{{Short description|American murderer (born 1989)}} {{Update|date=August 2023}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox criminal | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1989|4|9}} | locations = Chester, South Carolina, U.S. | fatalities = 2 | weapon = Shotgun | criminal_penalty = Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years | criminal_status = Paroled | birth_name = Christopher Frank Pittman }} '''Kristen Avery Pittman'''<ref name=":0" /> (born '''Christopher Frank Pittman''', April 9, 1989) is an American criminal convicted in 2005 of murdering her grandparents, Joe and Joy Pittman, on November 28, 2001, when she was 12 years old. The case drew national attention due to her age and her defense that Zoloft influenced her actions. Pittman was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.
==Medication== At age twelve, Pittman ran away from home twice, threatened suicide, was picked up by police, and confined for six days to a facility for troubled or runaway children. While there, she was put on Paxil for mild depression.<ref>{{Cite web | last=Polk, Jim | title=Psychiatrists offer differing views at teen's double murder trial | work=CNN Justice| access-date=2012-02-08 | date=2005-02-10| url=https://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/02/10/zoloft.trial/index.html | archive-url=https://archive.today/20120709125346/http://articles.cnn.com/2005-02-10/justice/zoloft.trial_1_zoloft-christopher-pittman-forensic-psychiatrist?_s=PM:LAW | url-status=live | archive-date=2012-07-09}}</ref> Her father, Joe, sent her away from their home in Oxford, Florida, to live with her grandparents in Chester, South Carolina. Her paternal grandparents had been a source of stability to her for years in a life with a mother who left her twice<ref>{{Cite news| last=Dewan| first=Shaila| title=The New York Times > National > Jurors in Boy's Murder Trial Consider if Zoloft Is to Blame| accessdate=2012-02-09| date=2005-02-15| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/national/15zoloft.html| newspaper = The New York Times| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121224022215/http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/15/national/15zoloft.html| archive-date=2012-12-24| url-status=live}}</ref> and a father whom Pittman claimed was abusive.<ref name="48hours">{{Cite web| last=Leung| first=Rebecca| title=Prescription For Murder? - CBS News| work=48 Hours| access-date=2012-02-09| date=2009-02-11| url=http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/13/48hours/main687855.shtml| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131101620/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/13/48hours/main687855.shtml| archive-date=2011-01-31| url-status=dead}}</ref>
With no samples of Paxil, Pittman's doctor in Chester gave her Zoloft instead. Although both drugs are SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) with similar modes of selective action, abruptly substituting one for the other is usually not advisable.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} 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."<ref name="48hours" /> She purportedly experienced a burning sensation all over her body which required pain medication. She complained about the side effects of the drug. At a subsequent doctor's visit, her dosage was increased from 25 mg daily to 50 mg daily. Zoloft does have several side-effects in children, including aggravated depression, abnormal dreams, paranoid reactions, hallucinations, aggressive behavior, and delusions.<ref>{{cite web |title=Zoloft |url=http://www.zoloft.com/index.aspx |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100829174223/http://www.zoloft.com/index.aspx |archivedate=2010-08-29}}</ref> Risks from overdose include potential "manic reactions."
==Murders== On November 28, 2001, Pittman had an argument on the school bus, choked a fellow student, and later disturbed the piano player at her church. That night, after her grandfather paddled her for attempting to leave her room when told not to, Pittman entered her grandparents' bedroom and murdered them with their shotgun. She then set fire to the house using a candle and papers. Pittman took her grandparents' car, their guns, her dog, and $33, and left. She was picked up after getting stuck two counties away. Before confessing, she told a story that large black male murdered her grandparents, set fire to the house, and kidnapped her. When she ultimately confessed, she proclaimed that her grandparents deserved what they got. Pittman's father testified that her Zoloft dosage was doubled two days before the incident.<ref name="48hours" />
==Trial and appeals== On Monday, January 31, 2005, three years after the murders, her trial as an adult began. The case involved several important issues, including considerations of mental capacity regarding her age and the impact of Zoloft on her mental state.<ref name="CNN" /> There was also a consideration of whether her crime was murder or some form of manslaughter.<ref name="48hours" /> Ultimately, trial focused on the Zoloft. The prosecution focused on proving that Pittman knew the difference between right and wrong, and her culpable mental status was proven by the fact that she planned to cover the crime and escape before the fire started (by use of the candle), and the steps she took while fleeing the scene.<ref>{{Cite news| last=Weiss| first=Debra Cassens| title=Zoloft Defense Loses in S.C.| work=ABA Journal| accessdate=2012-02-09| date=2007-06-12| url=http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/zoloft_defense_loses_in_sc/| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926203708/http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/zoloft_defense_loses_in_sc| archive-date=2015-09-26| url-status=live}}</ref>
