FL Teen Acquitted Of Killing Mom 2 Years After Shooting Dad

LAKELAND, FL — A Polk County teenager has been acquitted in the stabbing death of his mother after his defense attorney argued self-defense, according to media reports.

A jury on Wednesday found Collin Griffith, who was 17 years old at the time, not guilty of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of his mother, 39-year-old Catherine Griffith, Fox 13 reported.

"I appreciate all of the attention the jurors paid to what was presented to them," Collin Griffith's Public Defender Amy Thornhill said in a statement obtained by Fox 13. "It was a difficult decision, and I thank them."

She also argued that the teenager was attempting to get away from his mother's aggression.

Prosecutor Mark Levine argued otherwise, saying Collin Griffith hated his mother disciplining him, Fox 13 said.

"He showed his intentions by his actions and words and what he said he was going to do," Levine said, per Fox 13. "He was going to kill that ‘evil b****’ – his own mom – and so he did."

Deputies responded on Sept. 8, 2024 to a Hewlett Drive home in Auburndale. Authorities said Collin Griffith called 911 for help after an incident with his mother at his grandmother's home.

RELATED: FL Teen Killed Mom, Previously Charged In Dad's Death: Sheriff

The younger Griffith told dispatch "his mother lunged at him with a knife and fell on it" during a dispute, causing a deep stab wound in her neck, authorities said.

When deputies got to the scene, they noticed Collin Griffith was not upset, was calm and had blood on him, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a past news conference. The sheriff added deputies found a 12-inch knife with an 8-inch blade at the scene.

In her hourlong closing argument, Thornhill noted Collin Griffith's past with his mother, Gulf Coast News reported. She added his mother supposedly threatened him with a gun and would lie to him.

But, according to Thornhill, he was also mistreated by his father - whom he was accused of shooting and killing in February 2023 in Oklahoma, Gulf Coast News reported.

The teenager alleged his father pulled a knife on him, and he shot him in the chest and in the head in self-defense, Judd said.

The murder charge against Collin Griffith was dropped at least a month later because local authorities said they could not prove against his self-defense assertion.

In March 2023, he relocated to Charlotte County to live with his mother, Judd said. The sheriff added about six months later, Collin Griffith made a comment regarding either killing himself or his mother by a shooting or stabbing.

Additionally, the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office charged Collin Griffith on suspicion of domestic violence battery against his mother in November 2023, authorities said.