The Florida teenager accused of brutally murdering his mother showed zero emotion as the court heard exactly how his mother died.
Collin Griffith, 17, allegedly killed his mother Catherine Griffith, 39, who was found knifed in the neck at a home in Auburndale, Florida on September 8, 2024.
On Wednesday, Collin’s trial kicked off as he was seen dressed in a plaid button down and suit jacket with a blank stare on his face while prosecutor Mark Levine detailed how he ‘viscously and savagely’ murdered his mom that horrid day.
‘It was a Sunday evening, September 8th of last year in Auburndale, Florida. And it was at that time that the defendant viscously and savagely unleashed his full fury and hatred toward his mother upon her,’ Levine said in his opening statement to jurors.
‘When he stabbed her with such force, that the knife went shooting through her neck, through her neck muscles, through her esophagus, through her trachea, through her thyroid cartilage, and shot out the other side of her neck.’
The prosecutor added that after Catherine was stabbed, she ‘began to bleed, and bleed profusely through the huge gash in her neck.’
While she bled out, her son ‘watched’ as ‘the blood and the life drained from her body,’ he added.
Levine also referenced a disturbing conversation Collin had with his paternal grandfather leading up to his mother’s death, telling the court that ‘this was exactly what the defendant meant to do.’
Collin Griffith, 17, sat emotionless in court on Wednesday as his trial kicked off. He’s been accused of killing his mother, Catherine Griffith, 39, at a home in Auburndale, Florida on September 8, 2024
During court, prosecutor Mark Levine detailed how he ‘viscously and savagely’ murdered his mom that horrid afternoon. (Pictured: Catherine and Collin)
‘More than anything else, I want to slit her throat and feel her bleed out, and feel the life leave her body. That’s how much I hate her,’ Collin told his grandfather, according to Levine.
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Collin sat next to his defense team, Amy Thornhill and Howard Dimmig, who, along with Levine, described the problematic family dynamic that plagued the mother and son prior to her death.
Just a year before, Catherine had bailed her son out of jail for fatally shooting his father, Charles Griffith, 43, on Valentine’s Day in 2023 – an act he claimed was self defense.
Levine said that while Catherine tried to ‘make up for lost time’ with her son – who moved from Oklahoma to her home in Florida – the pair started to clash.
Levine insisted that the mother and son’s relationship worsened leading up to her final day as Catherine gave her son several ‘ultimatums’ in exchange for him to complete household chores.
At one point, he read a text that Catherine sent to her son between 12pm and 12.29pm the day she died.
In the message, Catherine appeared to threaten her son with information she had about the death of his father, telling him that she would pass it along ‘all because you didn’t help me mount a bookshelf.’
‘Collin, the recordings of you admitting to killing [your father] and planning the murder, there are four different instances from my Ring camera, are all going to Bob, Susie, Amanda, and Chris at 3 p.m. today,’ Catherine wrote to Collin.
While she bled out, her son ‘watched’ as ‘the blood and the life drained from her body,’ he added. (Pictured: Collin during his indictment hearing)
Just a year before, Catherine had bailed her son out of jail for fatally shooting his father, Charles Griffith, 43, on Valentine’s Day in 2023, in an act he claimed was self defense. (Pictured: Charles and Catherine)
‘Plus the recovered audio from Chuck’s iCloud where you told your dad you hated me and I was an evil b**** are being sent too. My dad is sending me his recordings of you telling him how you planned my murder back in February. … All because you didn’t want to help me mount a bookshelf.’
In November 2023, Collin and Catherine got into a verbal altercation that quickly grew physical, as the teen ‘attacked’ and ‘stomped’ his mother, Levine said.
Collin was arrested and taken to jail, but was released the following day.
When Collin’s attorney, Thornhill, approached the stand, she told a very different story, alleging that Catherine caused a lot of the issues between her and her son.
She said: ‘Cathy has threatened or done harm to other people,’ including Collin.
