charles Griffith, in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, Judd said.

He said that Collin Griffith claimed that his father pulled a knife on him, so he shot him once in the chest and once in the head in self-defense.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation charged Collin Griffith with first-degree murder but dropped the charge less than a month later because they could not disprove the boy’s assertion of self-defense.

Read: 2 men arrested after shots fired at Lakeland police officers

He was released from custody in March 2023, and he moved to Charlotte County, Florida, to live with his mother.

Watch Judd’s detailed timeline of events below:

“When you look at this, you see a kid. When I look at him, I see a psychopath” Judd said during the news conference. “He’s a dangerous human being.”

Judd said that when deputies tried to initially interview Collin Griffith, he did not tell them that his mother needed medical care. Instead he said, “I know my rights; I want an attorney.”

Read: Student spotted with gun in bathroom sparks lockdown at Lake Brantley High School, sources say

He was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, and the Sheriff’s Office has asked the State Attorney’s Office to prosecute him as an adult.

See a map of the home below:

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.

©2024 Cox Media Group