240: Did a Florida Teen Get Away With Murder - TWICE?! The OUTRAGEOUS Case of Collin Griffith

Speaker 1 Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? Wash away your worries with Anibay. Anibay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget-friendly prices.

Speaker 1 That's right, sofas start at just $699.

Speaker 1 Enjoy a no-risk experience with pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and changeable slip covers made with performance fabric.

Speaker 1 Experience cloud-like comfort with high-resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime.

Speaker 1 Shop washable sofas.com for early Black Friday savings up to 60% off site-wide, backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund.

Speaker 1 No return shipping or restocking fees, every penny back. Upgrade now at washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

Speaker 2 Hey, True Crime Besties, welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialessly.

Speaker 2 Hey, everybody, welcome back to an all-new episode of Serialessly with me, Annie Elise.

Speaker 2 Okay, guys, now I know I talk to you all the time and we talk about how we're true crime BFFs, how I like to just break things down with you, talk through things.

Speaker 2 I don't even know where to begin with this case. I'll be honest, at first I wasn't really sure if I was going to cover it because it was interesting, but there were some unknown details.

Speaker 2 It was a little unclear. But just last week, something so insane happened in this case that I knew, okay, it's a no-holds bar.
I don't know if that's the expression. I think it is.

Speaker 2 Like, I was like, I need to jump on the mic. I need to talk about this case because it is blowing my mind.
It's a case that everybody is talking about right now.

Speaker 2 And quite honestly, it's not just because of what went down, but also because a jury just gave their verdict and people are absolutely outraged.

Speaker 2 It feels, you know, I don't want to give any spoilers away. So I just, never mind,

Speaker 2 disregard what I just said, But it involves two very similar incidents in two different states in less than a year and a half apart.

Speaker 2 And in each case, people are just stunned and truly like gobsmacked over the way that the authorities handled things. So it's a wild one.

Speaker 2 And I'm going to probably put a poll at the end of this episode to know what you think. Because like I said, people are so disgusted and outraged right now.

Speaker 2 I knew I I had to talk about this with you guys because I myself, and you'll get it towards the end, like it's feeling very reminiscent of another case that we have talked about multiple times on here.

Speaker 2 So, let me just jump right in. I feel like you need to know the backstory, you need to know all the details.

Speaker 2 Even if you're familiar with this case already from the title, there is so much below the surface when we really started doing our digging. So, let me just jump right in.

Speaker 4 She thinks that I'm

Speaker 4 like psychotic, like literally

Speaker 4 psychopath, sociopath, something like like that.

Speaker 2 This is just from him kicking me with his foot

Speaker 7 and stomping on me while I was on the floor.

Speaker 8 I'm trying to figure out why we would have a corporal at the jail that took you off, that

Speaker 8 dropped

Speaker 10 and telling us that you said, Don't put me in a car with her, I'm gonna kill her.

Speaker 4 Yeah, um, was that said? I did not say I was gonna kill her. I did not say kill.
If I think she's gonna do something, even if she's not, I might act.

Speaker 11 It's important to understand

Speaker 11 when you look at this, you see a kid.

Speaker 11 When I look at him, I see a psychopath.

Speaker 2 So on Sunday, September 8th, 2024, 17-year-old Colin Griffith called 911 right after 6 p.m. He was at his grandmother's house in Aubrendale, Florida.

Speaker 2 And when he called, he told the 911 operator that he and his mom had gotten to a very big fight. He claimed that his mom, 39-year-old Catherine Griffith, had chased him around the house with a knife.

Speaker 2 Now, according to Colin, in the middle of this chase, she tripped, she fell over, and she accidentally stabbed herself in the neck.

Speaker 2 And Colin's exact words with this were, I've had a very, very long fight with my mom, and she fell on a knife. She's bleeding from the neck.

Speaker 5 I don't know.

Speaker 12 I don't know.

Speaker 12 My mom is talking to you, DMS now. She's bleeding out.
She's helped. Your mama's going, why?

Speaker 12 My mom's bleeding out. She's

Speaker 12 bleeding out. She's bleeding out.

Speaker 13 She's bleeding out.

Speaker 12 She came from the best man. She's my mother.

Speaker 3 Listen carefully.

Speaker 3 Like her flat on her back on a flat.

Speaker 5 Everyone is pleasing her head.

Speaker 5 I'm away away from you.

Speaker 5 Away from me. I don't know where your mother.

Speaker 5 That's my mother. I'm dying for her.

Speaker 5 Where are you?

Speaker 2 So the 911 operator told Colin that, you know, he needed to try and stop the bleeding. He needed to perform CPR.
They also told him that the police were on their way.

Speaker 2 So Colin was panicked and did what the operator told him to do, but he also said, in regards to stopping the bleeding, that his mom had actually been drained of all of her blood, so she wasn't bleeding.

Speaker 2 Like, all the blood's come out. It's either clotted, it's drained, it's not coming out anymore.
But still, the operator told him to continue performing CPR.

Speaker 2 However, it seemed like he stopped at some point. Throughout the call, he did start expressing some panic and some confusion.

Speaker 2 So when the police officers arrived, they really expected to find a 17-year-old kid who was just inconsolable. I mean, he just witnessed his mom accidentally stab herself in the neck and bleed out.

Speaker 2 But Colin wasn't inconsolable. Not at all.
He was actually the complete opposite. He was calm.
He was was cool, collected, unbothered.

Speaker 2 And this was all despite the fact that he was covered in his mom's blood. He seemed like he just didn't care.

Speaker 2 Even though his mom was still inside the house with him, she was still just bleeding from this deep wound that was on her neck. I mean, this was obviously a very dire circumstance.

Speaker 2 So it was very strange, to say the least. And things got even weirder, because when the police asked Colin what happened, his response was, quote, I know my rights.
I want a lawyer.

Speaker 2 He wouldn't say anything else to the police. He wouldn't tell the police any more information about what happened.

Speaker 2 He wouldn't tell them any more details about what went down during their alleged fight. He was just extremely uncooperative.
A 17-year-old kid with his mother now with a knife wound in her neck.

Speaker 2 So as you can imagine, the police were pretty suspicious of him. I mean, for one thing, like I said, he was just way too calm.
He just didn't seem to care about what happened at all.

Speaker 2 And also, layer on top of that, that if this was truly an accident, why would he immediately ask for a lawyer saying he knows his rights?

Speaker 2 It just sounds like almost, I don't know, that he had been preparing for this exact moment.

Speaker 2 So the police interviewed neighbors in the area, and one of them said that about two hours before Colin called 911, so around 4.30 p.m., they witnessed Colin and his mom arguing.

Speaker 2 And at one point, they say they witnessed Colin grabbing her by the hair. Now, the neighbor who witnessed it, Nancy Jones, said that it all started when Colin was at the house by himself.

Speaker 2 His mom, Catherine, arrived at around 4 p.m., and Colin came and met her outside. Nancy told the officers, he opened up the door and there were a few arguments.

Speaker 2 I don't know exactly what the words were because I was sitting on my front porch, but the next thing I know, he grabs her and pulls her inside. He just grabbed her.

Speaker 2 It looked like he grabbed her by the hair. And she said that his mother, Catherine, was screaming at him to let her go.
It was really a sad day.

Speaker 15 They were yelling at one another, and he grabbed her and drug her in the house. And

Speaker 15 like I said, I don't know what happened on the inside. I really don't.
I feel so sad for

Speaker 15 the mother. I mean, the grandmother.
You know, she's a friend of mine, and I feel really, really bad for the whole family.

Speaker 2 Now, even though this incident took place at Colin's grandmother's house, his grandmother wasn't home. She was at her other home in the Florida Keys, and she didn't witness anything.

Speaker 2 However, she did let the officers know that she was apparently scared of Colin. She also said he had a very troubling past.

Speaker 2 And that is putting it mildly, because once everybody learned more about Colin, it was clear why. It was clear why he not only had a troubling past, but why she was scared of him.

Speaker 2 Because it turns out, this wasn't the first time that somebody close to him had gotten hurt while they were alone with him.

Speaker 2 See, back on February 14th of 2023, so about a year and a half before this whole situation happened, police in Lincoln County, Oklahoma also received a phone call from Colin.

Speaker 2 He was only 15 years old at the time, and he called 911 saying that his dad, Charles, had been chasing him around the house with a knife. Sounds familiar, right?

Speaker 2 Well, Colin said that his dad cornered him in a room. So because of that, Colin had no other choice but to grab a shotgun that was nearby.
I guess it was conveniently within arm's reach. I don't know.

Speaker 2 But he grabbed the shotgun and then he shot his dad twice, once in the head and once in the chest. When the police officers arrived, Charles's dad was long gone.
He was for sure already dead.

Speaker 2 But Colin claimed this was all self-defense. However, the police, they weren't so sure.

Speaker 2 And there's not much information about this incident, but basically, the police were claiming that the evidence at the scene didn't quite match up with Colin's story.

Speaker 2 And I'm just picturing this whole incident in my head, okay? But Charles and Colin are fighting about something, I don't know, teenage parent stuff, who knows.

