Teen once charged for killing father in Oklahoma now charged for killing mother in Florida

OKLAHOMA CITY ( KFOR ) — A Florida sheriff is raising questions after a teen who once faced charges for killing his father in Oklahoma last year was able to move to Florida, where he is now charged with murdering his mother.

Authorities in Polk County, Florida arrested 17-tear-old Collin Griffith after they say he brutally stabbed his mom, Catherine, to death inside her Florida home on September 8.

He is charged with first-degree murder for her death.

Griffith previously faced a first-degree murder charge in Lincoln County, Okla. after authorities said he shot and killed his father, Charles, in their home near Stroud in February 2023.

The Lincoln County District Attorney’s office later dropped the charges against him, saying they could not rule out self defense.

The Sheriff in Polk County says he can’t help but wonder if Oklahoma authorities did all they could.

“When I look at him, I see a psychopath,” Polk County, Fla. Sheriff Grady Judd told News 4’s sister station WFLA during a news conference announcing Griffith’s arrest on Wednesday. “He’s violent. He’s dangerous. He showed zero remorse.”

Judd said the incident in Florida began with a 9-1-1 call on September 8, when Griffith reported his mother, Catherine Griffith, had fallen on a knife in the Port Charlotte, Fla. home they shared, and died.

Neighbors who spoke with News 4’s sister station, WFLA, painted a different picture of what happened. They told deputies they saw Griffith arguing with his mom outside, then dragging her in the house.

“He just grabbed her, looked like he grabbed her by the hair,” a neighbor told WFLA.

Investigators believe Griffith brutally stabbed his mother to death, before placing that 9-1-1 call.

“He didn’t say she killed her, just said he’s bleeding from the neck,” Sheriff Judd said. “So our 9-1-1 operators appropriately were giving him instructions on how to do life-saving techniques. When the deputies arrived, he met the deputies outside and he was calm, cool, collected, not upset, and he had blood on him. What we found inside was this knife. This knife is 12 inches long. And of the 12 inches, eight inches of that is the blade. So he’s saying that his mother fell on this knife. We started our investigation at that point. The next morning at the medical examiner’s office and the autopsy, the medical examiner said it is not reasonable or plausible that she died the way that he said she did. Just didn’t happen.”

Then, investigators learned about the charge Griffith once faced in his father’s death in Oklahoma.

“As we start to peel back the layer of this onion, we find out this is not just a singular event with Colin stabbing his mother in the neck and ultimately killing her,” Judd said.

News 4 previously reported Griffith was arrested in Lincoln County, Okla. back on February 14, 2023, after he called 9-1-1 claiming he shot and killed his father, Charles Griffith.

“He shot him once in the chest and once in the head, and he claimed self-defense,” Sheriff Judd said on Wednesday. “In fact, he used similar language to when he made the 9-1-1 call [in Florida].”

Collin was charged with first degree murder in his father’s death.

But the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office dropped the charge about a month later, saying they could not definitively rule out Griffith’s claim of self-defense.

That left Griffith free to go live with his mom in Florida.

“When you look at this and you see how violent and how dangerous he is, it makes you wonder to what extent and what depth of investigation was done, because they released him from that murder charge that was lodged apparently within a month or so,” Judd said.

News 4 reached out to the OSBI, whose spokesperson said they have no comment and referred News 4 back to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office.

Sheriff Judd said he reached out to the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office after Griffith’s arrest in Florida.

“And they said if we develop information during this investigation that allows them, they will reopen the murder investigation in Oklahoma and potentially charge him out there,” Judd said.

But the entire situation still leaves Sheriff Judd with a major question.

“My question is, was there anything else that could have been done? Because, had Oklahoma been able to act, Catherine would be alive and well today,” Judd said.

Judd said Griffith will be tried as an adult for his mother’s death.

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