MARICOPA COUNTY, AZ — The Mesa group home where Emily Pike was living prior to her murder has denied all of the allegations in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the teen's dad.
Phillip's Law Group originally filed a civil suit on behalf of Jensen Pike in Maricopa County back in August. In September, the law firm filed an amended complaint.
Both filings named Sacred Journey Inc., which was operating the group home where the San Carlos Apache teen was living before she was reported missing in January.
Just weeks later, Emily was found murdered about 20 miles northeast of Globe.
The amended complaint alleged negligence and negligent hiring/retention, naming specifically Sacred Journey.
"At all relevant times, Defendant Sacred Journey, Inc. knew or should have known that Defendants John and Jane Doe Employees 1-5 each was an inexperienced, reckless, and negligent employee," said the amended complaint.
ABC15 has previously reported that Emily's dad, Jensen Pike, is currently behind bars in prison. The teen was in the care of Tribal Social Services, but the Valley group home where she was living is licensed by the state.
Olivia Lemorrocco, the Vice President of Operations for Phillip's Law Group, told ABC15 she has met Jensen.
"The end goal for this lawsuit is justice," said Lemorrocco.
She said they have obtained public records, spoken with organizations frequently serving group homes, and reviewed job listings involving Sacred Journey ahead of this suit.
This week, Sacred Journey filed a response denying the allegations. The suit pointed out that San Carlos Apache Tribal Social Services took custody of Emily.
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"The San Carlos Apache Tribe, the San Carlos Apache Children’s Court, and professionals who evaluated Emily and collectively assessed and determined that Emily could be placed with Sacred Journey, which they knew to be a non-secure, voluntary residential home," read the response.
It also said that Emily had been at a "lock-down" behavioral health facility for a year prior to returning to Sacred Journey.
"The professionals at Oasis assessed and determined that Emily was ready for discharge and subsequent to a standard level, non-secure group home," read the new filing.
In a letter obtained by ABC15, the Arizona Department of Child Safety said its hotline was not called in January when Emily was reported missing to Mesa Police.
The letter instructed Sacred Journey Inc. to update their policies and train their staff to alert the DCS hotline regardless of which agency placed the child in the home.
"So that leads us to believe what else was not followed when Emily's crying and asking for help at that group home, is she given help?" said Lemorrocco. "Is anybody there to give her basic needs and wants? And that's to be determined."
In April, ABC15 spoke with Elizabeth Morales, CEO of Sacred Journey, Inc.
"We go above and beyond. We're raising children and not just housing children. We're parenting children," Morales said. "I'm going to really take the time and energy to make sure that child is wrapped in services."
ABC15 did reach out to the Morales and others with Sacred Journey, but our team has not received a response yet.
Last month, ABC15 asked the Phillip's Law Group if they had plans to sue DCS. At the time, they said their focus was Sacred Journey.
ABC15 has launched an investigation into the state's child welfare system called DCS: State of Failure. Our team wants to hear about your experiences with DCS through our new email DCS@abc15.com.