Speaker 2 Charles grabs a knife, then starts chasing Colin around the house, corners Colin inside a bedroom or whatever type of room it was, a room that just so happens to have a loaded shotgun within arm's reach, and Colin is able to grab the gun and shoot his dad?

Speaker 2 Not once, but twice? Right in the head and right in the chest. I mean, perfect aim.
I don't know about you, but something about that story just does not add up to me.

Speaker 2 So the officers at the time tried to question Colin so that they could get a better picture of what really happened.

Speaker 2 Because like I said, things just weren't really adding up and they weren't adding up for the police officers either. But Colin wouldn't talk to them.

Speaker 2 Almost immediately, he asked for a lawyer, hired a lawyer, and refused to talk to the police. Again, sounds pretty familiar, right? Well, Colin was arrested for the incident and he was placed in jail.

Speaker 2 However, his mom paid his $50,000 bond and he was let out of jail.

Speaker 2 This was all on the condition that he, of course, had to be on house arrest, he had to wear an ankle monitor, and they were going to monitor all of his movements.

Speaker 2 So police officers in Oklahoma were pretty sure that this whole thing was not self-defense. However, they couldn't find enough evidence to prove otherwise.

Speaker 2 So in the end, any charges against Colin were dropped by March of 2023. And then he was sent to Port Charlotte, Florida to go live with his mother.

Speaker 2 Now it turns out that Colin and his mother had not lived together for quite a while.

Speaker 2 The details surrounding Charles and Catherine's relationship aren't entirely clear, but some things that Catherine has posted on social media hint a little bit that their relationship wasn't great and possibly even abusive.

Speaker 2 The two of them had separated around 2019, and that's when Colin actually went to go live with his dad in Oklahoma.

Speaker 2 And it seems like he wasn't really even in contact with his mom after the move to Oklahoma. But again, the details, they're not entirely clear.

Speaker 2 But either way, after his arrest in Oklahoma, Colin claimed that his life with his father had basically been a living hell.

Speaker 2 So much so that Colin had confided in his mom that his dad actually locked him up in the house for over 1,000 days, all because Colin had come out to him as gay.

Speaker 2 So that because of that, his dad retaliated and locked him inside the house for, to be exact, 1,041 days. He said that his dad wouldn't let him go to school.

Speaker 2 school, he wouldn't let him talk to other people. He wouldn't let him have any semblance of a life.
He was just locked up in the house. He was only given one meal a day.

Speaker 2 And eventually things escalated. It was very toxic between the two of them.
And we of course then know what happened next.

Speaker 2 But unfortunately, when Colin went to go live with his mother, things weren't any easier. Now from the outside, it definitely didn't seem that way.

Speaker 2 Catherine posted a lot on Instagram and Facebook, and it seems like she may have had some other children aside from Colin, but she was always posting just about Colin.

Speaker 2 And again, if you were just looking at Catherine's social social media, it would almost seem that she and Colin had this great life. Catherine was always smiling in her pictures.

Speaker 2 She always had this positive and uplifting caption that would be attached to them. She was also a teacher, and in one of her posts, she included a photo of a note that a student gave to her.

Speaker 2 The note said, My teacher is very nice. She's always willing to help.
She responds to messages very quickly and she grades very quickly, which I love.

Speaker 2 She's patient, she listens to your responses clearly, and she helps you if you're in need.

Speaker 2 So aside from all of that, Catherine and Colin were also always going to the beach together, always going on vacations together.

Speaker 2 They were going on cruises, going to Disney World, Universal Studios, Washington, D.C. I mean, you name it.

Speaker 2 It looked like it was a mother and son finally bonding after years of not having quality time together and really rebuilding and repairing their relationship and just enjoying each other's company.

Speaker 2 Catherine even got Colin a brand new Volkswagen Jeddah.

Speaker 2 She was just always going out of her way to do anything she possibly could for him, get him anything that would make his life easier for him and just be a really good mom.

Speaker 2 But as we know, social media only portrays one side of the story. And things behind the scenes were much rougher, to say the least.

Speaker 1 Tired of spills and stains on your sofa? Wash away your worries with Anibay. Anibay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out where designer quality meets budget-friendly prices.

Speaker 1 That's right, sofas start at just $699.

Speaker 1 Enjoy a no-risk experience with pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and changeable slip covers made with performance fabric.

Speaker 1 Experience cloud-like comfort with high-resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity, and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime.

Speaker 1 Shop washable sofas.com for early Black Friday savings savings, up to 60% off site-wide, backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund.

Speaker 1 No return shipping or restocking fees, every penny back. Upgrade now at washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

Speaker 8 October brings it all. Halloween parties, game day tailgates, crisp fall nights.
At Total Wine and More, you'll find just what you need for them all.

Speaker 8 Whether you're hosting friends or enjoying the cool fall air, you'll find thousands of wines, spirits, and beers at the lowest prices. Mixing up something spooky?

Speaker 8 Total Wine and More is your cocktail central for all your Halloween concoctions.

Speaker 8 With the lowest prices for over 30 years, you'll always find what you love and love what you find at Total Wine and More.com for details.

Speaker 2 So about seven months after his father died, this was now on September 11th, 2023, an official from Colin's school called the police to conduct a mental health check at Colin and Catherine's house.

Speaker 2 That morning, Colin had told a school employee that he and his mother had gotten into an argument before school.

Speaker 2 And according to Colin, Catherine said that she was going to kill him and then kill herself. Then, she supposedly told Colin to take a gun that she had and to kill her with it.

Speaker 2 Now, obviously, this was super concerning, so a police officer went to their house to talk to Catherine. But she said that the story that Colin told, it wasn't true at all.

Speaker 2 She said that that morning, yes, they did get into a huge fight, but it was because Colin wasn't doing well in school. He was failing all of his classes.

Speaker 2 So because of that, his mom took away his AirPods as a punishment. Catherine then said Colin was very angry about that, fuming even.

Speaker 2 And because of that, he must have made up the entire story about the gun all as a means to get back at her.

Speaker 2 Now, I don't know if Colin admitted to lying at that point, but I am thinking that he probably did because after the police officer talked with Catherine, Colin ended up being baker acted.

Speaker 2 Now, we've talked about this a couple of times in different episodes, but in Florida, the Baker Act is a law that focuses on providing emergency mental health services to somebody who's in need of it.

Speaker 2 So, under this law, people can actually be involuntarily admitted to a mental health institution if they're found that they might be a danger to themselves or a danger to somebody else.

Speaker 2 And it is all classified under the Baker Act. So, after the police officers visited the family's home, it was determined that Colin was either a threat to himself or a threat to other people.

Speaker 2 So he was brought to a mental health facility, and he ended up staying there for a few days.

Speaker 2 Now while he was there, his mom Catherine contacted several mental health facilities across the state, really trying to find the right one that would provide Colin with long-term help.

Speaker 2 She knew that he needed more help.

Speaker 2 She knew that there was something below the surface and she wanted to help her son, especially because apparently Colin was seeing a therapist well before he was baker acted.

Speaker 2 But at one point, Colin threatened this therapist, saying he would kill her if she ever diagnosed him with something.

Speaker 2 However, despite the threats and despite his reaction, the therapist still diagnosed Colin with PTSD and also a personality disorder.

Speaker 2 So after being baker acted, Colin was only supposed to be at the original mental health facility for a very short while. After eight days, he was expected to go home.

Speaker 2 But before leaving, Colin apparently told the employees that he didn't want to leave, that he was going to either take take his own life or kill them if he had to go home.

Speaker 2 And get this, he specifically said that he would, quote, throw them out of the car or shoot them or stab them. He also said, I've done it before to my dad.
I know I can do it again.

Speaker 2 Now that statement is very alarming because remember, his dad was killed in a motion of self-defense from Colin. So now for him to be bragging about it and say, I don't want to go home.

Speaker 2 If I have to go home, I'm going to take my own life. I'm going to kill you two.
I've done it before. I did it to my dad.
I know I can do it again.

Speaker 2 That sounds to me like it's not somebody who is vocalizing that they're capable of protecting themselves or killing in self-defense, but it almost sounds to me like it's somebody who's bragging that they have murdered before and saying, I know I can do it again in terms of, I know I can get away with it again.

Speaker 2 Again, that's just my opinion. I could be totally wrong.
But suffice to say, he didn't go home that day. He was baker acted once again.

Speaker 2 Now, his mom, Catherine, did end up finding another facility to go to that was closer to their home, and he spent around two months there.

Speaker 2 At one point, Catherine told someone at the facility, I don't think he can come home because I don't feel safe with him coming home and saying these things.

Speaker 2 And it isn't clear who she said this to, whether it was a therapist, a police officer, or maybe some other staff member. But I can't imagine how terrifying that must be.

Speaker 2 The idea of living with somebody who's actively telling other people that they are going to kill you. But eventually, Colin was sent back home.
And things only got worse from there.

Speaker 2 Because just two months after he was initially baker acted, now November 2023, Colin was arrested for domestic violence. This was after pulling his mom's hair and kneeing her in the groin.

Speaker 2 The police were, of course, called after this incident, and to nobody's surprise, when they arrived, Colin tried to claim that this was all an act of self-defense.

