Current:Home > MarketsA teen killed his father in 2023. Now, he is charged with his mom's murder. -WealthMindset Learning
A teen killed his father in 2023. Now, he is charged with his mom's murder.
View
Date:2025-04-14 23:35:35
In what officials called a "cold-blooded murder," a Florida teen was charged with murder in his mother's fatal stabbing less than two years after he was arrested, but never charged, for fatally shooting his father in Oklahoma.
Polk County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a 911 call about 6 p.m. Sunday at a mobile home in The Hamptons, a senior community in Auburndale, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said during a Wednesday press conference.
The city is in central Florida about halfway between Orlando and Tampa.
The teen told 911 dispatchers his mother "fell on a knife," after they got into a fight, Judd told reporters.
The caller claimed his mother, Catherine Griffith, 39, lunged at him with a knife and fell on it, suffering a stab wound to her neck, Judd said.
5 shot in southeast Virginia:2 dead, 3 injured in Suffolk shooting near bus service station
Teen charged with killing mom immediately asks to speak with a lawyer
When deputies arrived and met the teen outside the mobile home, he immediately asked to speak with a lawyer, Judd said, saying he knew his legal rights.
"It's a cold-blooded murder," Judd said.
Inside the home, deputies found Griffith had been stabbed in the neck with a 12-inch kitchen knife. The woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
The mobile home belongs to the teen's grandmother, who authorities said was at a secondary home in the Keys at the time of the killing.
A preliminary investigation found the home's interior was neat and clean, with no evidence of a physical fight.
During Griffin's autopsy on Monday, the medical examiner determined she died from a deep knife wound to the neck inconsistent with an accidental injury.
"The medical examiner said it is not reasonable or plausible that she died the way that [the teen] said she did," Judd said.
'Let me go!'
Witnesses told police they watched the pair argue outside the home earlier in the day before the boy grabbed his mother by the hair and dragged her inside.
"Let me go!" Judd said Griffith pleaded at the time.
During an interview with police, the grandmother told detectives about past instances in which the teen physically or verbally threatened his mother, Judd said, including multiple threats to kill her.
Last September, the teen was hospitalized in nearby Charlotte County where he lives, under the state's Baker Act, which allows anyone deemed to be a threat to themselves or others to be detained for 72 hours for psychiatric evaluation.
Upon his release, Judd reported, the teen said, "I'll kill myself or I'll kill my mother by shooting or stabbing her." The teen was readmitted under the Baker Act and held for an additional three days.
Three months later, the teen was arrested for domestic violence against his mother after, Judd said, his mother disciplined him by taking away his video game privileges, and he pushed her to the ground and stomped on her.
Then in February, the teen had an argument with his mother and fled from Charlotte County to his grandmother's home in Auburndale. Polk deputies got involved as the grandmother said the family didn't feel safe, and because the teen was reported as a missing person, turned the boy over to the state's Department of Children and Families.
'My son is not a monster':Mother of Georgia shooting suspect apologizes in letter
Teen charged with murder in mother's death was arrested in Oklahoma for killing dad
In February 2023, police in Oklahoma arrested the teen in connection to his father's killing after he claimed his dad pulled a knife on him so he shot him in the head and chest.
He was charged with first-degree murder, but the charge was dropped shortly after because authorities said they could not disprove the teen's self-defense assertion.
Sheriff's office has asked district attorney to prosecute teen as adult
The teen remained in custody at the Polk County jail Friday. He was charged with first-degree murder, among other charge including kidnapping, Judd said.
The sheriff's office, Judd said, has asked The State Attorney's Office 10th Judicial Circuit, which includes Polk County, to prosecute the teen as an adult.
As of Friday, the office's top prosecutor Brian Haas had not announced his decision.
If evidence is found or developed during the Polk County investigation, Judd said authorities in Oklahoma will reopen the closed murder investigation.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- This floppy 13-year-old pug can tell you what kind of day you're going to have
- Meet Parag Agrawal, Twitter's new CEO
- TikTok Activists Are Flooding A Texas Abortion Reporting Site With Spam
- Taylor Swift makes surprise visit to Kansas City children’s hospital
- Jack Dorsey steps down as Twitter CEO; Parag Agrawal succeeds him
- Pregnant Rihanna's 2023 Oscars Performance Lifted Up Everyone, Including A$AP Rocky
- White House brings together 30 nations to combat ransomware
- Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
- POV: Chris Olsen, Tinx and More Social Media Stars Take Over Oscars 2023
Ranking
- Juan Soto praise of Mets' future a tough sight for Yankees, but World Series goal remains
- A drone company is working to airlift dogs stranded by the volcano in La Palma
- Ancient scoreboard used during Mayan ball game discovered by archaeologists
- Couple beheaded themselves with homemade guillotine in ritual sacrifice, police in India say
- Opinion: Gianni Infantino, FIFA sell souls and 2034 World Cup for Saudi Arabia's billions
- Senators Blast Facebook For Concealing Instagram's Risks To Kids
- Everything Everywhere Actor Ke Huy Quan's Oscars Speech Will Have You Crying Happy Tears
- What A Trump Defense Secretary Said At The Elizabeth Holmes Trial
Recommendation
Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
The metaverse is already here. The debate now is over who should own it
Mindy Kaling Turns Heads With White-Hot Dress on Oscars 2023 Red Carpet
Facebook whistleblower isn't protected from possible company retaliation, experts say
At site of suspected mass killings, Syrians recall horrors, hope for answers
Gunmen kill 7 in Mexico resort, local officials say
Facebook scraps ad targeting based on politics, race and other 'sensitive' topics
Emma Watson Is the Belle of the Ball During Rare Red Carpet Appearance at Oscars 2023 Party