Polk County jury deliberates in trial of 17-year-old boy accused of killing mother
BARTOW, Fla. - The jury is deliberating the fate of a 17-year-old boy accused of stabbing his mother to death.
Collin Griffith was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping his mother, Cathryn Griffith, during an altercation.
READ: Man accused of kidnapping, robbing woman at gunpoint in Hillsborough County
The backstory:
On September 8, investigators said Cathryn traveled from Southwest Florida to her mother's home in Auburndale where Collin had run off to after a disagreement. She tried to take him back home with her when neighbors said they saw Collin grab his mother's hair and pull her inside. An hour and 15 minutes later, he called 911 to report her death.
Dispatcher: "What caused the bleeding?"
Defendant: "She got into a fight. She lunged at me with the knife, and she fell on it."
What they're saying:
During closing arguments, prosecutor Mark Levine said Collin fought with his mother and stabbed her in the neck, because he didn't like her disciplining him.

"He showed his intentions by his actions and words and what he said he was going to do," said Levine. "He was going to kill that ‘evil b****’ – his own mom – and so he did."
Amy Thornhill, Collin's public defender, said he killed his mother in self-defense after she potentially attacked him with the knife first. She also said there's no evidence she was kept in the house against her will.
Thornhill painted the picture of a son who was scared of his mother and who was trying to escape from her violent and aggressive behavior, which included allegedly pointing a gun at him during a prior incident.
CRIME: Convicted felon with violent history in custody after exchanging gunfire with Tampa police: TPD
"You heard him on the body-worn camera footage. 'I don't want to kill her, but if she attacks me I will have to defend myself,'" said Thornhill.
Dig deeper:
A year prior to his mother's death, Collin shot and killed his father in Oklahoma, but charges were never brought in that case, because he claimed self-defense.
The jury also heard that he shot and killed someone in self-defense, but they did not learn the victim's name.
What's next:
The jury finished deliberating for the day and will be back to resume Wednesday at 8:30 a.m.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered during the trial of 17-year-old Collin Griffith.
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