Speaker 17 I got off the phone breakdown, we sat down and we ate, and she started talking to me about how

Speaker 16 a bunch of really bad shit. And then when I got up and was like, you can't just do that.

Speaker 17 And she was telling me to shut up. She hit me in the face and then

Speaker 16 I reacted like this.

Speaker 17 She grabbed onto me.

Speaker 16 I hit her in the stomach.

Speaker 17 And then

Speaker 16 I'm a wrestler. It was just reactive.
Grabbed her.

Speaker 18 She got to the ground. I grabbed the phone.

Speaker 18 I would start recording on my left. Jesus Christ.

Speaker 13 So she hit you in the face? Yeah.

Speaker 10 But we've been through this.

Speaker 20 You called visionary kind of messed up, right?

Speaker 17 No, it's because I didn't know who else to call, and I knew that and I wanted to make sure he knew first off.

Speaker 22 Okay.

Speaker 2 Deputies put Colin in cuffs in the back of a cruiser and then talked to his mom, Kathy.

Speaker 22 It's Katherine A. Griffith, right? And then 9485.

Speaker 22 Okay.

Speaker 22 So I heard EMS is coming to check out your hand.

Speaker 3 Okay.

Speaker 22 Let me break here because he kicked me.

Speaker 3 Okay.

Speaker 2 Can I see your hand? Okay.

Speaker 22 He kicked the phone out of my hand as I was trying to record it.

Speaker 13 I was on the ground.

Speaker 2 Medics then checked out Kathy Griffith's injuries.

Speaker 22 It hurts. I mean, you can see how solemn my knuckles are.
It's hurt. He literally

Speaker 22 stomped on my hands to get the phone out to my hand.

Speaker 2 Can you see the inside of your hand? Alright, do you have any pain to your wrist at all? Or is it just right here in the top of your hand?

Speaker 22 No, it's not all close. Yeah, from here till about here.

Speaker 18 Okay, when did that happen?

Speaker 22 When he attacked me? Like, what, like, was that like a couple minutes ago?

Speaker 22 Like, in the past 20, 30 minutes, that a man who picked me here, I have like some wetness.

Speaker 2 But Colin and Catherine weren't the only ones who witnessed this fight. Colin's grandmother was also there, and she said it was definitely not self-defense.

Speaker 14 Colin did not want to come back home. Okay.
And I said, you don't have a choice.

Speaker 24 You have to go back home.

Speaker 14 And he said, no, I want foster care. And even the corporal was saying, foster care isn't going to be good for you.
You don't have issues. You have to work on them.

Speaker 14 And

Speaker 14 so we agreed. I talked to him all the way.

Speaker 13 We talked all the way down. And I said, you have got to learn to get your anger under control.
You want to be a Marine.

Speaker 14 People are going to get it. I'm retired from the service.

Speaker 14 Very good. So I said, people are going to get in your face.
And you're going to have to learn to deal with that. Just ignore it.
Right. And I said, the other thing, too, is you don't ever hit anybody.

Speaker 24 You don't even touch somebody.

Speaker 14 And especially somebody as small as Kathy.

Speaker 13 That is just something that you cannot ever do.

Speaker 14 I said, that needs to be goes, no, but I said, there are no, but.

Speaker 14 So

Speaker 14 we got here.

Speaker 14 She

Speaker 14 said agreed. She's going to lay the law down, you know, that she is the parent.

Speaker 14 She is doing. what she thinks is best for him

Speaker 14 that he's not going to have his cellular phone he's not going to have access he's like talking to some person on the cell on

Speaker 14 online that we don't even know who this person is.

Speaker 14 And that

Speaker 14 she said, I don't want you ever calling me a psychopathic narcissist

Speaker 19 anymore.

Speaker 14 I said, and he goes, no, I didn't. He goes, no, I heard you say that.
So

Speaker 14 he's said that in the past. And she said, let me lay this out for you.
Because the only thing I think you really care about is money. So anytime there's an infraction, I'm going to take that from you.

Speaker 13 And it'll add up.

Speaker 14 So you have got to fly right because otherwise, if not,

Speaker 14 and then he was doing something with his eyes.

Speaker 13 I think he wanted the phone.

Speaker 21 And that's all he was concerned about, was getting his phone back.

Speaker 8 His phone.

Speaker 2 So was he upset about getting his phone back or upset about not going on the cruise and going to get evaluated? I think both. Both.

Speaker 23 Okay.

Speaker 12 And was she trying to record to him with his own phone or

Speaker 25 two phones were involved?

Speaker 19 There was two phones.

Speaker 22 There was his and hers.

Speaker 23 So she, just to kind of clarify, he's like, let's just do it.

Speaker 18 Got her phone to start recording.

Speaker 23 You said, next thing you know, they're on the ground. Did you see how they got on the ground?

Speaker 14 No.

Speaker 24 Okay. I just, because

Speaker 14 I was trying to call also.

Speaker 22 Okay.

Speaker 14 So, but I was very worried she was on the ground and I went in between them.

Speaker 2 Deputies took Colin to jail, but before they did, his grandma spoke with him at the patrol car.

Speaker 22 Okay?

Speaker 22 I'm saying prayers for you all the time, Colin, and I love you.

Speaker 22 What?

Speaker 22 I can't hear you, what?

Speaker 22 Do you think your anger is fine? Yes, it's just when someone attacks me, that's all I am.

Speaker 22 That didn't happen, though. I was there.
I saw it. I saw you stand up.
And I said, sit down, and you wouldn't. And you went after the phone.
And the next thing I know, she's on the floor.

Speaker 22 And I'm trying to get in between Raw and I'm trying to call Rennes. No, no, she with me.
She got on there.

Speaker 22 I

Speaker 22 believe her, and then I got her to found her wrestling movement than I've got. I didn't see that call, and I really didn't.

Speaker 22 All I saw was you on the ground, or her on the ground and you by her and you guys fighting to the phone.

Speaker 22 So how did she get on the ground? Why did you stand up? Why did you say? So I was just trying to have a face-to-face conversation. No, you didn't.
You stood up and said, okay, let's do it.

Speaker 10 Let's do it.

Speaker 20 Yes, you did.

Speaker 22 I was there. I was saying, look,

Speaker 20 I'm not a psychopath. I'm not this murderer.
I'm just trying to peacefully leave or peacefully coexist and just figure something out.

Speaker 18 And she kept telling me to shut up and shut up, but when I wouldn't shut up, she hit me.

Speaker 22 No, that's not what happened, Colin. That's not what happened.
You never said you wanted to peacefully coexist.

Speaker 20 I've been saying that.

Speaker 22 You said that in the car, but not there with her.

Speaker 2 So this time, because someone else was there to witness what happened, namely Colin's grandmother, Colin was arrested and charged with domestic assault. However, he was released on bond.

Speaker 2 He was also placed on juvenile probation, and a no-violent contact order was put in place between him and his mom.

Speaker 2 So that meant that Colin was allowed to go back and live with his mom, but if he was violent again, his bond would be revoked and he would go back to jail.

Speaker 2 Now, before he was released back into his mom's custody, Colin told the police officers that he was not going to get inside a car with her.

Speaker 2 Once again, he said if he goes home, he's going to kill his mom.

Speaker 2 And yet, for whatever reason, I don't know how ass backwards this is, but he was still allowed to go home with her, despite him making these threats.

Speaker 2 However, his comments did get him another visit from the police.

Speaker 5 Yes, sir.

Speaker 3 So, what's going on, man?

Speaker 6 Um,

Speaker 19 last night, me and my mom went to a physical education.

Speaker 4 I got arrested for domestic battery, but going in front of a judge today, I have a right to help you defender, and we'll see how that goes.

Speaker 10 Okay, so what's how is the situation with you and mom right now? Um, if things calm down and

Speaker 22 get along, what's where are we at?

Speaker 4 No, sir, it's it's not good. Um, she thinks that I be the shadow of her, I don't.
She thinks that I'm

Speaker 4 like psychotic, like literally

Speaker 6 psychopath, sociopath, something like that.

Speaker 4 I don't know exactly where she's at.

Speaker 19 She thinks I'm gonna kill her, I want to kill her, or that I want to be the shadow of her.

Speaker 22 Do you?

Speaker 19 No, sir.

Speaker 22 Okay.

Speaker 6 I don't want to hurt anyone, let alone,

Speaker 4 even despite this happening, but I'm not gonna

Speaker 4 take what I consider abuse when someone's attacking me.

Speaker 6 And

Speaker 20 how is she attacking you?

Speaker 4 When she attacked me. When she threw a punch at me and grabbed onto me, I got on her back.

Speaker 4 I

Speaker 19 got her off of me. She hit the ground.

Speaker 4 And then I fled and called Rentis, and then he sent someone out.

Speaker 19 He called who? Rentis, Detective Rentis.

Speaker 22 Okay.

Speaker 2 The deputies then questioned Colin about statements he made at the jail.

Speaker 9 Did you make any statements saying that you were going to kill

Speaker 9 if you got in a car with her? No, sir.

Speaker 10 I'm trying to figure out why we would have a corporal at the jail that took you out that

Speaker 3 dropped you off

Speaker 10 and telling us that you said don't put me in a car with her I'm gonna kill her. What does this all start over?

