POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A 17-year-old from Port Charlotte is accused of killing his mother, and investigators believe he murdered his father, too, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
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During a press conference on Wednesday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd says 911 dispatchers received a call on Sunday, September 8, from Collin Griffith saying that he and his mother had a very long fight.
Griffith told the dispatcher his mother fell on a knife, and that she was bleeding from the neck.
As deputies arrived and started to investigate, they described Griffith's demeanor as "calm, cool and collected."
The medical examiner later discovered that it was "not reasonable or possible" that Catherine Griffith died from falling on a knife, Judd said.
Witnesses told deputies that Griffith dragged his mother by her hair out of his grandmother's house in Auburndale, which is where the crime took place.
His grandmother was not home when Catherine Griffith died, investigators say.
VICTIM'S TEXTS WITH NEIGHBOR:
A friend and neighbor of the mother shared these text messages from right before the murder.
One reads "Hey [redacted] please do not let Collin or the police into my home. I'm not opening my door."
It goes on to say "Collin just hates me and I'm tired of this crap."
The neighbor responds: "Where are you and how am I going to stop him?"
The mother responds: "Don't give them the keys. I'm home in my room."
Another reads. "I'm going to sleep I placed the bookshelf on the wallcleared out collins room. I'm exhausted and reading a book and sleeping."
On Sunday she texts that Collin is violating his probation.
She says that quote: I'm meeting with his probation officer Monday morning if he doesn't come home today by ten. He knows the time and deadline. He's choosing to skip it and hide out at my mom's house in Polk county which is also a violation."
The last text she received said:
"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."
That was the last text.
ACCUSED OF KILLING FATHER:
This isn't the first run-in with the law Giffith has had.
Sheriff Grady he's responsible for the death of his father, too. However, it's an allegation that did not hold up against evidence, thus far.
Grady believes Griffith shot his father in Lincoln County, Oklahoma on Valentine's Day in 2023.
Investigators say Griffith told investigators his dad pulled a knife on him and he shot his father in self defense.
He was charged with first-degree murder.
However, the charges were dropped less than a month later as investigators say they "could not disprove Colin's assertion of self-defense".
When he was released in March 2023, Grady says the teen was released to his mother, Catherine Griffith, 39, in Charlotte County.
BAKER ACTED TWICE:
Six months later, he was Baker Acted.
The 17-year-old was then Baker Acted a second time by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office after making statements regarding taking his own life or his mother's by shooting or stabbing her.
In November 2023, Grady says Griffith was arrested for domestic violence against his mother after she took his video game privileges away. They say he pushed her to the ground and stomped her.
Griffith claimed self-defense, but his grandmother witnessed the encounter and countered that claim; the teen was arrested.
In February 2024, the sheriff's office says Griffith ran away from his mother's house in Charlotte County and went to his grandmother's house in Auburndale.
Charlotte County deputies found him and turned him over to DCF. DCF reunited him with his mother on Valentine's Day 2024 - the anniversary of his father's death.
Grady says Griffith said he did not want to be reunited with his mother and told deputies he'd use any force necessary to avoid it including "killing my mother."
Weeks later, the Griffiths were reunited. Griffith graduated in May from an alternative high school and started attending a community college.
LEADING UP TO THE ALLEGED MURDER:
On September 6, home chores led to another argument at his mother's house in Charlotte County, Grady says.
Griffith went to his grandmother's house in Auburndale. Despite his mom's requests for him to come him, he refused.
On September 8, Catherine Griffith drove to Auburndale and got there around 4 p.m.
Around 4:30 p.m., witnesses say they saw Collin drag his mother by her hair. Two hours later, Collin called 911.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office is asking the State Attorney's Office to charge him as an adult.
The Oklahoma District Attorney's Office says if sufficient evidence is presented, they can reopen the murder case. As of Wednesday, the office was not able to reopen the case.
Grady says Collin showed "zero remorse" and said, "He is a dangerous human being."