His lawyer also noted that the late mother often instigated arguments, struggled with a drinking and pill problem and was estranged from her family.
Thornhill also mentioned that Catherine owned a gun and told her son to use it on her.
In November 2023, Collin and Catherine got into a verbal altercation that quickly grew physical, as the teen ‘attacked’ and ‘stomped’ his mother, Levine said
Collin previously told police that his mother handed him the weapon and an envelope filled with ‘all the important papers you need if I’m gone,’ Thornhill said.
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Catherine then pointed the firearm at her son and stated ‘she was either going to shoot him or herself or both,’ before handing the gun to Collin, telling him ‘just shoot me.’
At the time, Collin reported the incident to school administrators, who then contacted police.
Catherine went on to deny the allegations, and according to Thornhill, the police believed her and not Collin.
His attorney also insisted that Collin repeatedly said that he didn’t feel safe around his mom.
Following the November 2023 domestic violence incident, Collin said that he would go back to live with his mother but would make sure that he defended himself if he needed to, Thornhill stated.
He even said that he would rather be placed in foster care than live with his mother, who he told police he was ‘scared’ of, she added.
During the physical dispute, Thornhill said that Catherine repeatedly hit her son in the face, which led to him going into a ‘wrestling move’, striking her back.
When Collin’s attorney, Thornhill, approached the stand, she told a very different story, alleging that Catherine caused a lot of the issues between her and her son
After he was taken to jail following the incident, Thornhill said that police ‘forced’ Collin to ride home with his mother even after Catherine made him so ‘marches with weights above his head,’ police body cam footage revealed, according to Law & Crime.
She went on to reveal that both Collin and Catherine had been ‘Baker Acted’ – a state law that allows individuals to be involuntarily committed if they are a threat to the public or themselves.
Six months after his father’s death Collin was back in custody under Florida’s Baker Act after threatening to kill himself, and to stab or shoot his mother.
‘All is not well at home, clearly,’ Thornhill said.
Collin initially told police that his mother ‘fell’ on the weapon, but the teen has since been charged with her murder.
Witnesses reported seeing Griffith dragging his mom out of the house by her hair two hours earlier and a medical examiner found she had been stabbed – twice – in the neck.
The late mother’s social media posts often appeared to reference her familial turmoil, but in one heartbreaking post she vowed to ‘live life to the fullest.’ (Pictured: Catherine and Collin)
The late mother’s social media posts often appeared to reference her familial turmoil, but in one heartbreaking post she vowed to ‘live life to the fullest.’
‘This last year has been a whirlwind of life events and memories,’ she wrote a day after her birthday.
‘I am thankful that no matter what I encounter or experience- I have family, friends and a community of people who are here to support me, even on the days when I have not been the best me.
‘Thank you to everyone who has helped me see that life is an adventure worth living and fighting for everyday. Life lessons are just those- lessons.
‘I’ve learned some of the hardest lessons in my 30’s but I’m vowing that my 39th year will be a year of living life to its fullest.’
Another cryptic post made just days before her murder featured lyrics from the Taylor Swift song, ‘It’s Time to Go.’
‘That old familiar body ache, The snaps from the same little breaks in your soul. You know when it’s time to go…Sometimes, givin’ up is the strong thing,’ she posted alongside a scenic picture of a boardwalk.
Other posts appear to show the mom-and-son as a picture-perfect family, enjoying cruise vacations and trips to Disney and Universal Studios.
While in May, she gifted the teen a brand new $26,000 2024 VW Jetta as an early graduation present.
‘I love you and am so proud of you!’ she gushed under a picture of him posing on the hood.
Despite Catherine paying $50,000 to bail her son out of jail after his father’s death, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said: ‘When I look at him [Collin] I see a psychopath.’
Collin claimed that his father had pulled a knife on him before chasing and cornering him at the remote farmstead in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, on Valentine’s Day 2023.
But prosecutors ‘could not disprove Colin’s assertion of self-defense’ and was released after his mother posted bond.