Speaker 3 Has this been ongoing forever or is this all something that happened last night? For a long time.

Speaker 4 So I came to live with her after my dad died and since then there's just been kind of times when things boil over with her and she

Speaker 19 acts out.

Speaker 4 One time she put a gun on me.

Speaker 19 I called the cops.

Speaker 19 I guess I just didn't, I wouldn't believe

Speaker 10 what got her to the point that she's doing these things.

Speaker 4 I don't know.

Speaker 10 You have no idea. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, she claims

Speaker 22 you

Speaker 4 it's because that I'm driving her crazy somehow with the way that I act, and I don't know how I'm acting badly.

Speaker 19 Um, she talks about school a lot, my grades are fine, I got a 3.7 DPA.

Speaker 22 Um, I have a panel.

Speaker 19 I mean, obviously, you're not, you know, you're

Speaker 19 smart enough, kid.

Speaker 10 I get that, or whatever. But,

Speaker 19 I mean, obviously, it takes two to create this type of environment and this situation, right?

Speaker 19 I've heard nothing.

Speaker 10 You haven't said a word about what's going on, what you're doing, or what is going on to provoke this, or where it's coming from, other than out of the blue, your mom flies off the handle and does this stuff.

Speaker 10 I'm struggling with that a little bit.

Speaker 4 She claims that because I don't like help around the house, I don't seem to follow rules. My reason for her is that I don't make a schedule.
Like, I don't schedule my day.

Speaker 4 She has ADHD and a lot of other stuff.

Speaker 4 She was really abused by my dad, from what I know, and I kind of just made it to where she had these very specific things that set her off, these triggers.

Speaker 19 So, how long ago was the event back? Sorry to hear

Speaker 3 he

Speaker 3 attacked me, my dad,

Speaker 3 and when he did,

Speaker 19 he tried to kill me overnight. And then it was in Oklahoma, and he died.

Speaker 19 So,

Speaker 10 how was that?

Speaker 3 I shot open when he tried to kill me.

Speaker 11 Did you already have a gun in your hand?

Speaker 19 Or did you go with it? I was swinging, and the house was filled with guns, 23 to be exact. And

Speaker 9 you knew who they were?

Speaker 19 I didn't seek one out, I was just trying to run.

Speaker 4 But when I was cornered and I had nothing else, there was a gun. I'm sure what happened.

Speaker 20 What was he trying to kill you?

Speaker 19 He's also a bit of a case, but um

Speaker 19 homophobia.

Speaker 2 Oh well. So Colin was still saying that this was all self-defense, but the cops took him away yet again.
But before he left, his mom confronted him while he was sitting inside the patrol car.

Speaker 22 Did you tell them at the jail that you were going to kill me?

Speaker 2 Did you say you were gonna hurt me?

Speaker 2 I was worried about something happening.

Speaker 2 Okay.

Speaker 22 I heard you say you were worried what was going to happen.

Speaker 22 Yes, they have to go.

Speaker 21 Here in the body camera that day, you can hear deputies explaining to the mom why he's being taken away.

Speaker 2 I struggle with a kid that's being released from jail and saying if you bring me back there, she's going to die.

Speaker 10 If we don't do something, shame on us.

Speaker 22 Yeah, then we're not. Shame on us.
Then we failed.

Speaker 2 So some time passed. And then in February of 2024, which is a year after his dad died, Colin ran away from home.

Speaker 2 Once again, he and his mom had gotten into an argument about something, you know, something or another, whether it was him on his cell phone, his AirPods, whatever it may be, his grades.

Speaker 2 And this time, instead of hurting her, he got into his car and he drove to his grandmother's house in Aubrondale, Florida, which is about a two-hour drive from where he lived with his mom in Port Charlotte.

Speaker 2 Now, the reason he went there is because he knew that his grandma wasn't home. She was at her other house in the Florida Keys, so he knew that he would have the entire entire place to himself.

Speaker 2 Now, his mom, Catherine, knew where Colin was. She knew where he went, but she still reported him missing to the Port Charlotte police.

Speaker 2 Colin's grandma also called the police, and she told them, look, even though I'm not at my house in Auburndale, and even though I'm in the Florida Keys, I still don't feel safe with Colin being at my house.

Speaker 2 Like, you gotta go get him. You gotta take him home.
So two days after Colin ran away, the officers found him in Auburndale.

Speaker 2 He was turned over to the Department of Children and Families, and they were going to bring him back to his mom in Port Charlotte.

Speaker 2 But once again, like clockwork, guess what he said before he was turned back over to his mom? He said he was going to kill her, and he this time said he would use any force necessary to do it.

Speaker 2 But despite all of that, Colin was still reunited with his mom.

Speaker 1 Time for a sofa upgrade. Introducing anime sofas, where designer style meets budget-friendly prices.
Every anibay sofa is modular, allowing you to rearrange your space effortlessly.

Speaker 1 Perfect for both small and large spaces, Anibay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy.

Speaker 1 Liquids simply slide right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high-resilience foam lets you choose between a sink and feel or a supportive memory foam blend.

Speaker 1 Plus, our pet-friendly, stain-resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price.
Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your living space today.

Speaker 1 Sofas started just $699 with no risk returns and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Get early access to Black Friday now.
The biggest sale of the year can save you up to 60% off.

Speaker 1 Plus, free shipping and free returns. Shop now at washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

Speaker 2 So Colin is back with his mom at this point now, but it has been a very tumultuous 12 months. His father died.
He had killed him in self-defense.

Speaker 2 He had multiple arrests, or not arrests, but I guess police taking him away. And he did have a lot of domestic disturbance phone calls.

Speaker 2 He had been admitted in and out of different mental health facilities. He was constantly making threats against his mother and other people, even threatening to take his own life.

Speaker 2 It was just a very rough 12 months, a very rough period. And unfortunately, it didn't stop there.
Months went by after being reunited with his mom, and things were still rocky.

Speaker 2 Catherine's social social media even indicated that she was having a rough time. At the beginning of September 2024, she posted this on Facebook.

Speaker 2 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.

Speaker 2 Thank you to everyone who has helped me see that this life is an adventure worth living and fighting for every day. Life lessons are just those.
Lessons.

Speaker 2 Then, a few days later, she posted a photo with with lyrics from the Taylor Swift song, It's Time to Go.

Speaker 2 These lyrics read, That old familiar body ache, the snaps from the same little breaks in your soul. You know when it's time to go.
Sometimes giving up is the strong thing.

Speaker 2 Then on September 6th, Catherine and Colin got into another argument, this time about chores. Once again, Colin wasn't happy, so he ran away to his grandma's house in Aubrondale.

Speaker 2 Again, once again, she was in the Florida Keys, so Colin had the home all to himself.

Speaker 2 Now, this was a violation of Colin's probation that stemmed from his arrest back in November of 2023, because he wasn't supposed to leave Charlotte County, where Port Charlotte was located.

Speaker 2 But Catherine was trying to give Colin some space, and she hoped that he would just come home on his own.

Speaker 2 However, she was starting to get a little bit worried because he was violating his probation, and this meant that if he didn't come home on his own, his probation was going to still be in effect.

Speaker 2 He would not be let off. So she texted him on September 7th, asking him to come home, but he refused.
Then on the morning of September 8th, she sent the following text message to her neighbor.

Speaker 2 She said, Hi, if Colin texts you again, please tell him he needs to come home. He's violating his probation, which he was supposed to be off of as of October 6th, 2024.

Speaker 2 But now, he will never be because I'm meeting with his probation officer Monday morning if he doesn't come home by 10 a.m. today.

Speaker 2 He knows the time and deadline, and he's choosing to skip it and hide out at my mom's house in Polk County, which is a violation. He won't listen.

Speaker 2 I am going to drive to get him, and if he doesn't get in the car, then Polk County can deal with him. She texted another neighbor, hey, please do not let Colin or the police into my home.

Speaker 2 I'm not opening my door, and according to my attorney, they have no authority to make me speak with them or to come into my house.

Speaker 2 Please don't come down and try to come in because they will try to follow you in if you unlock my door. I'm safe and fine.
Colin just hates me, and honestly, I'm tired of this crap.

Speaker 2 And those text messages are very concerning because not only does it sound to me like a mother who is just very frustrated and quite honestly at her wit's end, but also trying to still protect her son, make sure that he gets home and doesn't violate his probation and trying to do what she can do to manage the situation.

Speaker 2 So at around 2 p.m., Catherine still couldn't convince Colin to come home. So she did what she felt she had to do, and she drove the two hours to Auburn Dale and arrived there right around 4 p.m.

Speaker 2 And two hours after she arrived, Colin placed that 911 phone call that we talked about at the beginning of this episode.

Speaker 11 At about 4.30, witnesses and neighbors see Colin and mom arguing outside, and Colin grabs his mother by the hair and drags her into the house.

Speaker 11 Just about two hours later, that's when we receive a 911 call where Colin said I've had a very very long fight with mom and she fell on a knife and she's bleeding from the neck

Speaker 11 our investigation clearly and unequivocally shows

Speaker 11 that that circumstance did not occur like that

Speaker 11 in fact he used similar language to when he made the 911 call what 18 or 20 months earlier

Speaker 2 when he shot and killed his father and while Colin's behavior was already suspicious to the police, what they found inside the house made them even more suspicious.

