Kristen Avery Pittman (born April 9, 1989 as Christopher Frank Pittman in Franklin, Massachusetts) was 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 both her age at the time of the crime and her defense that paranormal entities had 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 to a facility for troubled or runaway children. She was confined there for six days. While there, she was put on Paxil for mild depression. 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 had run out on her twice and a father whom Pittman claimed to have been abusive. Her doctor in Chester, having no samples of Paxil to give Pittman, gave her samples of 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. 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." 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. Risks from overdose include potential "manic reactions." Events Pittman had an argument on the school bus, choked a fellow student, and later disturbed the person playing piano in her church. 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. After the murder she set fire to the house using a candle and papers. Pittman took her grandparents' car, their guns, her dog, and $33 and left.