'I See A Psychopath:' Teen Arrested In Father’s Death In Lincoln Co. Charged With Murdering Mother In Florida

A teenager charged in the death of his mother in Florida was previously arrested in Oklahoma for killing his father.

Collin Griffith was arrested in the deadly shooting of his father in Lincoln County in February last year. Griffith was 15 at the time.

Following an Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, the Lincoln County District Attorney’s office never filed formal charges against the teen, saying the evidence showed a legitimate case of self-defense. However, considering the new murder case in Florida, authorities there hope the case in Oklahoma will be reopened.

“When you look at this you see a kid but when I look at him, I see a psychopath,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd while pointing at a picture of Griffith. 

Those strong words from Judd were said at a press conference following the arrest of Griffith, now 17.

“He is violent, he is dangerous, he showed zero remorse,” Judd said.

Judd says the teen stabbed his mother, Catherine Griffith, on Sunday at his grandmother’s home in Auburndale, Florida, a town that’s about an hour southwest of Orlando.

“When the deputies arrived, he met them outside,” Judd said. “He was calm, cool, collected. He was not upset, and he had blood on him.”

Investigators say the teen claimed during a fight his mother lunged at him with a knife, then fell on the blade and died. The Medical Examiner’s Office’s autopsy revealed that the mother died of a deep penetrating knife wound to the neck. They determined the stab wound to be inconsistent with an accidental injury. 

“He used similar language to when he shot and killed his father,” Judd said.

Collin was arrested in the shooting death of his father in 2023. According to Lincoln County District Attorney Adam Panter, the evidence reflected the two got into an argument that became physical. Panter said the investigation showed Griffith’s father armed with a knife chased his son into a bedroom, backing him into a corner where a loaded rifle was located. Court documents show when his father lunged at him, Griffith shot his father. Following an OSBI investigation investigators could not rule out self-defense. No formal charges were filed, and Griffith was released to his mother at her request.

“My question is was there anything else that could have been done because if Oklahoma would have been able to act, Catherine would be alive and well today.”

The DA says he would consider reevaluating the case in Oklahoma if new evidence is presented that is both credible and relevant to the investigation into the death of Griffith’s father.