Speaker 2 Remember, Colin claimed that he and his mom had this huge fight, that they were running around all over the house. It made it seem like it was just complete chaos.

Speaker 2 But that is not at all what the authorities found when they went inside.

Speaker 11 We looked inside the house. He said there was a protracted fight,

Speaker 11 and

Speaker 11 the home is neat and clean, and no evidence of any kind of a large fight or a long fight, as he said.

Speaker 2 Inside the house, hardly anything was out of place. They did, however, find a bloody 12-inch kitchen knife with a 8-inch blade, but nothing else indicated that a huge fight happened.

Speaker 2 They also, of course, found Catherine. And unfortunately, Catherine was pronounced dead shortly after the police arrived.

Speaker 2 The next day, an autopsy was performed, and the medical examiner was not buying Colin's story at all.

Speaker 2 Catherine had this wound to her neck that was incredibly deep, and it wasn't consistent with her just falling accidentally on this knife.

Speaker 2 To the medical examiner, it seemed more likely that someone purposefully plunged this knife into Catherine's neck. The wound, it seemed intentional, not accidental.

Speaker 2 And the sheriff didn't hold back any punches when he described what the authorities thought happened.

Speaker 11 It's important to understand

Speaker 11 when you look at this, you see a kid.

Speaker 11 When I look at him, I see a psychopath.

Speaker 11 I see totally erratic behavior

Speaker 11 to the point that he's already at 17 years of age shot and killed his father and got away with it and stabbed his mother in the neck so hard. that the knife went all the way through and was

Speaker 11 to the back of her neck.

Speaker 11 And she died there.

Speaker 11 He's being charged with first-degree murder, obviously, and we're asking the state attorney's office, it's their decision, but our state attorney's office is the greatest

Speaker 11 to prosecute him as an adult.

Speaker 11 We've also wrapped back around

Speaker 11 with the

Speaker 11 prosecutors, the DA's office, as they call them in Oklahoma, and they said if we develop information during this investigation that allows them, they will reopen the murder investigation

Speaker 11 in Oklahoma and potentially charge him out there.

Speaker 11 But at this time, they did not have

Speaker 11 sufficient information to charge him with murder. The unfortunate thing was

Speaker 11 Now he's killed two people and killed his mother and father.

Speaker 11 And I can assure you, beyond and to the exclusion of every every reasonable doubt, based upon his conduct, had he gone to live with his grandmother at the end of this and she crossed him, she would be nasted.

Speaker 11 He's violent, he's dangerous, he showed zero remorse,

Speaker 11 zero remorse when he was being interviewed. In fact,

Speaker 11 when we attempted the interview, he met the original deputy in the front yard.

Speaker 11 And he didn't say, mom's in here, mom's bleeding to death, mom needs help. He looked the deputy in the eye and says, I know my rights.
I want an attorney.

Speaker 11 Zero emotion about, hurry up, help mom, she's bleeding, she's got a problem.

Speaker 11 He is a dangerous human being.

Speaker 11 And we have him securely locked up.

Speaker 11 And we are working with the state attorney's office. We're putting the rest of the investigation together.

Speaker 11 We have began to talk to some of the family,

Speaker 11 which has confirmed that he is a dangerous person.

Speaker 2 So, a lot of people now have the same question. How had Colin gotten away with killing his dad the year before?

Speaker 5 Jared, do you think the system failed him? That he should have never been out. I mean, after killing his father.

Speaker 11 Well,

Speaker 11 when you look at this and you see

Speaker 11 how violent and how dangerous he is, it makes you wonder to what extent and what depth of investigation was done because they released him from that murder charge that was lodged apparently within a month or so because they were shipping him to his mother that quick.

Speaker 11 Now, did they wrap it up in that short period of time?

Speaker 11 Or did they just say, hey, take him home and notify the family later that we're not going to charge him I don't know but it's important to be accountable and responsible for your own actions

Speaker 11 my question is

Speaker 11 was there anything else that could have been done because had Oklahoma been able to act

Speaker 11 Catherine would be alive and well today

Speaker 11 But because she took him and tried to do like a mother should do and take care of him, she's now dead. Everybody

Speaker 11 that special, should be special to him in his life,

Speaker 11 is dead when they crossed him.

Speaker 11 Was there any history of abuse?

Speaker 11 We're looking through that now to see

Speaker 11 what his family history there may be.

Speaker 11 that and who's that?

Speaker 11 We're working through

Speaker 11 the back pages now. Obviously, he's been involved with DCF in Oklahoma, if for no other reason, from the murder.
He was involved with DCF here. We've been putting together our criminal case here.

Speaker 11 We will go through the back pages of him and any other interactions he's had with the system to try to determine

Speaker 11 everything that we can. But what we know for sure is he's violent and he's dangerous, and he'll kill you because he's done that on two occasions.

Speaker 2 So a week after Catherine's death, Colin was indicted for first-degree murder. He was also indicted on kidnapping and he was charged with violating his no-violent contact order.

Speaker 2 The state attorney later announced whether or not they would charge Colin as an adult.

Speaker 27 I'm Brian Haas, state attorney for the 10th Judicial Circuit of Florida.

Speaker 27 The Polk County Grand Jury indicted Colin Griffith on the charge of first-degree murder for the killing of his mother in Armerdale last week.

Speaker 27 I made the decision to charge this 17-year-old as an adult based upon the egregious facts and circumstances of this case.

Speaker 27 Charging a minor as an adult is not a decision that I take lightly, but as state attorney, it is my responsibility to do so when warranted.

Speaker 27 There have been many questions regarding an incident from Oklahoma last year where Colin Griffith killed his father.

Speaker 27 While I have been informed that that charges were not brought in that case, Polk County Law Enforcement continues to work with the authorities in Oklahoma to be sure they are provided all relevant information and evidence that will allow them to continue to evaluate their case as they deem necessary.

Speaker 27 The Polk County, Florida murder charge will now move on to an arraignment.

Speaker 27 My prosecutors and the deputies from the Polk County Sheriff's Office will continue to work together to pursue justice in this case and hold Colin Griffith accountable for his murder.

Speaker 2 Now, since all of this has happened, the Lincoln County Police in Oklahoma have said that they are willing to look back into Colin's case, especially if they receive any evidence to indicate that Charles' death wasn't an accident, that it wasn't self-defense, that this was cold-calculated murder.

Speaker 2 So, Colin was denied bond and stayed in jail. And after his arrest, he entered a plea of not guilty.

Speaker 2 But before his trial, his attorney filed a motion requesting to exclude any information regarding his father's death.

Speaker 2 They didn't want any of that information or any of those details getting entered into Colin's trial for his mother's death.

Speaker 2 They claimed that his dad's death wasn't relevant, so there should be no mention of it at the trial for Catherine's death.

Speaker 2 Now, in this motion, Colin's attorney also included information that was clearly Colin's version of events of what took place. He claims that he didn't run away.

Speaker 2 His mom kicked him out of the house on September 6th. So, heartbroken and crying, he called his grandma to see if he could go stay at her house, which she said yes to.
So he did that.

Speaker 2 He went and stayed at his grandma's house. And when Catherine came to get him, he says the two of them fought.
And then get this, she is the one who stabbed herself.

Speaker 2 The motion states that Colin called 911 hysterical and crying.

Speaker 2 And I will say he did sound upset in the call, but all of the first responders who arrived on the scene claimed that Colin was the exact opposite of hysterical. So what was really true here?

Speaker 2 Was part of that a performance? Was he lying? We know his defense has to come up with something. So Colin's trial date was set for January 29th, 2025.

Speaker 2 And in the pre-trial hearings, Colin's attorneys were really trying to get some of Colin and Catherine's text messages excluded from evidence.

Speaker 2 And the lead detective Danny Peters testified at a hearing about those text messages, why they were important and why people were trying to get them excluded.

Speaker 2 Specifically, he pointed to a text message that was sent by Catherine on the day that she was murdered.

Speaker 2 In it, she supposedly told Colin that he needed to be home by 10 a.m., or else she was going to release ring camera footage.

Speaker 2 Now, this footage allegedly showed Colin admitting to multiple people that he not only killed his dad, but it was all planned.

Speaker 2 It wasn't self-defense, but it was an intentional murder, complete with a cover-up. In another message from Catherine to her mother, she said something similar.

Speaker 2 If Colin didn't come home, she was going to release this footage.

Speaker 2 Then, in a conversation between Catherine and her father, Robert, Robert claimed that he had a recording where Colin allegedly confessed to killing his father. But here's the thing.

Speaker 2 Detective Peters testified that they haven't been able to find any of that evidence. No ring camera footage showing Colin's confession.

Speaker 2 No recording on Robert's phone where Colin admits to killing his dad.

Speaker 2 But Robert, his grandfather, did meet with the detectives and he made a statement that Colin did tell him he planned and murdered his father on purpose.

