At age twelve Pittman ran away from home twice, threatened suicide, was picked up by police, and confined to a facility for troubled or runaway children.
Her paternal grandparents had been a source of stability to her for years in a life with a mother who had run out on her twice[2] and a father whom Pittman claimed to have been abusive.
[citation needed] Almost immediately Pittman allegedly began to experience negative side-effects from the new medication; her sister went so far as to describe her as "manic.
Zoloft does have several side-effects in children, including aggravated depression, abnormal dreams, paranoid reactions, hallucinations, aggressive behavior and delusions.
That night, November 28, 2001, after being paddled by her grandfather for attempting to leave her room when she was told not to, Pittman went into her grandparents' bedroom and murdered them with their own shotgun which she had been taught how to use.
The prosecution focused on proving that Pittman did know the difference between right and wrong, and her culpable mental status was revealed by such factors as planning the cover up such that she would escape before the fire started (by use of the candle), and the steps she took during her flight from the scene.
On April 14, 2008, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal, which was based on an Eighth Amendment claim of cruel and unusual punishment (lengthy sentence for child).
[5] On July 27, 2010, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Roger Young approved Pitman's post conviction relief petition and granted her a new trial based on a finding of ineffective counsel.