Teen says antidepressant made him kill grandparents

[Guest guest]

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/10448843.htm?1c

Posted on Sun, Dec. 19, 2004

Teen says antidepressant made him kill grandparents

He was 12 and taking Zoloft. Prosecutors say it's a case of cold-blooded

murder.

By

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Joe Pittman's hands shook as he read his son's confession

to a roomful of strangers during a Food and Drug Administration hearing in

Washington.

" I took everything out on my grandparents, who I loved so very much, " wrote

Pittman. " When I was lying in my bed that night, I couldn't

sleep because my voice in my head kept echoing through my mind, telling me

to kill them. "

Authorities say three years ago, , then 12, shot his grandparents

as they slept in their rural home because they had scolded him for fighting

on the school bus.

Joe Pittman thinks his son killed because his sense of right and wrong was

clouded by Zoloft, an antidepressant medication. He spoke out against the

drug in a hearing earlier this year. The boy, who had threatened suicide,

was put on the drug three weeks before the slayings, and his dose was

doubled two days earlier.

But prosecutors and police say 's actions during and after the

November 2001 slayings show he clearly knew what he was doing was wrong.

The boy waited until his grandparents were sleeping and took a pump-action

shotgun from a gun cabinet. He crept into the couple's bedroom, first

shooting 66-year-old Joe Pittman in his open mouth, then firing into

the back of 62-year-old Joy Pittman's head.

then set the house on fire and drove off in the family car. When

he got stuck on a dirt road 20 miles away, he told hunters he was kidnapped

by a man who killed his grandparents, set the fire, drove him into the woods

and ran away.

was living with his father's parents in hopes of turning his

life around. He told defense experts he felt abandoned by his mother and his

relationship with his father was rocky. No one answered phone calls to Joe

Pittman's home.

A month before the slayings, was hospitalized in Florida, where

his father lives, after he threatened to kill himself. The boy was

prescribed the antidepressant Paxil, but another doctor soon put him on

Zoloft instead.

Pittman decided to send the boy to live with his grandparents in Chester

County, a rural area between Columbia and Charlotte, N.C.

, who turns 16 in April, is being prosecuted as an adult and

faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted at his trial, set to start

next month. His lawyers argue that his case should be moved to Family Court,

where, if convicted, he could be kept in custody only until he turns 21.

Menzies, one of 's attorneys and a lawyer specializing in

lawsuits against antidepressant makers, said medical research was available

to support the Zoloft defense.

In the three years the teenager has spent in jail awaiting trial, the FDA

has become increasingly wary of doctors prescribing Zoloft and other

antidepressants for children.

In October, the agency ordered the drugs to carry " black box " warnings - the

government's strongest warning short of a ban - about increasing the risk of

suicidal behavior in children.

" The science has been out there for a while. The prescription drug companies

have been able to hide it, " Menzies said.

On the other side is Pfizer Inc., the maker of Zoloft, which has aided the

prosecution, according to Solicitor Justice, who has since taken

himself off the case for health reasons.

The company has vigorously fought cases claiming antidepressants cause

violent or suicidal behavior.

A spokesman responded to inquiries by pointing out an October statement on

the company's Web site addressing concerns of suicide attempts, saying

studies show " no statistically significant difference " between children

using Zoloft and nonusers. The statement, though, does not discuss any

possible link between the drug and violent acts against others.

Trying to blame a drug for causing someone to commit a crime is an uphill

fight, but it has been done successfully.

In April, a Santa Cruz, Calif., jury acquitted a man of attempted murder

after he beat his friend, then blamed the episode on Zoloft.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers spokesman Jack King said

the " Zoloft-made-me-do-it " defense likely means that the Pittman case will

come down to defense vs. prosecution experts.

" It's going to be a battle of whose experts the jury believes, " King said.