Speaker 2 So just days after the lead detective testified at the pretrial hearing, Colin's attorneys tried to have some of those text messages tossed out as evidence. And their argument?

Speaker 2 They claimed that Catherine had found out certain things about Colin, all by snooping through his personal text messages.

Speaker 2 Now, it isn't exactly clear what was inside those messages, but the lawyers said that Catherine had no right to read them in the first place because it was a major violation of Colin's privacy.

Speaker 2 And because she might have found something incriminating in those text messages and then sent that to others, they wanted those texts completely excluded from the evidence.

Speaker 2 But of course, the prosecution, they had a different take. They argued, no, no, no, this wasn't a violation of privacy at all.
Catherine was Colin's mother.

Speaker 2 And parents, in the prosecution's eyes, they have certain privileges when it comes to supervising their kids. So for them, it was just a mom doing her job.

Speaker 2 It wasn't this invasion of privacy like the defense was trying to make it, which I gotta agree with that. If you're a minor child, your parent has every right to go through your text messages.

Speaker 2 I know that might be a hot take and probably is a violation to some degree, but enough to throw it out as evidence? Certainly not. Is she the one paying the phone bill?

Speaker 2 Is she the one that the contract is in the name of? Then by all means, snoop away. Snoop, snoop, snoop away.

Speaker 2 So at this same hearing, the judge contemplated whether or not it should be mentioned that Colin killed his dad.

Speaker 2 Now, this doesn't mean that the crime wouldn't be mentioned at all, but the judge thought that maybe Charles' name shouldn't be brought up. Maybe it shouldn't be stated that he was Colin's dad.

Speaker 2 So if the crime came up, it was going to be more general, like, well, yes, Colin was involved in a self-defense killing in Oklahoma, but no other details other than that.

Speaker 2 The judge also pointed out that the whole thing with Charles might not even be super relevant to the case with Catherine.

Speaker 2 And the logic here is that even if Colin did intentionally kill his father, it doesn't automatically mean that he intentionally killed his mother.

Speaker 2 And I'm not saying I totally agree, but that is the argument that they were making.

Speaker 2 But I'm sure something that has crossed your mind or something you're thinking, which I have thought about as well, is, what if Colin felt threatened by his mom saying she was going to release the evidence of his confession, the recording, the ring camera footage, all of that?

Speaker 2 That could have easily been his motive for killing her. If she was going to spill his secret, he might have felt like he needed to kill her in order to protect himself.

Speaker 2 So if the prosecution could prove that Catherine's threats were what really pushed Colin over the edge, then the judge said that it could be mentioned in his trial that Colin also killed his father, Charles.

Speaker 2 But, long story short, the judge ended up deciding that Charles's name could not be brought up during the trial. The only thing that could be mentioned was that Colin was involved in a killing.

Speaker 2 If anyone brought up Charles by name, they could be charged with contempt of court, and then the trial would also be declared as a mistrial.

Speaker 2 And this felt like a huge blow to the prosecution, to the public. I mean, you're not giving the jury the full picture of what happened here.

Speaker 2 Although I get it, in a lot of cases, not just this one, you can't necessarily bring in information from former crimes or other circumstances because it is not relevant to the crime that you're on trial for.

Speaker 2 So Collins' trial officially began on January 29th, 2025, and it did not go how you are expecting.

Speaker 1 Time for a sofa upgrade. Introducing Anibay sofas, where designer style meets budget-friendly prices.
Every Anibay sofa is modular, allowing you to rearrange your space effortlessly.

Speaker 1 Perfect for both small and large spaces, Anibay is the only machine-washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy.

Speaker 1 Liquid simply slide right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high-resilience foam lets you choose between a sink-in-feel or a supportive memory foam blend.

Speaker 1 Plus, our pet-friendly, stain-resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price.
Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your living space today.

Speaker 1 Sofas start at just $699 with no risk returns and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Get early access to Black Friday now.
The biggest sale of the year can save you up to 60% off.

Speaker 1 Plus, free shipping and free returns. Shop now at washablesofas.com.
Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

Speaker 2 So Colin's trial begins. And at the trial, the prosecution based their argument around the fact that Colin had a history of violence.
He also had a difficult relationship with his mother.

Speaker 2 So, they say that he viciously attacked her. And they say that he wounded her so severely that when the paramedics arrived, they could see the floor through the hole in Catherine's neck.

Speaker 26 It was a Sunday evening,

Speaker 26 September 8th of last year

Speaker 26 in Auburn, Florida.

Speaker 26 And it was at that time that the defendant viciously and savagely

Speaker 26 unleashed his full fury and hatred towards his mother upon her.

Speaker 26 When he stabbed her with such force that the knife went shooting through her neck,

Speaker 26 through her neck muscles,

Speaker 26 through her esophagus,

Speaker 26 through her trachea,

Speaker 26 through her thyroid cartilage,

Speaker 26 and shot out the other side of her neck.

Speaker 26 You will hear and see that as this happened,

Speaker 26 she began to bleed and bleed profusely through the huge gash in her neck.

Speaker 26 While she bled, the defendant was there and watched

Speaker 26 as the blood

Speaker 26 came out of the huge hole in her neck.

Speaker 26 You're going to hear that he was there as he watched the blood and the life drain from her body

Speaker 26 until she took her final breath. and was officially dead.

Speaker 26 You're also going to hear that this was exactly what the defendant meant to do.

Speaker 26 And that this is exactly what the defendant had thought about doing

Speaker 26 and had wanted to do for quite some time.

Speaker 2 Throughout the trial, the prosecution really painted this picture of Colin being this extremely spoiled kid, that his mom was constantly buying him nice things, fancy vacations, getting him these gaming consoles, and like he had this endless supply of Starbucks, just really never wanted for anything.

Speaker 2 And they said that if she ever threatened to take those things away, well, that's when Colin would completely lose it and start threatening her.

Speaker 2 They also brought out several witnesses to support their claim that Colin had a history of being violent.

Speaker 2 One of them was Deputy Alexander Sharp, the officer who responded to that domestic violence call that led to Colin's arrest back in November of 2023.

Speaker 2 According to Deputy Sharp, when he arrived on the scene, Colin was totally calm and totally collected, almost like nothing even happened.

Speaker 2 Meanwhile, Catherine was visibly shaken and she even had marks on her stomach from where Colin had hit her. Colin, however, claimed that Catherine is the one who punched him in the face first.

Speaker 2 So he says because of that, he needs her in the groin to defend himself. But Deputy Sharp had a hard time believing this story because Colin didn't have a single mark on him.

Speaker 2 No bruising, no redness, no swelling, nothing that backed up his version of events.

Speaker 2 Other witnesses who testified for the prosecution were officers who worked at the facility where Colin was baker acted.

Speaker 2 One detective testified that she even heard Colin make several statements about wanting to hurt or kill his mother.

Speaker 2 He even said that he would rather be in a psych ward, in jail, or in foster care rather than live with Catherine.

Speaker 2 She continued that Colin was just a very manipulative person who became furious anytime somebody told him no.

Speaker 2 But he also knew how to be respectful to the right people, like his grandma, who frequently brought him things while he was in that facility.

Speaker 2 Another witness, Corporal Joella Moore, testified that Colin told her that he had two different personas, Colin 1 and Colin 2. Colin 1 was just trying to survive and get through each day.

Speaker 2 But Colin 2, he was a completely different story. Colin 2 would do anything to protect Colin 1, including killing his mother.

Speaker 2 However, on another occasion, she recalled Colin saying that Colin 1 would probably kill his mom too.

Speaker 2 Catherine's father, Colin's grandfather Robert, also took the stand, and he testified that he remembered Colin saying multiple times that he was going to hurt his mother.

Speaker 25 Based upon your personal observations, did it appear that the defendant trusted you and would talk and confide in you about certain things, grandfather, grandson topics? Yes.

Speaker 25 Did there come a time when the defendant said something to you that was very disturbing to you?

Speaker 7 Yes.

Speaker 25 Tell the jury about what the defendant said to you.

Speaker 25 My grandson was very aggravated at his grandmother and his mother.

Speaker 25 He said, I am so tired of these two bitches. I'm disgusted.

Speaker 25 He said, my mom,

Speaker 25 I keep thinking over and over,

Speaker 25 I want to slit her throat. I want her to bleed out.
I want to smell the blood. I want to feel the blood.
I want to feel the life and the blood leaving her body.

Speaker 25 Now, when he said that, what went through your mind? I needed to take a deep breath and

Speaker 25 do what I could to discourage that thought because thoughts become words, words become actions. What did you say to him in response?

Speaker 25 I said, Colin, I love you, buddy, but you can't have those kinds of thoughts and focus on and then speak them because you will cause them to become reality.

Speaker 25 Please think positive things about your mom, about yourself, and about a good future together.

Speaker 3 Now,

Speaker 25 at any point, did you warn your daughter about what the defendant was wanting to do to her?

Speaker 25 I did, but I did not use the exact words because there was so much malice. There was

Speaker 25 Now,

Speaker 8 were you

Speaker 25 explaining to the jury? Were you concerned that if you use the exact words the defendant said that he wanted to do to his mom, that that might negatively affect their mother-son relationship?

