The father of Emily Pike has filed a civil lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against the Mesa group home that had the San Carlos Apache teen in its custody before she went missing and was murdered.
The seven-page complaint alleges Sacred Journey Inc. staff were negligent and “failed to reasonably watch, supervise, care for and protect” Emily while in their care — blaming them for her “wrongful death” through their action or inaction.
Back in February, Emily's dismembered body was discovered in garbage bags tossed along an Arizona highway within the Tonto National Forest — over 100 miles away from where she was last seen at the Valley group home.
“The question is, if they had kept her safe, would this have happened?” said Olivia Lemorrocco, vice president of operations at Phillips Law Group. “We don’t know. What we’re focusing on here is, what could the group home have done better, what did they not do to keep Emily safe.”
The Department of Child Safety found, back in April, a few deficiencies but once the facility corrected them, no further action was taken by the state agency.
“Their investigation came too late, unfortunately for Emily,” she added. “I know they’ve made small changes, but it doesn’t change the facts of what happened. She wasn’t kept safe, there was negligence on their behalf and she was ultimately murdered.”
The personal injury law firm in Phoenix is representing Emily's biological dad, Jensen Pike, who has been behind bars since before she disappeared in late January — and could be released as early as next month. He's seeking unspecified damages for being forever deprived of his 14-year-old daughter’s “love.”
“You know, I can’t speak for any other family member or Emily’s mom. The answer is, I don’t know if she’s pursuing anything,” Lemorrocco said. “Whether it would be somebody that we could represent or not, we will always point them in the right direction and give them the best you know, legal counsel that we can.”
Sacred Journey Inc. did not respond to KJZZ for comment, but has 20 days to reply to the complaint that also looks to recoup funeral and burial costs. The San Carlos Apache Tribe provided at least $5,000 for Emily's memorial services — a perk of being an enrolled tribal member — but that funeral package didn’t cover everything.
“I cannot confirm where the funds came from directly,” she explained, “but what I can tell you is that the funeral expenses far exceeded $5,000 as many family members had to travel in. As you know, that adds up very quickly.”
