The chilling threat a teenager made towards his mother months before her death has been captured in police bodycam footage.
17-year-old US teenager Collin Griffith is accused of murdering his mother Catherine Griffith, 39, a year after killing his father allegedly in self-defence.
Collin was arrested in September last year after calling police and claiming that his mother had ‘fallen’ on a knife during an argument. Catherine would later pass away from her injuries.
However, according to an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE, a medical examiner later ruled that Catherine’s injuries couldn’t have been caused by falling on a knife, leading to the teenager being indicted on murder charges.
He was since pleaded not guilty to first degree murder and kidnapping.
Now chilling police bodycam footage has emerged, appearing to show Collin making a threat against his mother just months before her death.
“I’m in a constant state of fight or flight and I don’t know. If I think she’s going to do something, even if she’s not, I might act,” he can be heard saying in the footage, dated to 14 November 2023.
He continues: “I’m not going to like, go crazy or anything, but I’m not sure honestly.”
An officer then questions Collin over his words, asking him to clarify if he was stating that he would hurt his mother.
“Only if she tries to hurt me,” he replied.
Authorities could also be seen explaining the situation to Catherine the same day, with one officer telling her: “I struggle with a kid that’s being released from jail saying, ‘If you bring me back there, she’s going to die.’
Another officer says: “If we don’t do something, then we failed.”
The first officer adds: “And I’m not failing you, nor am I going to fail your son.”
In another clip recorded the evening prior, Collin can be seen speaking with his grandmother: “I was saying, ‘Mom, I’m not a psychopath! I’m not this murderer. I’m just trying to peacefully leave or peacefully coexist’.
“She kept telling me to shut up and shut up, and when I wouldn’t shut up, she hit me.”
His grandmother then cast doubt on his claims, telling him that he had never stated that he wanted to peacefully coexist.
She then explained to officers that Collin had not wanted to return home and wished to be placed into foster care.
The teenager was previously accused of killing his father, Charles Griffith, 43, on Valentine’s Day in 2023. He would later say it was an act of self-defence, a claim which prosecutors could not disprove.
His mother posted $50,000 to bail him out of jail, the New York Post reports, and the charges were eventually dropped.
