DailyMail.com can reveal the dark family story of a teenager who stabbed his mother to death a year after killing his father in a shocking crime spree that has stunned Florida detectives.
Collin Griffith, 17, is accused of killing his beloved mother Catherine, 39, by stabbing her in the neck multiple times. He claimed she “fell” on the knife as she lunged at him, but neighbours told police they had seen the teenager dragging her by her hair. While she repeated: “Let me go.”
Catherine’s murder was the latest act of violence in the family’s troubled past, which includes repeated murder threats, alleged domestic abuse and a nasty divorce battle that ended with the killing of Collin’s 41-year-old father, Charles.
The teen’s parents were locked in a legal battle over Collin when Charles, who had full custody of the teen, was fatally shot in the chest and head.
The former couple divorced in May 2020 after 20 years of marriage, according to court documents obtained by DailyMail.com, where Catherine accused Charles of decades of abuse.
Catherine’s murder was the latest act of violence in the family’s dark history, which included a nasty custody battle that ended with the murder of Collin’s father.
Collin Griffith is accused of killing his beloved mother Catherine by stabbing her in the neck multiple times.
In August 2022, Catherine filed for sole custody of Collin, claiming that Charles had not allowed “any contact with” the boy since December 31, 2019, after a phone call in which he “begged his mother to come get him.”
Catherine accused Charles of alienating Collin by “saying negative things to her and monitoring and stalking her social media in an attempt to find anything that would make her look bad.”
She claimed Charles had harassed and stalked her, causing her to suffer from chronic PTSD, so she asked the court for a no-contact order.
The mother later said that Collin’s father did not allow him to leave the house, even to go to school, after Collin told him he was gay.
Catherine had also asked the court to order Charles to take Collin to child therapy, saying “this child may already be suffering irreparable emotional harm from the father’s parental alienation and emotional abuse of the minor child.”
Charles responded by claiming that Collin did not want his mother, saying that Catherine had been “mentally and emotionally unstable” and had abused drugs and alcohol during this time.
The college freshman was arrested Sunday after calling 911 alleging Catherine fell on a knife as she attacked him while holding the weapon, as seen in the image. Police say the depth of the wound indicates murder, not an accident.
Collin was arrested for the murder of his father Charles (pictured left) and released after Catherine (right) posted his $50,000 bail. The case was later dismissed.
Collin killed his father Charles Griffith in the Oklahoma home pictured here on Valentine’s Day 2023
The father said he stopped allowing Collin to communicate with Catherine after she texted the teen a handwritten suicide note in May 2020. He also accused Catherine of only communicating when she was “manic” and posing as an adult man on Discord to communicate with Collin and encourage him to run away.
The case was resolved when Catherine was granted sole custody of Collin in February 2023, days after the teenager shot and killed Charles.
Collin shot and killed his father in Oklahoma on Valentine’s Day 2023. The 15-year-old was also the one who called 911, claiming he was acting in self-defense after his father cornered him in a room and threatened him with a knife.
The affidavit for the boy’s arrest stated there was “probable cause to believe that the defendant, the juvenile, committed first-degree murder.” An officer noted that the boy’s claim that his father cornered him did not match evidence found at the scene.
Mother and son’s time together was rocky from the start, but Catherine kept it private, gushing about her son on social media and sharing their travels together.
Catherine was an avid user of social media and often shared images from her travels.
Catherine Griffith, 39, shared disturbing posts online in the days leading up to her murder, allegedly at the hands of her son Collin (pictured together).
Collin was arrested for murder and released after Catherine posted his $50,000 bail. However, the case was dismissed when prosecutors could not rule out self-defense.
“He is a violent predator who has killed his father and mother,” said Sheriff Grady Judd. “We will hold him accountable in Polk County and do everything we can to keep him separated from civil society.”
Catherine had recently reunited with Collin, as he moved to Oklahoma with his father when his parents first separated in 2019.
The mother and son’s time together was rocky from the start, but Catherine kept it private, gushing about her son on social media, sharing their trips together and the new car she bought him as a graduation gift.
Griffith was a recent graduate of The Academy, an alternative high school located in Port Charlotte.
Collin had threatened to kill his mother several times, according to police.
Catherine had recently reunited with Collin, as he moved to Oklahoma with his father when his parents first separated in 2019.
Just months after his father was murdered, in September 2023, a school official called police to conduct a mental health check because Collin had said his mother pointed a gun at him during an argument.
Collin claimed Catherine told him she would kill him and threatened to kill herself. She denied the allegations to a sheriff’s deputy and insisted Collin was upset that she had taken his phone and AirPods away because he was failing classes.
Catherine added that Collin had been diagnosed with a personality disorder and PTSD after being “held captive” by his father for 1,041 days without human contact.
Collin was placed in protective custody for a mental health evaluation under the Baker Act. He was set to be released after eight days, but was kept in the institution after threatening to kill his mother if he was returned to their custody.
Catherine bought Collin a new car earlier this year as a graduation gift.
Catherine claimed that Collin’s father did not allow him to leave the house, even to go to school, after Collin told him he was gay.
He reportedly told staff: “I’ll kill myself or my mom… I’ll throw them out of the car, shoot them or stab them, I’ve done it before, my dad, I know I can do it again.”
Catherine then placed the teenager in a long-term care facility near Jupiter, where he spent several months before returning to live with her.
Then, in November 2023, Collin was charged with domestic violence battery against his mother after attacking her, pulling her hair and kneeing her in the groin. At the time, he told officers he would kill his mother if he was released and had to get in a car with her.
“He was very well spoken and very intelligent, but you can see that he was a little bit controlling and manipulative. You can’t see that he’s basically a murderous psychopath,” Catherine’s attorney, Eric Reyes, told The Associated Press. NBC2.
Collin is in jail awaiting his next court appearance and faces a first-degree murder charge.
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