The Florida teenager who stabbed his mother was acquitted after claiming it was self-defense, nearly two years after he was accused of shooting and killing his father.
Colin Griffith, 17, was found not guilty on Wednesday for murdering her mother, Cathleen “Cathy” Griffith, who was fatally stabbed in the neck at her grandmother's home in Polk County in September.
Colin tells the police that she rushed at him with a knife and fell there – but the medical inspector determines that Catherine's wounds were not caused by accident, and he is arrested, murder and temptation was indicted in
The teenage defence team claimed that Colin defended himself while the pair fought. He then argued that Catherine (39) had no evidence in her mother, Susan Dettman's house that she was against her will.
Witnesses say to detectives that stabbing Colin and his mother were screaming at each other outside the residence, and the boy grabbed her mother with her hair, and she repeatedly pleaded to “let me go.” He said he saw it.
Dettman, who was not home at the time, testified that his daughter could be unpredictable and may have a history of violence with his son. NBC 2 reported.
Colin's lawyer, Amy Thornhill, in the closing argument, argued that there was no way to know what happened in the house, and that it was plausible that Catherine wanted to die by “suicide by her son.” It suggested what I was thinking.
He was about to leave his mother, so the lawyers allegedly said he was staying at Grandma's house when she showed up.
“Is it reasonable to believe that Cathy was in her rage, the despair to get Colin back home, that she picked up a knife and threatened him with it?” Thornhill asked the ju referee, According to People Magazine.
He was eventually found to be innocent of both first-degree murder and lure.
As the judge read the verdict, he hugged the public defense team and flashed a smile towards the gallery's family. According to Fox 13.
Colin also fatally shot his father, Charles Robert Griffith, on February 14, 2023, in Lincoln County, Oklahoma.
The 15-year-old at the time told police that his father had cornered him inside the house, and in an act of self-defense he had shot him once in the chest and once in the head. At the time, no one was home.
He was charged with murder, but the charges were withdrawn a month ago by the Attorney General after Oklahoma officials couldn't find any evidence that Colin's self-defense claims were challenged. Judd said.
He was reunited with his mother exactly a year after shooting his father through the Florida Children and Family Division.
After his acquittal Wednesday, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said his detectives “strongly believe Colin Griffiths killed Katherine.”
“The ju-decree decided that they could not exclude all reasonable doubt beyond him,” Grady continued. “During our investigation, the detectives found a witness who believed he had murdered his father in Oklahoma. The investigation is ongoing.”
