Zoloft Blamed in Grandparents' Death

Sept. 9, 2004 -- Christopher Pittman was only 12 when he allegedly gunned down his grandparents in their South Carolina home — and he blames the antidepressant Zoloft for the slayings.

Pittman, now 15, faces two charges of first-degree murder and will be tried as an adult for the November 2001 shooting deaths of Joe Frank and Joy Roberts Pittman. His case focuses on an ongoing debate over whether antidepressants can cause violent reactions in children and teenagers.

Chester County prosecutors say Pittman confessed to killing his grandparents before setting their house on fire and fleeing in the family car. At the time of the slayings, he was being treated for depression. Pittman's father had sent him to live with his paternal grandparents in October 2001 and shortly thereafter a doctor had prescribed Zoloft to the boy.

A month later, Pittman allegedly killed his grandparents. He and defense attorneys blame the killings on an adverse reaction to the antidepressant.

"I didn't notice a change in my behavior until I was off the medication," Pittman said in a statement his father read earlier this year at a hearing before Food and Drug Administration officials. "It made me hate everyone. The smallest things made me blow up. And I started getting into fights, which was not me. I just hated the whole world for no apparent reason. … Then I snapped. I took everything out on my grandparents, who I loved so very much."

Drug Maker Denies Link

In an interview with Good Morning America today, Pittman's maternal grandmother insisted that he had never shown signs of violence before he was placed on Zoloft and that the pills drove him to kill.

"I've known Chris since birth. He [Pittman] was quiet, shy, definitely nonviolent … [there was] never even a detention notice from school," Delnora Duprey said. "The child that he is today is not the child that killed his grandparents, and something had to have done that."

Pfizer, the maker of Zoloft, has cooperated with prosecutors in Pittman's case. The company opted not to send a representative to the live interview on Good Morning America but said that no regulatory agency has ever found a connection between Zoloft and suicidal or homicidal tendencies.

"In 2004, FDA again reviewed this issue with specific respect to children and again concluded that there was no difference between the rates of suicidal thoughts or behaviors between Zoloft and placebo treated patients," Pfizer said in its statement.

Not in His Character

However, Pittman's defense attorneys said Pfizer bases its arguments on data gathered from groups of people and has not considered the unique effects Zoloft may have on individuals.

"What they're [Pfizer] talking about is rates in a population. They're not talking about individuals," said Andy Vickery, one of Pittman's attorneys. "The question is what affected this young man's mind, and we intend to show that this young man was under the influence of a very powerful mind-altering drug designed to affect the very chemical in the brain that affects violence and aggression."

Pittman had a troubled past before the killings. According to medical reports, he told a forensic psychiatrist with the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice that he was abandoned by his mother and that his relationship with his father was troubled. He had been hospitalized for threatening to kill himself.

However, despite his depression before the slayings, Pittman, his attorneys say, never acted out violently against anyone before he was prescribed Zoloft.

"The stronger evidence shows it was not in his character to behave this way," said Karen Menzies. "As soon as he started taking the medication, everyone saw his behavior change."

New FDA Findings Expected

In recent months, the FDA has examined data from clinical trials that indicate that some children and teenagers taking some antidepressants think more about suicide and attempt it more often than patients who are given placebos. The administration has been reviewing data for months and is expected to release its findings on whether or not some antidepressants may cause children to become violent or kill in a report later this month.

Meanwhile, Pittman's trial has been delayed from this fall to give the new prosecutor time to prepare. Chester County solicitor John Justice gave up the case because of a health problem.