The legal aftermath of a tragedy unfolds as Jensen Pike, currently incarcerated and the father of the late Emily Pike, considers a civil lawsuit against Sacred Journey Inc., the Mesa group home responsible for his daughter's care before her death. According to an ABC15 report, nearly three months have passed since the 14-year-old's disappearance and subsequent murder, prompting Pike's family to work with Phillips Law Group to explore legal options. "We want justice, we want to find out exactly what happened to Emily and if it could have been prevented by the group home that was in charge for caring for her," Olivia Lemorrocco, a spokesperson for the law firm, told ABC15.
Despite the ongoing investigation by the Gila County Sheriff’s Office, which is still without a primary suspect, no arrests have been made yet. Pike's family is pushing forward with the lawsuit against the group home, hoping to effect change and prevent future neglect. Emily was last seen alive on January 27 and found dead on February 14, her remains discovered dismembered in trash bags approximately 100 miles from the group home, she was in Mesa, as reported by AZFamily.
Delving into the group home's accountability, Lemorrocco pointed out to AZFamily, "Did the group home follow all the rules and regulations that were supposed to be followed? And could this have been prevented ultimately, is a big question." The lawsuit argues that Sacred Journey Inc. might be liable due to potential failure in adhering to safety protocols, and a lack of staff training to identify precursors to a child's potential flight from the facility.
In the face of this legal scrutiny and the grave circumstances leading up to Emily Pike's disappearance and death, Sacred Journey Inc. and its leadership remain officially unresponsive to inquiries into the lawsuit, and the Arizona Department of Child Safety maintains that the group home was not at fault for the outcome about the case. The department believes the group home's actions did not cause the terrible outcome, a statement made before the initiation of the lawsuit. Meanwhile, with support and advocacy from the community and loved ones, the visibility of Emily Pike's case gets amplified through additional billboards, in hopes of drawing out more information and possible leads.
As the family and legal team await further developments in both the criminal and civil aspects of this trying saga, the impending lawsuit looms as both a call for justice for Emily and a potential catalyst for systemic reform within the group home system, so that tragedies like this do not occur in the future, Lemorrocco signifies the proximity of legal action, stating, "We don’t have an exact timeline of when this will happen, but we know it’s imminent in the near future," as she informed ABC15.
