Mother begged her 17-year-old son, who killed his father last year, to let her go as he dragged her by the hair inside the home moments before he stabbed her in the neck, killing her; son arrested

Florida – In a disturbing incident in Florida, a 17-year-old boy, identified as C. Griffith, has been charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of his 39-year-old mother, identified as Catherine. This comes more than a year after he was accused of killing his father in Oklahoma but avoided prosecution by claiming self-defense. The sheriff’s office is now urging the state attorney’s office to prosecute him as an adult.

Griffith is accused of fatally stabbing his mother on a Sunday evening at their home. Witnesses reported seeing the teen arguing with his mother outside their home and dragging her inside by her hair. Moments later, neighbors heard Catherine pleading with her son to “let me go.”

On the day of the incident, Griffith called 911 himself. He told the responding officers that he and his mother had a long fight and that she had fallen on a knife, resulting in a stab wound to her neck. Deputies arrived to find Griffith calm and showing no urgency about his mother’s condition, despite having blood on him. He reportedly looked the deputy in the eye and said, “I know my rights. I want an attorney.”

Investigators quickly noticed that Griffith’s story did not match the evidence at the scene. The home was neat and clean, with no signs of a struggle that would support his claim of a prolonged fight. The medical examiner stated that it was not plausible for Catherine to have died the way Griffith described. She had a deep stab wound to the neck, which the examiner said could not have been self-inflicted in the manner Griffith suggested.

Griffith became uncooperative during questioning and requested a lawyer. He was taken into custody and charged with first-degree murder. The sheriff’s office also noted that Griffith’s grandmother, who was not present during the incident, reported previous instances where he had been physically and verbally confrontational with his mother.

This is not the first time Griffith has been involved in a deadly incident with a family member. In 2023, when he was 15, Griffith shot and killed his father. Griffith claimed that his father had pulled a knife on him during an argument, leading him to shoot his father twice—in the head and chest—in self-defense. At that time, authorities could not disprove Griffith’s claim of self-defense, and the charges were dropped less than a month later. After his father’s death, Griffith moved to Florida to live with his mother.

However, Griffith’s troubling behavior did not stop there. Within months of moving in with his mother, he was involuntarily committed for mental health reasons. During this period, he allegedly made threatening statements like, “I’ll kill myself, or I’ll kill my mother by shooting or stabbing her.” In November 2023, Griffith was arrested for domestic violence against his mother. He allegedly pushed her to the ground and stomped on her after she took away his video game privileges. He again claimed self-defense, but this time the argument did not hold, and he was jailed.

By March 2024, Griffith was reunited with his mother. Initially, things seemed to improve. His mother even bought him a new car, and he was excelling academically, already starting college courses at the age of 17. But the peace was short-lived. Griffith is currently being held without bond on charges of first-degree murder. Sheriff G. Judd has expressed strong opinions about the teen, referring to him as a “psychopath” during a press conference. The sheriff stated that if Griffith is not kept in custody, he believes the teen could harm others, including his grandmother.

The sheriff’s office has reached out to prosecutors in Oklahoma, offering to share any information that could incriminate Griffith in his father’s death. Sheriff Judd emphasized that if action had been taken in Oklahoma, Catherine might still be alive today. As of now, Griffith awaits trial, and the state attorney’s office is being urged to prosecute him as an adult. No trial date has been set, and the investigation is ongoing. The community remains shocked by the tragic events, and authorities are determined to seek justice for Catherine.