BARTOW, Fla. – A jury has reached a verdict within the trial of Collin Griffith, a 17-year-old boy accused of stabbing his mom to dying a yr after he killed his father in Oklahoma.
On Wednesday, a jury discovered him not responsible of first-degree homicide and never responsible of kidnapping.
Collin Griffith kills mom
The backstory:
In keeping with the Polk County Sheriff’s Workplace, Collin Griffth referred to as 911 for assistance on Sept. 8, 2024.
Legislation enforcement officers mentioned he instructed them that he and his mom had gotten right into a combat and through the argument, his mom lunged at him with a knife and fell on it, inflicting a deep stab wound in her neck.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd mentioned the 911 operator gave Collin Griffith directions on life-saving strategies. When Polk County Fireplace Rescue and deputies responded to Hewlett Dr. in Auburndale, Catherine Griffith was pronounced useless.
Witnesses instructed detectives that they noticed Collin Griffith and his mom exterior the cell residence arguing and that they noticed him seize his mom by the hair and drag her inside the home, in line with PCSO. Investigators mentioned witnesses instructed them that Catherine Griffith repeatedly pleaded together with her son to “let me go.”
In keeping with the sheriff’s workplace, when deputies requested Collin Griffith what occurred on the scene, he “turned instantly uncooperative” and requested to talk to a lawyer. Detectives mentioned because the investigation continued they observed inconsistencies between what the teenager mentioned in his 911 name and what was found on the scene.
Collin Griffth killed each mother and father
Dig deeper:
A yr earlier than the deadly stabbing of his mom, authorities say Collin Griffith shot his father to dying.
“Colin mentioned that his dad pulled a knife on him, and he shot and killed his dad. That is proper. His father was named Charles. He shot him as soon as within the chest and as soon as within the head, and he claimed self-defense,” Judd mentioned throughout a press convention final September.
Pictured: Collin Griffith. Picture is courtesy of the Polk County Sheriff’s Workplace.Â
In keeping with officers, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Workplace and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations charged him with first-degree homicide, however the prices have been dropped lower than a month later.
The sheriff’s workplace mentioned in March 2023 the teenager went to Charlotte County, Florida, to reside together with his mother.
Baker Act and home violence cost
Huge image view:
“He is Baker Acted. So it is September, and as he is getting out of the unique Baker Act, he makes a press release that, effectively, I am going to kill myself, or I am going to kill my mom by capturing or stabbing her,” shared Judd.
Charlotte County Baker Acted him once more that very same day and saved him for 3 days, in line with authorities.Â
Deputies mentioned the 17-year-old was additionally charged with home violence battery in November 2023 by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Workplace after he battered his mom as a result of she was disciplining him and took his online game privileges away.
Days earlier than his mom’s dying, Collin Griffith ran away from residence and went to his grandmother’s home in Auburndale after stepping into an argument over chores. After he refused to return residence, his mom went to the Auburndale residence on September 8, 2024, the place she was stabbed to dying.Â
The trialÂ
What they’re saying:
Throughout closing arguments, prosecutor Mark Levine mentioned Collin fought together with his mom and stabbed her within the neck as a result of he did not like her disciplining him.
“He confirmed his intentions by his actions and phrases and what he mentioned he was going to do,” mentioned Levine. “He was going to kill that ‘evil b****’ – his personal mother – and so he did.”
Amy Thornhill, Collin’s public defender, mentioned he killed his mom in self-defense after she doubtlessly attacked him with the knife first. She additionally mentioned there is not any proof she was saved in the home in opposition to her will.
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Thornhill painted the image of a son who was afraid of his mom and who was making an attempt to flee from her violent and aggressive conduct, which included allegedly pointing a gun at him throughout a previous incident.
“You heard him on the body-worn digital camera footage. ‘I do not wish to kill her, but when she assaults me I should defend myself,'” mentioned Thornhill.
Nonetheless, throughout a press convention final September, Judd said that the Medical Examiner’s Workplace decided that Catherine Griffith died of a deep penetrating knife wound to the neck that’s inconsistent with an unintended damage.
The jury started deliberations on Tuesday and on Wednesday they discovered him not responsible.Â
If he was convicted, he confronted the potential of life in jail.Â
The Supply: This story was written with data from the trial of Collin Griffith and former FOX 13 Information stories.Â
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