's maternal grandmother, Delnora Duprey, of Wildwood, Fla., said

her grandson was no longer on any medication and is the " sweet, quiet,

laid-back " boy she knew growing up. " He's the old again. "

Menzies said the teenager is getting good grades and behaving behind bars.

Duprey says the " whole entire family is behind 150 percent. " She

thinks Zoloft had to have caused to kill his grandparents

because he loved them both, especially the grandfather he called Pop-Pop.

" We used to joke that he was his Pop-Pop's shadow, " Duprey said.

However, those who dealt with the boy after the crime feel differently.

" Anybody who could kill his grandparents in the fashion he did shouldn't be

let loose on the public at age 21. And that would have been the best-case

scenario, " said former prosecutor Justice, who pushed to move the case to

adult court.

The current prosecutor, Barney Giese of Columbia, declined to talk about the

case.

Chester County Sheriff Robbie Benson said interviews with left

him shaken because he could not believe the lack of remorse: " This was

cold-blooded. "

Menzies said those observations might help her case.

" The boy was still suffering from the side-effects of this medication after

the incident, " she said. " I think we see a different now. "

[Guest guest]

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/10448843.htm?1c

Posted on Sun, Dec. 19, 2004

Teen says antidepressant made him kill grandparents

He was 12 and taking Zoloft. Prosecutors say it's a case of cold-blooded

murder.

By

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Joe Pittman's hands shook as he read his son's confession

to a roomful of strangers during a Food and Drug Administration hearing in

Washington.

" I took everything out on my grandparents, who I loved so very much, " wrote

Pittman. " When I was lying in my bed that night, I couldn't

sleep because my voice in my head kept echoing through my mind, telling me

to kill them. "

Authorities say three years ago, , then 12, shot his grandparents

as they slept in their rural home because they had scolded him for fighting

on the school bus.

Joe Pittman thinks his son killed because his sense of right and wrong was

clouded by Zoloft, an antidepressant medication. He spoke out against the

drug in a hearing earlier this year. The boy, who had threatened suicide,

was put on the drug three weeks before the slayings, and his dose was

doubled two days earlier.

But prosecutors and police say 's actions during and after the

November 2001 slayings show he clearly knew what he was doing was wrong.

The boy waited until his grandparents were sleeping and took a pump-action

shotgun from a gun cabinet. He crept into the couple's bedroom, first

shooting 66-year-old Joe Pittman in his open mouth, then firing into

the back of 62-year-old Joy Pittman's head.

then set the house on fire and drove off in the family car. When

he got stuck on a dirt road 20 miles away, he told hunters he was kidnapped

by a man who killed his grandparents, set the fire, drove him into the woods

and ran away.

was living with his father's parents in hopes of turning his

life around. He told defense experts he felt abandoned by his mother and his

relationship with his father was rocky. No one answered phone calls to Joe

Pittman's home.

A month before the slayings, was hospitalized in Florida, where

his father lives, after he threatened to kill himself. The boy was

prescribed the antidepressant Paxil, but another doctor soon put him on

Zoloft instead.

Pittman decided to send the boy to live with his grandparents in Chester

County, a rural area between Columbia and Charlotte, N.C.

, who turns 16 in April, is being prosecuted as an adult and

faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted at his trial, set to start

next month. His lawyers argue that his case should be moved to Family Court,

where, if convicted, he could be kept in custody only until he turns 21.

Menzies, one of 's attorneys and a lawyer specializing in

lawsuits against antidepressant makers, said medical research was available

to support the Zoloft defense.

In the three years the teenager has spent in jail awaiting trial, the FDA

has become increasingly wary of doctors prescribing Zoloft and other

antidepressants for children.

In October, the agency ordered the drugs to carry " black box " warnings - the

government's strongest warning short of a ban - about increasing the risk of

suicidal behavior in children.

" The science has been out there for a while. The prescription drug companies

have been able to hide it, " Menzies said.

On the other side is Pfizer Inc., the maker of Zoloft, which has aided the

prosecution, according to Solicitor Justice, who has since taken

himself off the case for health reasons.

