Inset: Brian Keith Griffin (Harrison County Sheriff”s Office). Background: A residential street near where Griffin killed his own mother in Marshall, Tex (Google Maps).
A Texas man will spend the next several decades behind bars for the brutal murder of his own mother with a knife in the home they shared.
On Thursday, Brian Keith Griffin, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of murder, according to Harrison County court records.
In quick fashion, the defendant was sentenced to 30 years in prison by 71st Judicial District Judge Brad Morin over the November 2024 fatal stabbing of 55-year-old Tammy Bogue.
The underlying incident occurred at the family’s apartment on Norwood Street in Marshall – a small city in far East Texas which is located roughly 40 miles due west of Shreveport, Louisiana.
On Nov. 27, 2024, just before 12:45 p.m., the defendant called 911 on himself to report what he had done, according to court records obtained by The Marshall News Messenger.
Responding officers found Bogue on the floor suffering from multiple knife wounds. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene of the crime, according to a press release issued by the Marshall Police Department. Her killer’s culpability was apparently never in doubt.
“During the custodial interview, Griffin admitted to stabbing his mother multiple times intending to kill her,” police wrote in a probable cause statement attached to the charging document.
During his sentencing hearing, Griffin said he had repeatedly been treated for mental illness – once due to a suicide attempt – but admitted he was not insane on the day of the murder. His defense attorney noted he was found competent to stand trial.
“It was going to be a battle of the experts,” Harrison County District Attorney Reid McCain told the Messenger, explaining what would have likely occurred during a trial had the parties not agreed to a plea deal.
Had he gone to trial, the defendant faced a possible sentence of up to 99 years in prison. The defendant, the state, and the surviving family agreed on foregoing such proceedings and a lesser sentence.
“I had a really good family,” the prosecutor told the newspaper. “They were easy to work with. I think they love him, but also know that he needs to be held accountable. So we had multiple conversations, and they were fine with the 30-to-40 (year) range.”
One family member, however, seemed to reject the since-condemned man’s narrative about his mental health issues.
Bogue’s sister reportedly said Griffin should have been taking his medication if he wanted to blame the violence on mental illness.
“This was not a tragedy,” the slain woman’s sister said. “It was a betrayal of trust to our family. She deserved to live, deserved to grow old…to love and be loved. We not only lost one family member that day. We lost two. And like you told (the investigators) ‘She had to go.’ Our final words to you, Brian: ‘Now you have to go.'”
