CHARLESTON, S.C. — Five days before he shot and killed his grandparents, 12-year-old Christopher Pittman said he did not like the antidepressant he was taking because it made his "skin crawl" and gave him nightmares, Christopher's aunt testified Monday.

"He told me he did not like taking the medication he was on. He said it very adamantly ... and I was concerned," Melinda Rector told jurors, as the second week of Christopher's murder trial opened.

"He said it was like his skin was crawling and he was burning underneath," she told jurors.

Lawyers who have built a large civil practice out of suing drug makers like Pfizer, which manufacturers the antidepressant Christopher was taking during the three weeks leading up to the November 2001 killings, contend that Rector's testimony is consistent with what experts are discovering.

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Last week, a psychiatrist testified that many people who have an adverse reaction to the antidepressant reported a burning sensation similar to the one Rector described.

Rector is a daughter of Joe Frank Pittman Sr., 66, and Joy Pittman, 62.

Christopher admits to killing the couple, burning down their Chester, S.C., home and then running away with Joe Pittman's truck and guns.

Although he initially told police that a "black man" committed the killings and kidnapped him, Christopher eventually confessed that he killed "Pop-Pop" and "Nanna" because they locked him in his room and his grandfather struck him with a paddle like his own father used to do.

Christopher's only sibling, Danielle Finchum, testified that their father never hit them with a paddle, but owned one and threatened to use it if the children got out of line.

"If we did something wrong, he would discipline us with a belt," said Finchum, who married a police dispatcher shortly after turning 18 in December.

Christopher, who grew up in central Florida and was raised by his father, went to live with his grandparents in early November 2001 because he has was having trouble at home. After his biological mother resurfaced, he was doing well and enjoyed regular visits for more than a month, Finchum recalled on the stand.

In the summer of 2001, however, Christopher's mother suddenly and inexplicably cut off all contact with the children.

"She told us that we weren't allowed to ... see her again," Finchum said.

"It was quite devastating the day you pulled up and she wouldn't see you? This was quite a shock to your brother?" prosecutor Dolly Justice Garfield asked on cross-examination.

"Yes, ma'am," Finchum answered.

Forgiving a killer

The defense is focusing the jury's attention on Christopher's sharp change in behavior right before the killings, a shift that a defense psychiatrist testified was totally consistent with an adverse reaction to Zoloft.

People who have such reactions tend to do so when they first start on Zoloft or when the dosage is increased.

Although the Pittmans' family physician testified that Christopher was prescribed one 50mg pill a day, Danielle said that on Thanksgiving Day, she noticed Christopher was taking his medicine twice a day.

Garfield countered that by pointing out that if Christopher was given only 21 pills, as the physician testified, he would have run out of them before Thanksgiving if he was taking more than one pill per day.

Under questioning from defense attorney Karen Menzies, Finchum said she was angry at Christopher for killing their grandparents until she learned months later about the psychotic breakdowns Zoloft allegedly can trigger in some patients.

"That would make sense, because the thing about this whole situation is that it doesn't make sense," said Finchum, who broke down in tears several times while on the stand.

"That is the only thing that makes any kind of sense to me, so I hung on to that," she added, referring to the Zoloft use.

Menzies also asked Rector, Christopher's aunt, if she had been able to "resolve" her anger at the defendant for taking the lives of her parents.

"Are you now at peace with your nephew?" Menzies asked.

"Yes, I am," Rector said.

"Have you forgiven him?" the lawyer asked.

"Yes, I have," Rector said.

Signs of trouble

Both Rector and Finchum testified that Christopher was extremely close to his grandfather, who taught him to fish and hunt. Some family members even began calling Christopher "Shadow" because he was always at his grandfather's side.

Rector testified at length about conversations she had with Christopher on the telephone during the week leading up to the killings. She said he was sometimes talking so fast that she could not understand him. Other times he would merely "grunt," she said.

On cross-examination, prosecutor John Meadors brought out that Rector had not seen her nephew in person during 2001 and saw him only once the previous year. He also asked Rector about a statement she made to Lanette Atkins, a child psychiatrist, that Christopher seem to enjoy kicking Rector's dog "too much."

"I don't recall telling her that," Rector said. "I could have told her that."

The defense seemed to be building a case that Christopher was a perfectly normal child before and after taking Zoloft and that he would pose no danger to anyone if he was acquitted.

For example, Finchum was asked about time she spent with her brother this weekend, his first week outside of jail since being freed on bond Thursday.

She said he was very happy.

"We stayed up for hours and talked and laughed," Finchum said. "We were able to catch up on the time we missed the last three years."

If convicted of murder, Christopher faces up to life in prison.