The company has vigorously fought cases claiming antidepressants cause

violent or suicidal behavior.

A spokesman responded to inquiries by pointing out an October statement on

the company's Web site addressing concerns of suicide attempts, saying

studies show " no statistically significant difference " between children

using Zoloft and nonusers. The statement, though, does not discuss any

possible link between the drug and violent acts against others.

Trying to blame a drug for causing someone to commit a crime is an uphill

fight, but it has been done successfully.

In April, a Santa Cruz, Calif., jury acquitted a man of attempted murder

after he beat his friend, then blamed the episode on Zoloft.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers spokesman Jack King said

the " Zoloft-made-me-do-it " defense likely means that the Pittman case will

come down to defense vs. prosecution experts.

" It's going to be a battle of whose experts the jury believes, " King said.

's maternal grandmother, Delnora Duprey, of Wildwood, Fla., said

her grandson was no longer on any medication and is the " sweet, quiet,

laid-back " boy she knew growing up. " He's the old again. "

Menzies said the teenager is getting good grades and behaving behind bars.

Duprey says the " whole entire family is behind 150 percent. " She

thinks Zoloft had to have caused to kill his grandparents

because he loved them both, especially the grandfather he called Pop-Pop.

" We used to joke that he was his Pop-Pop's shadow, " Duprey said.

However, those who dealt with the boy after the crime feel differently.

" Anybody who could kill his grandparents in the fashion he did shouldn't be

let loose on the public at age 21. And that would have been the best-case

scenario, " said former prosecutor Justice, who pushed to move the case to

adult court.

The current prosecutor, Barney Giese of Columbia, declined to talk about the

case.

Chester County Sheriff Robbie Benson said interviews with left

him shaken because he could not believe the lack of remorse: " This was

cold-blooded. "

Menzies said those observations might help her case.

" The boy was still suffering from the side-effects of this medication after

the incident, " she said. " I think we see a different now. "

[Guest guest]

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/10448843.htm?1c

Posted on Sun, Dec. 19, 2004

Teen says antidepressant made him kill grandparents

He was 12 and taking Zoloft. Prosecutors say it's a case of cold-blooded

murder.

By

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Joe Pittman's hands shook as he read his son's confession

to a roomful of strangers during a Food and Drug Administration hearing in

Washington.

" I took everything out on my grandparents, who I loved so very much, " wrote

Pittman. " When I was lying in my bed that night, I couldn't

sleep because my voice in my head kept echoing through my mind, telling me

to kill them. "

Authorities say three years ago, , then 12, shot his grandparents

as they slept in their rural home because they had scolded him for fighting

on the school bus.

Joe Pittman thinks his son killed because his sense of right and wrong was

clouded by Zoloft, an antidepressant medication. He spoke out against the

drug in a hearing earlier this year. The boy, who had threatened suicide,

was put on the drug three weeks before the slayings, and his dose was

doubled two days earlier.

But prosecutors and police say 's actions during and after the

November 2001 slayings show he clearly knew what he was doing was wrong.

The boy waited until his grandparents were sleeping and took a pump-action

shotgun from a gun cabinet. He crept into the couple's bedroom, first

shooting 66-year-old Joe Pittman in his open mouth, then firing into

the back of 62-year-old Joy Pittman's head.

then set the house on fire and drove off in the family car. When

he got stuck on a dirt road 20 miles away, he told hunters he was kidnapped

by a man who killed his grandparents, set the fire, drove him into the woods

and ran away.

was living with his father's parents in hopes of turning his

life around. He told defense experts he felt abandoned by his mother and his

relationship with his father was rocky. No one answered phone calls to Joe

Pittman's home.

A month before the slayings, was hospitalized in Florida, where

his father lives, after he threatened to kill himself. The boy was

prescribed the antidepressant Paxil, but another doctor soon put him on

Zoloft instead.

