A 17-year-old, Collin Griffith, stands accused of the murder of his mother, Catherine Griffith, 39, in Auburndale, Polk County. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office announced that the incident took place on a Sunday night, as reported by WFLA. Initial reports detail a confrontation between the mother and son that turned deadly, with the teen claiming that his mother lunged at him with a knife and inadvertently fell on it during their argument.
A neighbor, speaking to NBC-2, recounted witnessing a verbal altercation between Collin and Catherine. The altercation escalated when the teen allegedly dragged his mother by what appeared to be her hair into the home. "He’s violent. He’s dangerous. He’s showed zero remorse…zero remorse," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said, noting that he had also killed his father in 2023.
The teen had a troubled past with law enforcement, including previous charges for domestic violence battery against his mother by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office in November 2023, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. In another chilling incident detailed by WINK News, two months after being Baker Acted, Collin was reported to have assaulted his mother by pushing her to the ground and stomping on her, an event the grandmother witnessed.
This is not a first for Collin; a 2023 affidavit from a Lincoln County, Oklahoma news outlet indicates that at 15, the teen shot and killed his father, Charles Robert Griffith, on Valentine's Day. He claimed self-defense, saying his dad had cornered him with a knife, leading him to shoot his father twice. However, officials noted inconsistencies between the evidence and Collin's initial account of the event. Following his reunion with his mother earlier this year through the Department of Children and Families in Florida, the teen is said to have expressed threats against her, among them a statement obtained by WFLA, where he claimed he'd kill her before the weekend's murderous act.
As the investigation continues, charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and violation of a no-contact order are levied against him. The District Attorney’s Office has indicated a readiness to reopen the murder investigation of his father in Oklahoma should further information emerge.