Speaker 25 It would, and I was afraid it would actually give her nightmares.

Speaker 25 Did you tell her

Speaker 25 a clean version or a

Speaker 25 more vanilla version, if you will? Yes, I did. What was her response?

Speaker 25 That he's been threatening her, and he's been threatening Susan

Speaker 25 multiple times with killing both of them.

Speaker 2 The prosecution then brought lead detective Danny Peters to the stand, and he discussed that ring camera footage that was found the morning of September 8th, the day that Catherine died.

Speaker 2 In that footage, Catherine is on the phone with Colin, who has already left the house and was at his grandmother's house.

Speaker 28 No, you told me you were calling him.

Speaker 28 You told me you were going to get your neighbor over there, or I'm sending the police. Do you want the police to go?

Speaker 28 I will not take a call from you after this ever again.

Speaker 28 If Colin's not here by 10 o'clock, I'm dead to you. Do you understand me? Do you understand me? Do you understand me? Do you understand me?

Speaker 3 Yes or no?

Speaker 28 I need a yes or no. Yes or no? Do you understand me? Okay.

Speaker 28 You don't understand.

Speaker 28 So are you returning home or no?

Speaker 28 Uh, no.

Speaker 2 Then the footage captures Catherine on the phone with her mom.

Speaker 7 And you lied to me while we were here. I said, do you have him?

Speaker 28 You said no, and I don't know where he is.

Speaker 28 You said that to me. Okay, it doesn't matter.
It doesn't matter because you still don't have eyes on him. He's talked to you.

Speaker 12 No, he's already talked to you because I can see where you guys have been talking. So if he's not here by 10 o'clock, I'm sending the cops.
I'm sorry.

Speaker 12 Oh, it is. It is.
We're all losing our jobs and he's losing everything. That's why I tried the car for myself.

Speaker 28 I need the money. So I'm taking the car, I'm taking everything.
So I'm about to go up there and go and get the car because the car is mine. I have it in my name.
This mobile notary came.

Speaker 28 I'm gonna have to send you copies she already sent you the title

Speaker 28 I already sent you a picture of the of the title and you already saw what it looked like so I'm not gonna say it here

Speaker 28 okay then you please go back through the pictures because you also said you don't have the pink picture of the children you also said that you don't show the call records and that you believe Colin even though he's there at your house so you're illegally the law call my belief.

Speaker 28 Tell him

Speaker 28 for a house and then he has to go back home. Is that correct? No.
I'm asking you. I'm asking you a specific question.
Have you told him he needs to go back to this house?

Speaker 28 No. Did you tell him he needs to be back home to this house by 10 a.m.? And he needs to vacate your house if he does not have permission to be at your home.
He completely blocked me.

Speaker 28 And he's completely removed himself from his Apple ID so that he cannot be trapped. So, right on that.

Speaker 28 No, his phone is off. His phone is off now.
I told you that. I said if he didn't get in the car and come home, that was what was going to happen.

Speaker 3 And you said I will make sure he is there by 10 a.m.

Speaker 3 I told you I was going to.

Speaker 28 I told you I was going to if you didn't do this.

Speaker 28 No,

Speaker 28 that's not what I said. His phone phone is still on right now.

Speaker 28 His service is working.

Speaker 28 He's not going to answer.

Speaker 20 He's not going to answer. I showed you.
Oh, stop.

Speaker 28 Will you listen to me? Do you see the call log? He did not try to call me at all yesterday. He is lying to you.
I sent you his entire call log. That's from AT ⁇ T.
That's not from his iCloud account.

Speaker 28 That's from AT ⁇ T.

Speaker 28 That's not what the porter said. It said he specifically has to leave a voicemail.

Speaker 2 But it doesn't matter because if he doesn't, that's fine. But I'm telling you right now, I have held everybody off.

Speaker 28 I said, it's a private family matter. I'm sure he'll be back home.
And everybody said, we'll give him 24 hours. That is until 10 o'clock today, Mom.
That's why I said he had it until 10 a.m. today.

Speaker 28 Mom, Bae, it doesn't matter. Bene gave me until 10 a.m.

Speaker 28 The police.

Speaker 28 Didn't say, I need my fucking computer. And I said, fine, come and get it.
I told him to be back after work. It's on the fucking camera!

Speaker 28 I don't give a shit. I don't give a flying fuck.
Did I tell you, did I tell you to let him stay at your house?

Speaker 28 Did I tell you to let him stay at your house? Have I or have I not told you multiple times in the past that he has never to stay at your house ever again? Not without my consent.

Speaker 28 And I have not consented.

Speaker 28 Do you hear me? Capt Polly.

Speaker 28 Answer to me. Answer me.
Do you understand that you do not have my consent to have Colin? Do you understand that?

Speaker 28 No, answer my question. Do you understand?

Speaker 28 No, I didn't. I never threw him out.
And it's on the ring camera. Never threw him out.

Speaker 2 Never threw him out. At the end of this footage, Catherine left her house to go find Colin.
And this footage was the last footage of her scene alive.

Speaker 2 Detective Peters then read text messages between Colin and Catherine, which they ended up extracting from Colin's phone.

Speaker 2 In these messages, Catherine repeatedly told Colin that she was going to shut down his phone, that she was going to cancel his car insurance, that she was going to sell his car, and that she was going to pull him out of school.

Speaker 2 In one message, she wrote, You said you hated me and I was an evil bitch. My dad is sending me the recording of you planning my murder.
Good luck hiring a lawyer.

Speaker 2 But unfortunately, Catherine's dad never sent those recordings, and Catherine never did follow through with any of those threats.

Speaker 2 So then it was the defense's turn to present their case, and they argued that the prosecution was just making a case out of emotions, not facts. They argued that Catherine was volatile.

Speaker 2 She was the one who was manipulative. She was the one who lied.
And she was the one who created this tumultuous home environment for Colin. They argued that Colin didn't leave their home in September.

Speaker 2 He had to leave, because Catherine kicked him out. They They also argued that Colin never pulled his mom by the hair outside of his grandma's home.

Speaker 2 Instead, their version of events was that Catherine pulled up to the home to get Colin and she started screaming at him.

Speaker 2 So, to avoid making a scene, Colin asked her to be quiet and then guided her inside by the arm where they could have more of a private conversation and not bring so much attention to themselves.

Speaker 2 However, the neighbor who witnessed this whole altercation testified that Colin did not just gently grab her arm and guide her inside.

Speaker 2 He violently pulled her by the hair while Catherine was telling Colin, Let me go. Now, Catherine's mom testified too, but she testified for the defense.
She was basically in total support of Colin.

Speaker 2 And this was really surprising to me because, supposedly, remember, she made the statements in the past where she expressed that she was scared of Colin.

Speaker 2 And you even heard her earlier calling BS on his version of events, but now here she was testifying for him.

Speaker 2 Now, I will say that that could either be because she truly believed Colin and believed that this was accidental and that Catherine did this to herself, or it could be that she was his grandma.

Speaker 2 She felt sorry for him. He now no longer had his father, his mother.
She loves her grandson. She wants to protect him.

Speaker 2 Maybe it was like her just being in denial and wanting to save him and protect him.

Speaker 2 So in her testimony, she testified that Catherine was unpredictable, often randomly cutting off family members and in general, having a pretty bad relationship with most of them.

Speaker 2 And apparently, Catherine had also been baker acted a few times and had tried to take her own life on multiple occasions.

Speaker 2 Colin's grandmother also claimed that Catherine lied often about a lot of things. She even claimed that Catherine lied once about being sexually assaulted.

Speaker 2 And on top of that, she testified that she even witnessed Catherine handing Colin a gun and telling him to shoot her with it.

Speaker 2 She said that she beat him with a belt, made him do push-ups, made made him hold a weight over his head while he ran in place. Just a lot of horrific behavior for a mother to push onto her son.

Speaker 2 However, on the flip side, she also said that one time Colin took a knife from her house, and on that same day, Catherine called her expressing her fear of Colin.

Speaker 2 She also recalled a time where all three of them went out to dinner at a restaurant, and Catherine had said that she was going to take Colin's Xbox away, his video game console, and Colin tried to get into a fight with her right there at the restaurant.

Speaker 2 He actually tried to get her to fight him. And it just sounds like a very volatile relationship between both of them, and maybe they both needed help.

Speaker 2 I don't know, but it seems like there was definitely some toxic behavior.

Speaker 2 So then, as the defense is carrying on with their case, in a very shocking twist, the defense claimed that Catherine's death was actually a case of, quote, suicide by son.

Speaker 2 Now, their argument was that Colin and Catherine did, yes, get into a fight, but she was the one who grabbed the knife first. And according to them, she did it on purpose.

Speaker 2 They said that Catherine knew exactly what she was doing. This was all part of her behavior.
She was manipulative.

Speaker 2 She wanted to push Colin into a rage, knowing that it was going to escalate into a deadly fight that would leave her dead and make him look guilty to take the fall.

Speaker 2 Almost like a twisted, reverse gone girl, but between a mother and a son. And if you think that that argument would actually work on a jury, well, take a listen.

Speaker 5 There are no defects, no remissions in the verdict. Counsel for the state, counsel for the defendant.

