The gruesome acts committed by Christa Gail Pike, a death row inmate, are coming back into focus as she approaches the possibility of becoming the first woman executed in Tennessee in two centuries.
Now aged 49, Pike is set to be executed for the murder of Colleen Slemmer, aged 19, which took place on January 12, 1995. Pike, alongside two accomplices, lured Slemmer into the woods in Knoxville, Tennessee, where the crime occurred.
Over three decades later, the Tennessee Supreme Court has scheduled Pike’s execution for September 30, 2026, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. The court’s order requires the Department of Correction to inform Pike of the execution method by August 28, 2026.
At the age of 20, Pike became the youngest person on death row when she was sentenced in 1996, after committing the murder at 18.
Both Pike and Slemmer were enrolled in a career training program for troubled youth in Knoxville. Prosecutors argued that Pike was motivated by jealousy, believing Slemmer intended to steal her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp.
Shipp and Shadolla Peterson, a friend of Pike’s, allegedly aided Pike by enticing Slemmer into a wooded area on the University of Tennessee’s campus.
In that location, Slemmer was attacked with a box cutter, and Pike carved a pentagram onto her chest. Pike then assaulted Slemmer with a cleaver and crushed her skull using a piece of asphalt.
The body of Slemmer was later found by a groundskeeper who initially mistook it for the remains of an animal due to the severity of the beating, as stated in court documents referenced by CBS News.
After the attack, Pike reportedly took a piece of Slemmer’s skull as a memento of the crime. She later showed it to her peers and bragged about the murder, recounting how she persisted in the assault even as Slemmer pleaded for mercy.
Upon investigation, authorities linked Pike to Slemmer’s murder, resulting in her conviction for first-degree murder and a death sentence. Shipp was also found guilty of first-degree murder and received a life sentence, with the possibility of parole in November.
Peterson, who was accused of standing guard during the attack, was given probation in exchange for testifying against Pike.