Current:Home > NewsA teen killed his father in 2023. Now, he is charged with his mom's murder. -WealthTrack
A teen killed his father in 2023. Now, he is charged with his mom's murder.
View
Date:2025-04-18 05:19:02
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! (23465)
Related
- Tarte Shape Tape Concealer Sells Once Every 4 Seconds: Get 50% Off Before It's Gone
- MLB trade deadline tracker 2024: Breaking down every deal before baseball's big day
- FIFA deducts points from Canada in Olympic women’s soccer tourney due to drone use
- Rafael Nadal beats Márton Fucsovics, to face Novak Djokovic next at Olympics
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Should Companies Get Paid When Governments Phase Out Fossil Fuels? They Already Are
- Victor Wembanyama leads France over Brazil in 2024 Paris Olympics opener
- What's it like to play Olympic beach volleyball under Eiffel Tower? 'Something great'
- Travis Hunter, the 2
- Top Shoe Deals from Nordstrom Anniversary Sale 2024: Up to 50% Off OluKai, Paige, Stuart Weitzman & More
Ranking
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Mega Millions winning numbers for July 26 drawing: Jackpot rises to $331 million
- What to know about Simone Biles' husband, Chicago Bears safety Jonathan Owens
- Equestrian scandal leaves niche sport flat-footed in addressing it at Olympics
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- This Weekend Only! Shop Anthropologie’s Extra 40% off Sale & Score Cute Dresses & Tops Starting at $17
- Video shows flaming object streaking across sky in Mexico, could be remnants of rocket
- American Carissa Moore began defense of her Olympic surfing title, wins first heat
Recommendation
Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
Dwyane Wade Olympics broadcasting: NBA legend, Noah Eagle's commentary praised on social media
3 dead, 2 critically injured after 25-foot pontoon boat capsizes on Lake Powell in northern Arizona
Everything we know about Simone Biles’ calf injury at Olympic qualifying
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
American Morelle McCane endured death of her brother during long road to Olympics
Focused amid the gunfire, an AP photographer captures another perspective of attack on Trump
Apple has reached its first-ever union contract with store employees in Maryland