Speaker 4 Rise and hearken to the verdict. Mr.
Griffith, rise and hearken to the verdict.

Speaker 2 State of Florida versus Colin Griffin.

Speaker 2 With the jury, file as follows. As to the defendant in this case, the defendant, as to count one, the defendant is not guilty.

Speaker 2 As to count two, the defendant is not guilty. So said Will this fifth day of February, 2025.

Speaker 2 That's right. The whole suicide by son argument, it worked.
The trial ended on February 4th, and by February 5th, 2025, the jury found Colin not guilty. Not guilty on all charges.

Speaker 11 The jury that found him not guilty today made up of one man. The rest of them were women.
Both Griffith's grandmother and aunt were in the courtroom today, and they both were supportive of him, guys.

Speaker 11 They supported him.

Speaker 2 Now, when this verdict came in, I've got to tell you, people were outraged. When I tell you, I have not seen a single comment or statement from anybody saying that they think the jury got this right.

Speaker 2 Everybody is in just complete shock and disbelief.

Speaker 2 And the majority of people, the general consensus, especially that this happened in Florida, is that this feels like it's Casey Anthony all over again.

Speaker 2 People are dumbfounded, kind of like, what the hell is going on here? What's happening in Florida? How could any jury find him not guilty?

Speaker 2 And some people are even taking it further, predicting he's probably going to kill his grandmother next because he's only 17 years old, 17 years old. Both of his parents are dead.

Speaker 2 I would imagine he now is, yes, going to go live with his grandmother. And what happens when she takes away his Xbox?

Speaker 2 What happens when she takes away his cell phone and when he doesn't just run full rein on that house? What's going to happen? In my opinion, this kid is clearly disturbed. He has a lot of issues.

Speaker 2 You don't have two parents just end up dead coincidentally in a matter of a year and a half. When on earth have we seen something like that happen?

Speaker 2 Not to mention, people are outraged over the fact that the jury was not made privy to the information about Colin's dad.

Speaker 2 People are saying, and again, I get it why it may have needed to be excluded, but people are saying if the jury knew that it was his dad who was killed in quote self-defense a year earlier or a year and a half earlier, that probably would have swayed their decision a lot.

Speaker 2 And maybe that's the reason that that wasn't brought into the trial.

Speaker 2 But again, I would imagine anybody who's on the jury who's now looking back at the full case as a whole with his dad looped into it as well, I would imagine that the majority of them have got to be kicking themselves, being like, holy shit, what did we just do?

Speaker 2 What have we done? Did we just let a killer out and give him free reign to kill again?

Speaker 2 Now, Grady Judd, the sheriff in Polk County where this all went down, even released a statement where he expressed his disbelief.

Speaker 2 It read, Our detectives firmly believe that Colin Griffith murdered his mother. The jury determined that they could not convict him beyond and to the exclusion of all reasonable doubt.

Speaker 2 During our investigation, detectives found witnesses that believe he also murdered his father in Oklahoma. That investigation is ongoing.

Speaker 2 So, like I said, as soon as we got the verdict in this case, I knew I had to come and talk with you guys about it. My personal opinion, they got it way wrong.
They got it way wrong.

Speaker 2 This kid who has been diagnosed with PTSD, with personality disorder, who self-admittedly told a therapist, there's two versions of me, Colin one and Colin two.

Speaker 2 This kid who killed his dad in what he calls self-defense, I'd argue, probably wasn't, but then went on to threaten his mom for months and months and months in between his father's death and his mother's death.

Speaker 2 Documented threats, documented baker acts. And the jury thinks he's innocent, that he's not guilty, that they couldn't prove that this wasn't self-defense.
He was safely away from his mom.

Speaker 2 She comes to collect him so that he doesn't violate his probation. And not for nothing.
He's a 17-year-old kid.

Speaker 2 She's within all of her rights to go and pick her son's grimy little ass up from his grandma's house, of course. So because of that, he's pissed.
He doesn't have this house to himself anymore.

Speaker 2 His mom is trying to instill rules on him. So a fight ensues.
He does what he knows and what he can do best, what he apparently bragged about on recordings too. He could get away with it.

Speaker 2 He's killed once. He could do it again.
And he does that. He kills his mother.
He takes a knife. He plunges it into her neck and he claims self-defense.
Again, all my opinion, all my speculation.

Speaker 2 Do your own research. He has been proven not guilty.
I don't think they got it right, just like I think the jury did not get Casey Anthony right, just like the jury did not get O.J. Simpson right.

Speaker 2 And anytime this happens, it is just so frustrating because you can't help but wonder who's their next victim going to be.

Speaker 2 If they got away with it, clearly at 17 years old, he's got to be feeling pretty dang confident that he's gotten two murders under his belt and gotten away with it. So who's next?

Speaker 2 I would say it's safe to bet the grandma. And I hate saying that, and I really hope I'm wrong.

Speaker 2 But if he goes and ends up living with her, and if she gives him even the least bit of resistance, you think he's going to take that lying down?

Speaker 2 He didn't take it from his dad, he didn't take it from his mom. You think he's going to take it from little old granny, who had the rose-colored glasses on and believes he's innocent? No way.

Speaker 2 Or it's going to become a situation where she truly is scared of him and she just lets him do anything he wants. No rules, no curfew, no obligations, nothing.

Speaker 2 Or, and I'm just kind of spitballing here as things are going, if he ends up becoming the beneficiary now because his parents are dead, his grandma's will, whatever's included in that, does he become such a deadbeat because he clearly doesn't have a lot of drive or self-regulation to where then he kills his grandmother because he wants the inheritance, he wants the money.

Speaker 2 I mean, there's a million different options on the table here, but I would say in my gut, I don't think that we have heard the last of Colin Griffith. And that is a terrifying thought.

Speaker 2 So I told you guys at the top of this episode, I'm going to put a poll over on Spotify. I wish Apple had a polling section.
They don't though. And YouTube doesn't either.

Speaker 2 But I will put the poll on Spotify. If you were on the jury, how would you have voted? Would you have voted guilty or not guilty? And why? And you don't need to give me a whole long explanation.

Speaker 2 I just am curious, guilty or not guilty. And if you want to give an explanation, please do.

Speaker 2 And since we don't have the polling feature on Apple or YouTube, let me know in the comment section on YouTube and you can let me know in the review section on Apple. I'm just blown away.

Speaker 2 As I was watching this trial happen, I had it playing on court TV every single day here in my studio and we were following it. I am dumbfounded.
I cannot believe that this is where we landed.

Speaker 2 And everybody is in shock. I mean, this is outrageous.
And when you see his little smirk in the courtroom when the verdict was read, it's a diabolical teenage kid who just got away with two murders.

Speaker 2 Two murders, not even at the same time where it was just like, oh, he was found not guilty on both, two separate times. I mean, at least the investigation is still ongoing into his dad's death.

Speaker 2 So maybe charges will come with that.

Speaker 2 Hopefully, because yeah, technically he wasn't found not guilty. They just didn't charge him with all that.
So like, we'll see what happens with that.

Speaker 2 And maybe he will be held accountable and that will be his karma and the justice for his mother as well. But I guess we got to just wait and see.
So thank you guys for tuning in to this episode.

Speaker 2 It's an infuriating one, and I know it's probably going to leave a lot of people just angry and upset, but this is one of those cases where it really does, you try to make sense of how somebody could come up with this.

Speaker 2 And I'm sorry, I'm not trying to jury shame. I believe in our justice system, but like sometimes they don't get it right.
Sometimes they just do not get it right.

Speaker 2 And I do not think that they got it right here. And I just hope that his grandmother stays safe over the course of the rest of her life, but we'll see.

Speaker 2 All right, guys, thank you so much for tuning in. I will be back on the mic with you on Thursday with everything breaking this week in the true crime world.

Speaker 2 Our episode Headline Highlights comes out on Thursdays. It goes out on YouTube on Fridays.
So I will see you back for that.

Speaker 2 Oh, and as a side note, I did see a lot of your feedback regarding wanting me to talk more about Justin and Baldoni and Blake Lively.

Speaker 2 Although, I did get some feedback from the YouTube community too that they want me to stay more with like the true crime focus. So, I tried to meet in the middle.

Speaker 2 My sister and I, if you guys have known Amy, she's been on here before. She's a true crime enthusiast like myself.

Speaker 2 We did a live stream together where we talked all about the Justin and Blake saga, everything that's going on, our opinions.

Speaker 2 I didn't really have anything prepared, so the live stream did get a little bit wild, but it was cool because we had the live chat feature going.

Speaker 2 So many of you guys were chiming in with your thoughts, with what your opinions are, and we just talked through the whole thing together. So, we did do that live stream.

Speaker 2 It's available over on Patreon. You can also see the live chat once you get access to it.

Speaker 2 So, I will link that in the show notes, or you can go to patreon.com/slashannie lease. You can check out the live stream there.

Speaker 2 I also have uploaded the audio version of that live stream here on Apple under the subscription tier in case you want that extra bonus content. All right, guys, thank you so much for tuning in.

Speaker 2 And until the next one, please be nice, don't kill people, watch your back, and just stay safe. Okay, bye.