Man Accused Of Killing Grandparents Could Get New Trial

Former Chester County Sheriff Robby Benson said he believes his detectives put together the best possible case against a convicted double-murderer.

“They did a great job in how they handled the case. We made sure we had everything right," Benson said on Wednesday.

He told Eyewitness News he never expected Christopher Pittman would get a new trial and another chance at freedom, but that's exactly what happened on Tuesday. A judge threw out Pittman's conviction, writing that his defense team erred by not pursuing a plea deal instead of going to trial.

Pittman was 12 years old in November 2001, when police said he murdered his grandparents, Joe and Joy Pittman, in their Chester County home. Police said he shot them both in their beds late at night, placed candles on the floor to light the house on fire and then drove off in their SUV.

When he crashed the SUV and was found in Cherokee County, he told police a black man had killed his grandparents and abducted him. Detectives said they saw holes in the story and also noticed that the driver's seat in the Nissan SUV was pushed all the way up, like a short person had driven it, instead of a tall man as Pittman had told them.

Within hours, police said the 12-year-old confessed to the killings and told detectives his grandparents got what they deserved.

At his trial, his defense lawyers tried to blame the anti-depressant drug Zoloft, arguing that it caused Pittman to have violent thoughts about killing, and influenced his actions. The jury didn't buy it, and Pittman was sent to prison for 30 years.

He's now 21, and a new trial means he could go free. Family members reacted with joy to the news. Pittman's maternal grandmother, Delnora Duprey, spoke to Eyewitness News by phone on Wednesday.

“We are very, very thankful and pleased with the decision," Duprey said. She also said she'd spoken to Pittman about the news on Tuesday night.

"He'd heard the news, and he was very excited," she said.

Eyewitness News contacted Andy Vickery, Pittman's lead attorney in the murder trial, to get his opinion on the judge's ruling that he had made mistakes.

Vickery's wife, Carol, would not address that issue, but said this about Pittman: “I am delighted that for whatever reason, Chris Pittman will have another chance at justice.”

Benson said he thinks Pittman is still a danger to the community, and doesn't want to see him on the streets.

"You don't kill your own family, try to cover the scene up, leave, make up a story, and then say, ‘I didn't mean to do it,’" Benson said. “If his own family makes him mad, and he's going to kill them, what's he going to do to someone out on the streets?"

The state attorney general office is appealing the judges' ruling. For now, a retrial date has not been set. It's also not known where it would be held, or who would prosecute the case.