Pittman decided to send the boy to live with his grandparents in Chester

County, a rural area between Columbia and Charlotte, N.C.

, who turns 16 in April, is being prosecuted as an adult and

faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted at his trial, set to start

next month. His lawyers argue that his case should be moved to Family Court,

where, if convicted, he could be kept in custody only until he turns 21.

Menzies, one of 's attorneys and a lawyer specializing in

lawsuits against antidepressant makers, said medical research was available

to support the Zoloft defense.

In the three years the teenager has spent in jail awaiting trial, the FDA

has become increasingly wary of doctors prescribing Zoloft and other

antidepressants for children.

In October, the agency ordered the drugs to carry " black box " warnings - the

government's strongest warning short of a ban - about increasing the risk of

suicidal behavior in children.

" The science has been out there for a while. The prescription drug companies

have been able to hide it, " Menzies said.

On the other side is Pfizer Inc., the maker of Zoloft, which has aided the

prosecution, according to Solicitor Justice, who has since taken

himself off the case for health reasons.

The company has vigorously fought cases claiming antidepressants cause

violent or suicidal behavior.

A spokesman responded to inquiries by pointing out an October statement on

the company's Web site addressing concerns of suicide attempts, saying

studies show " no statistically significant difference " between children

using Zoloft and nonusers. The statement, though, does not discuss any

possible link between the drug and violent acts against others.

Trying to blame a drug for causing someone to commit a crime is an uphill

fight, but it has been done successfully.

In April, a Santa Cruz, Calif., jury acquitted a man of attempted murder

after he beat his friend, then blamed the episode on Zoloft.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers spokesman Jack King said

the " Zoloft-made-me-do-it " defense likely means that the Pittman case will

come down to defense vs. prosecution experts.

" It's going to be a battle of whose experts the jury believes, " King said.

's maternal grandmother, Delnora Duprey, of Wildwood, Fla., said

her grandson was no longer on any medication and is the " sweet, quiet,

laid-back " boy she knew growing up. " He's the old again. "

Menzies said the teenager is getting good grades and behaving behind bars.

Duprey says the " whole entire family is behind 150 percent. " She

thinks Zoloft had to have caused to kill his grandparents

because he loved them both, especially the grandfather he called Pop-Pop.

" We used to joke that he was his Pop-Pop's shadow, " Duprey said.

However, those who dealt with the boy after the crime feel differently.

" Anybody who could kill his grandparents in the fashion he did shouldn't be

let loose on the public at age 21. And that would have been the best-case

scenario, " said former prosecutor Justice, who pushed to move the case to

adult court.

The current prosecutor, Barney Giese of Columbia, declined to talk about the

case.

Chester County Sheriff Robbie Benson said interviews with left

him shaken because he could not believe the lack of remorse: " This was

cold-blooded. "

Menzies said those observations might help her case.

" The boy was still suffering from the side-effects of this medication after

the incident, " she said. " I think we see a different now. "

[Guest guest]

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/10448843.htm?1c

Posted on Sun, Dec. 19, 2004

Teen says antidepressant made him kill grandparents

He was 12 and taking Zoloft. Prosecutors say it's a case of cold-blooded

murder.

By

Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Joe Pittman's hands shook as he read his son's confession

to a roomful of strangers during a Food and Drug Administration hearing in

Washington.

" I took everything out on my grandparents, who I loved so very much, " wrote

Pittman. " When I was lying in my bed that night, I couldn't

sleep because my voice in my head kept echoing through my mind, telling me

to kill them. "

Authorities say three years ago, , then 12, shot his grandparents

as they slept in their rural home because they had scolded him for fighting

on the school bus.

Joe Pittman thinks his son killed because his sense of right and wrong was

clouded by Zoloft, an antidepressant medication. He spoke out against the

drug in a hearing earlier this year. The boy, who had threatened suicide,

was put on the drug three weeks before the slayings, and his dose was

doubled two days earlier.

