Court records said Brian Keith Griffin reported the killing before officers found Tammy Bogue dead.
MARSHALL, Texas — A 911 call placed just before 12:45 p.m. on Nov. 27, 2024, led Marshall police to a Norwood Street apartment where they found Tammy Bogue dead from multiple knife wounds.
The caller was Bogue’s son, Brian Keith Griffin, police and court records said. Nearly 16 months later, Griffin stood in a Harrison County courtroom, pleaded guilty to murder and received a 30-year prison sentence. The case did not turn on a manhunt or a search for a suspect. From the first call, records showed police were dealing with a killing Griffin had reported himself.
Officers arrived at the apartment in the 2700 block of Norwood Street and found Bogue, 55, on the floor. Emergency responders could not save her, and she was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the wounds were caused by a knife. Griffin was taken into custody after officers secured the apartment and began the murder investigation. The charging records later said Griffin admitted in an interview that he stabbed his mother more than once and meant to kill her. Investigators also recorded a short statement that became central to the case. Griffin told them “she had to go,” according to remarks repeated in court by Bogue’s sister.
The apartment sat in Marshall, a far East Texas city west of Shreveport, Louisiana. Local reports first described the case as a fatal stabbing of a relative before later records and court proceedings identified the victim as Griffin’s mother. The killing happened the day before Thanksgiving, turning a holiday week into a homicide investigation for police and a funeral week for relatives. Bogue’s obituary was published the next week. It said she died Nov. 27 in her hometown of Marshall and described her as a woman who loved family gatherings, fishing, music and the grandchildren who were the center of her world.
Griffin was charged with murder and later found competent to stand trial. At sentencing, he said he had received treatment for mental illness at different points in his life, including once after a suicide attempt. He also acknowledged he was not insane when his mother was killed. That point mattered because a trial could have brought testimony from mental health experts on both sides. Harrison County District Attorney Reid McCain said the case would likely have been “a battle of the experts” if it had gone to trial. The plea avoided that courtroom fight and set a fixed sentence.
Under Texas law, the punishment Griffin faced after a murder conviction could have reached 99 years in prison. The agreement accepted by the judge gave him 30 years. McCain said prosecutors talked with Bogue’s surviving relatives about the risks and strain of trial and about the sentence range they could accept. He said the family loved Griffin but also believed he needed to be held accountable. The family agreed to a punishment range of 30 to 40 years, McCain said, and the final sentence landed at the low end of that range.
Bogue’s sister used her courtroom remarks to pull attention back to the woman killed inside the apartment. She said the death was not simply a tragedy but a breach within the family. “It was a betrayal of trust to our family,” she said. The sister said Bogue deserved more years with the people who loved her. She also addressed Griffin directly by echoing the phrase investigators said he used after the stabbing. “Our final words to you, Brian: ‘Now you have to go,’” she said.
Records and public reports do not show a detailed public account of what happened inside the apartment before the 911 call. Authorities have not released a full timeline of the moments leading to the stabbing, and the guilty plea means that evidence may never be tested before a jury. What is known is narrower: Griffin and Bogue shared the home, Bogue suffered multiple knife wounds, Griffin called 911 shortly before 12:45 p.m., and police said he later admitted the stabbing was intentional.
The guilty plea shifted the case from investigation to punishment. Griffin now faces a long prison term rather than a trial date. As of April 27, 2026, the court case has ended with a conviction, and state corrections officials will handle his prison placement.
Author note: Last updated April 27, 2026.