On February 15, 2005, Pittman was convicted of murder and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Some controversy existed about the verdict: two jurors admitted feeling coerced into their decision, and another juror discussed the trial with his wife and bartender during deliberations.<ref name="scsc" /><ref>[http://www.silive.com/columnists/le...64607172990.xml Unknown]{{Dead link|date=December 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> On October 5, 2006, the South Carolina Supreme Court heard oral arguments on his appeal.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/supreme/dspSupRosterMenu.cfm?CurrentDate=10%2F08%2F2006 |title=Supreme Court - Roster of Cases for Hearing |access-date=2020-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221131610/http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/supreme/dspSupRosterMenu.cfm?CurrentDate=10%2F08%2F2006 |archive-date=2014-02-21 |url-status=live}}</ref> A petition to pardon Pittman was also presented then. The justices were also asked to postpone moving Pittman to an adult penitentiary, but the delay was denied. On June 11, 2007, the Court affirmed Pittman's conviction by a vote of 4-1.<ref name="scsc">{{cite court |litigants=The State v. Christopher Frank Pitman |vol= |reporter= |opinion=26339 |court=South Carolina Supreme Court |date=11 June 2007 |url=http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/opinions/displayOpinion.cfm?caseNo=26339 |archive-date=6 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306045659/http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/opinions/displayOpinion.cfm?caseNo=26339 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/156511.html Unknown]{{dead link|date=February 2012 | fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Discovery Channel later in 2006 aired an episode of ''48 Hours'' devoted to the case. 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 a child).<ref name="CNN"> {{cite web |last=Mears |first=Bill |title=Supreme Court turns down boy killer's appeal |work=CNN Justice |publisher=CNN |date=14 April 2008 |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2008-04-14/justice/juvenile.killer_1_christopher-pittman-lawyers-high-court?_s=PM:CRIME |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130119124422/http://articles.cnn.com/2008-04-14/justice/juvenile.killer_1_christopher-pittman-lawyers-high-court?_s=PM:CRIME |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 January 2013 |accessdate=6 February 2012 }}</ref>
On July 27, 2010, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Roger Young approved Pittman's post conviction relief petition and granted her a new trial based on a finding of ineffective counsel.<ref>{{cite web | last=Kropf | first=Schuyler | title=Pittman granted new trial in grandparents' murder | work=The Post and Courier | publisher=Evening Post Publishing Company | date=27 July 2010 | url=http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jul/27/pittman-granted-new-trial-grandparents-murder/ | format= | access-date=6 February 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114012947/http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/jul/27/pittman-granted-new-trial-grandparents-murder/ | archive-date=14 January 2012 | url-status=dead}}</ref> In November 2010, Judge Young refused a request by the state to reconsider this decision.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dys |first=Andrew |title=Judge refuses to overturn ruling to give Christopher Pittman a new murder trial |work=heraldonline |date=30 November 2010 |url=http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/11/30/2649960/judge-refuses-to-overturn-ruling.html |accessdate=6 February 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120203211122/http://www.heraldonline.com/2010/11/30/2649960/judge-refuses-to-overturn-ruling.html |archivedate=3 February 2012 }}</ref> In December 2010, Pittman entered into a plea bargain by which she pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received a 25-year sentence including time served from a 30-year to life sentence.<ref>{{cite web | last=Kinnard | first=Meg | title=Pittman takes plea deal in Zoloft defense case | work=The Post and Courier | publisher=Evening Post Publishing Company | date=9 December 2010 | url=http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/dec/09/sc-man-takes-plea-deal-zoloft-defense-case/ | access-date=6 February 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211093516/http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/dec/09/sc-man-takes-plea-deal-zoloft-defense-case/ | archive-date=11 February 2012 | url-status=dead}}</ref> She was imprisoned in the Allendale Correctional Institution with a projected release date of 22 February 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Dys |first=Andrew |date=28 July 2016 |title=South Carolina's youngest killer remains in prison |url=https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/andrew-dys/article50716905.html |work=Rock Hill Herald}}</ref>
After she was released on February 22, 2023, she had to complete two years of state supervision through a South Carolina probation office.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web | author=Dys, Andrew | date=2023-01-20 | title=SC killer prosecuted as adult at age 12. Chester's Pittman, now 33, set for release | website=heraldonline | url=https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/crime/article271325157.html}}</ref>
== Personal life == Pittman is a transgender woman, saying her family had known this "since [she] was 12 years old".<ref name=":0" />
Pittman filed a lawsuit against prison officials in South Carolina, requesting gender confirmation surgery and prescription hormone medication while in prison. The treatment was denied and the lawsuit was dismissed.<ref name=":0" />
==References== <references/>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittman, Kristen}} Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:American people convicted of murder Category:Minors convicted of murder Category:People convicted of murder by South Carolina Category:People from Sumter County, Florida Category:People from Chester, South Carolina Category:American transgender women Category:American female murderers Category:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment