The family of slain Arizona girl Emily Pike says her life had been filled with neglect before her death last year.
The 14-year-old teen had been living in a Mesa group home in, owned by Sacred Journey Inc., on and off for a few years before her death, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
In July 2023, San Carlos Apache Tribal Social Services removed her from her family’s home on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation in southeastern Arizona, due to ongoing issues.
Emily fled the group home on multiple occasions, and tried return home to her family.
In January 2025, she fled for the final time. Police found her remains on February 14, off U.S. 60, near Globe. Someone dismembered her, leaving several body parts in trash bags.
Some of her remains have yet to be recovered, and there have been no arrests in the case.
While speaking to DailyMail, her aunt, Carolyn Pike, stated that she wanted Emily and her brother to live with her, but had been unsuccessful.
“The sad part was that whenever we would go pick her up – her and her brother – to spend time with us, we’d find them with lice in their hair and no shoes again and just raggedy clothes,” Carolyn said.
Emily’s uncle, Allred Pike, stated that the reservation is filled with violence. DailyMail visited the area and was reportedly met by Emily’s mother, Steff Dosela, who demanded the reporter to leave the area.
Several other family members appeared angry, while defending Dosela. One person allegedly yelled out threats.
Despite this, Carolyn stated that Emily had a happy early childhood, filled with ambitions of college, birthday parties, and love, before tragedy began happening around her, prompting officials to remove her from the reservation.
Social service ultimately placed her in the group home, following two reported incidents of sexual assault, along with her parents’ reported drug use. Her father, Jensen Pike, is currently incarcerated.
One of the sexual assaults allegedly happened at the hands of a family member.
Meanwhile, a $25,000 reward has been offered by the state, in addition to a $75,000 reward offered by the FBI and an additional $75,000 reward offered by the San Carlos Apache Tribe, for information that leads to an arrest in the case.
Police said that no one has been ruled out as a suspect in the ongoing murder investigation. The relative accused of sexual assault has not been publicly named, as the charges were dropped, but had reportedly visited Emily’s home even after the assault took place.
“It [the dismemberment] could have happened in a bathtub,’ a source told Daily Mail. “There’s some thought it might have been an elderly person or a senior citizen. She had to trust whoever she went with.”
To assist in the investigation, the Gila County Sheriff’s Office and the San Carlos Apache Police Department have set up an online tip portal where anonymous tips can be submitted through tips411.
Information can also be reported to the Sheriff’s Office at 928-425-4449, option 1, or the San Carlos Apache Police Department at 928-475-1700.
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[Feature Photo: Emily Pike/Handout]
