'I see a psychopath': Teenager allegedly stabbed and killed his mother in Polk County after killing his father, sheriff says

POLK COUNTY, Florida. – A 17-year-old boy is accused of stabbing and killing his mother months after shooting his father, according to the Polk County sheriff.

17-year-old Collin Griffith was arrested near Auburndale in connection with the murder of his mother, 39-year-old Catherine Griffith.

According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the teenager called 911 around 6 p.m. on Sept. 8 and said his mother had fallen on a knife during an argument.

He told the emergency dispatcher that during the argument his mother had attacked him with a knife, fallen on it and was stabbed in the neck.

“Our investigation clearly and unequivocally shows that this circumstance did not occur. In fact, he used similar language to that used in his 911 call 18 or 20 months ago when he shot his father. It's important to understand that when you look at this, you see a child. When I look at him, I see a psychopath,” Judd said during a news conference Wednesday.

The sheriff said Griffith has a history of violence and mental illness.

Witnesses told investigators they saw the two arguing outside the house owned by the boy's grandmother when at one point the 17-year-old grabbed his mother by the hair and dragged her into the house. The boy's mother pleaded with him, repeatedly saying “let me go,” witnesses told the sheriff's office.

Griffith's grandmother, who was not home at the time, told investigators he had a history of being “physically or verbally confrontational” with his mother, a news release said. In November 2023, he was charged with domestic violence by the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office.

“The reason he beat his mother is because she disciplined him and took away his video game privileges. So he beat his mother, pushed her to the ground and stomped on her. The grandmother was there and witnessed it. Collin said it was self-defense,” the sheriff said.

She also told officers he was arrested in Oklahoma in February 2023 in connection with the shooting of his father, but the charges were later dropped when he claimed self-defense.

“He shot him once in the chest and once in the head, claiming he was acting in self-defense. The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations charged Collin with first-degree murder. They dropped the charges less than a month later. They said they couldn't disprove Collin's claim of self-defense, so he was released,” Judd said.

The sheriff described Griffith as a “dangerous person.”

“The unfortunate thing is that he has now killed two people and his mother and his father and I can assure you that if he had ended up moving in with his grandmother and she had gotten in his way, beyond any reasonable doubt based on his conduct, he would have been next. He is violent. He is dangerous. He has shown no remorse, no remorse when he was interrogated,” he said.

Griffith is accused of premeditated murder, kidnapping and violating a restraining order.

Click here to watch the sheriff's entire press conference.

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