A Florida jury has acquitted 17-year-old Collin Griffith in his mother’s killing, two years after admitting to fatally shooting his father in self-defense.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Griffith faced accusations of stabbing to death his mother, 39-year-old Catherine Griffith, in September 2022. During a 911 call, he claimed she “fell on a knife” amid a “very long fight.”
In 2023, he confessed to shooting his father, 43-year-old Charles Griffith, asserting it was self-defense. Initially charged with first-degree murder in his father’s case, prosecutors ultimately dismissed the charge, citing their inability to disprove his self-defense claim.
Tampa Free Press reports that Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd voiced his disappointment with the verdict, asserting that detectives remain convinced Collin killed his mother.
“The jury determined that they could not convict him beyond and to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt,” Judd said. “During our investigation, detectives found witnesses who believe he also murdered his father in Oklahoma. That investigation is ongoing.”
Defense attorney Amy Porinchak Thornhill urged the jury to concentrate on the facts of the case. She proposed that Catherine Griffith might have intentionally provoked the altercation, asking, “Isn’t it also reasonable that Cathy knew what the outcome would be and picked up a knife to threaten Collin?
“You’ve heard of suicide by cop; isn’t it reasonable to consider that Cathy committed suicide by son?”
On Thursday, Collin Griffith’s grandmother, Susan Detman, testified that her daughter, had been Baker Acted several times and had a tumultuous relationship with family members. She told jurors that her daughter was unpredictable, Tampa Bay 20 News reports.
The relationship with his mother became more evident following his November 2023 arrest for a domestic violence incident involving her. During the arrest, he told deputies he didn’t wish to return to her custody, stating he felt he was in “a constant state of fight or flight.”
Collin Griffith will be released from Polk County, where he has been held without bond.
The investigation into his father’s death continues.
[Feature Photo: Collin and Catherine Griffin.Instagram;Collin Griffith/Polk County Sheriff’s Office]
