'I want foster care': Teen pleads for help before mother's murder
Collin Griffith appears in bodyworn camera months before his mother's murder, begging to be taken out of his mother's care.
Posted at 9:55 AM, January 22, 2025
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (Scripps News Ft. Myers)Ā Newly released bodyworn camera video is shedding light on the case of 17-year-old Collin Griffith, who is accused of murdering his mother, Catherine Griffith, in September 2024.
Collin Griffith appears in bodyworn camera during an incident with police. (Charlotte County Sheriffās Office via Scripps News Ft. Myers)
Collin, who previously lived in Oklahoma, was cleared of killing his father in self-defense on Valentineās Day 2023. After his release, he moved to Port Charlotte to live with his mother. But just seven months later, Charlotte County deputies were called to their home after a heated argument turned violent.
The bodycam video shows Collin in the back of a police vehicle talking to his grandmother.
āI was saying, āMom, Iām not a psychopath. Iām not this murderer. Iām just trying to peacefully leave or peacefully coexist. She kept telling me to shut up and shut up, and when I wouldnāt shut up, she hit me.āā
His grandmother pushes back. āNo, thatās not what happened, Collin. Thatās not what happened. You never said you wanted to peacefully coexist,ā she said.
āIāve been saying that!ā Collin replied.
In another clip, Collinās grandmother explained that Collin did not want to go back to his motherās house, asking instead to be placed in foster care.
āCollin did not want to come back home, and I said you donāt have a choice, you have to go back home,ā said his grandmother in the video. āAnd he said, āNo, I want foster care,ā and even the corporal said that foster care isnāt good for you. You have issues you need to work on.ā
RELATED | Teen once charged in fatherās death now accused of killing mother
Despite his pleas, Collin was released the next day and sent back to his motherās home. Hours later, he was Baker Acted after jail staff reported that he said he wanted to kill his mother.
In bodyworn camera video from that day, deputies are heard explaining their decision to Catherine Griffith. āI struggle with a kid thatās being released from jail saying, āIf you bring me back there, sheās going to die,āā one deputy said. āIf we donāt do something, then shame on us that we didnāt do our job and we failed you. And Iām not failing you, nor am I going to fail your son.ā
When deputies confronted Collin about the alleged threats, he said. āIām in a constant state of fight or flight, and I donāt know. If I think sheās going to do something, even if sheās not, I might act. Iām not going to, like, go crazy or anything, but Iām not sure, honestly,ā he said.
The deputy asked, āYouāre not sure if youāll hurt your mom?ā
āOnly if she tries to hurt me,ā Collin responded.
Less than a year later, Collin called 911 from his grandmotherās home in Polk County to report that his mother had fallen on a knife and was bleeding from her neck. The medical examiner later ruled that her injuries could not have been accidental.
Collin Griffith has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping and remains in custody at the Polk County Jail.
This story was originally written by Anvar Ruziev for Scripps News Fort Myers, an E.W. Scripps Company.