But prosecutors and police say 's actions during and after the

November 2001 slayings show he clearly knew what he was doing was wrong.

The boy waited until his grandparents were sleeping and took a pump-action

shotgun from a gun cabinet. He crept into the couple's bedroom, first

shooting 66-year-old Joe Pittman in his open mouth, then firing into

the back of 62-year-old Joy Pittman's head.

then set the house on fire and drove off in the family car. When

he got stuck on a dirt road 20 miles away, he told hunters he was kidnapped

by a man who killed his grandparents, set the fire, drove him into the woods

and ran away.

was living with his father's parents in hopes of turning his

life around. He told defense experts he felt abandoned by his mother and his

relationship with his father was rocky. No one answered phone calls to Joe

Pittman's home.

A month before the slayings, was hospitalized in Florida, where

his father lives, after he threatened to kill himself. The boy was

prescribed the antidepressant Paxil, but another doctor soon put him on

Zoloft instead.

Pittman decided to send the boy to live with his grandparents in Chester

County, a rural area between Columbia and Charlotte, N.C.

, who turns 16 in April, is being prosecuted as an adult and

faces 30 years to life in prison if convicted at his trial, set to start

next month. His lawyers argue that his case should be moved to Family Court,

where, if convicted, he could be kept in custody only until he turns 21.

Menzies, one of 's attorneys and a lawyer specializing in

lawsuits against antidepressant makers, said medical research was available

to support the Zoloft defense.

In the three years the teenager has spent in jail awaiting trial, the FDA

has become increasingly wary of doctors prescribing Zoloft and other

antidepressants for children.

In October, the agency ordered the drugs to carry " black box " warnings - the

government's strongest warning short of a ban - about increasing the risk of

suicidal behavior in children.

" The science has been out there for a while. The prescription drug companies

have been able to hide it, " Menzies said.

On the other side is Pfizer Inc., the maker of Zoloft, which has aided the

prosecution, according to Solicitor Justice, who has since taken

himself off the case for health reasons.

The company has vigorously fought cases claiming antidepressants cause

violent or suicidal behavior.

A spokesman responded to inquiries by pointing out an October statement on

the company's Web site addressing concerns of suicide attempts, saying

studies show " no statistically significant difference " between children

using Zoloft and nonusers. The statement, though, does not discuss any

possible link between the drug and violent acts against others.

Trying to blame a drug for causing someone to commit a crime is an uphill

fight, but it has been done successfully.

In April, a Santa Cruz, Calif., jury acquitted a man of attempted murder

after he beat his friend, then blamed the episode on Zoloft.

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers spokesman Jack King said

the " Zoloft-made-me-do-it " defense likely means that the Pittman case will

come down to defense vs. prosecution experts.

" It's going to be a battle of whose experts the jury believes, " King said.

's maternal grandmother, Delnora Duprey, of Wildwood, Fla., said

her grandson was no longer on any medication and is the " sweet, quiet,

laid-back " boy she knew growing up. " He's the old again. "

Menzies said the teenager is getting good grades and behaving behind bars.

Duprey says the " whole entire family is behind 150 percent. " She

thinks Zoloft had to have caused to kill his grandparents

because he loved them both, especially the grandfather he called Pop-Pop.

" We used to joke that he was his Pop-Pop's shadow, " Duprey said.

However, those who dealt with the boy after the crime feel differently.

" Anybody who could kill his grandparents in the fashion he did shouldn't be

let loose on the public at age 21. And that would have been the best-case

scenario, " said former prosecutor Justice, who pushed to move the case to

adult court.

The current prosecutor, Barney Giese of Columbia, declined to talk about the

case.

Chester County Sheriff Robbie Benson said interviews with left

him shaken because he could not believe the lack of remorse: " This was

cold-blooded. "

Menzies said those observations might help her case.

" The boy was still suffering from the side-effects of this medication after

the incident, " she said. " I think we see a different now. "