The Tennessee Supreme Court has set an ex**ution date for the only woman in the state sentenced to capital punishment.
Christa Gail Pike, now 49, was sentenced at age 18 for the torture slaying of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer.
The crime, which Pike has called the “worst mistake” of her life, made headlines in 1995 due to its brutality.
The crime, which Pike has called the “worst mistake” of her life, made headlines in 1995 due to its brutality.
Highlights
- Tennessee has set an ex*cution date for the only woman in the state facing capital punishment.
- Christa Gail Pike was sentenced for taking the life of classmate Colleen Slemmer when they were both teenagers.
- The victim’s family has publicly supported Pike’s execution so Slemmer can finally “rest.”
The state of Tennessee has set an ex***tion date for Christa Pike for the 1995 homicide of Colleen Slemmer
Image credits: WBIR Channel 10
If Pike's death penalty is carried out, she would become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years and the 19th woman executed in modern US history.
Both Pike and the victim were students at Knoxville Job Corps, a career-training program. The crime was reportedly motivated by Pike’s fear that her classmate would steal her boyfriend.
Pike's capital punishment date has been set amid a rise in death penalties in 2025 and an expansion of the methods used, as per USA Today.
Pike took Slemmer’s life when they were both students at Knoxville Job Corps
Image credits: WBIR Channel 10
On January 12, 1995, the victim was stabbed and beaten by Pike and Tadaryl Shipp, Pike’s boyfriend at the time, on the University of Tennessee’s Agricultural campus.
Pike, Shipp, and a friend named Shadolla Peterson lured Slemmer from the Job Corps center and into the woods.
Image credits: WBIR Channel 10
According to court records, the attack lasted for more than an hour. Pike later bragged about the crime to her fellow classmates, saying she had "thrown a large piece of asphalt at the victim’s head," which was believed to be a fatal blow.
When a groundskeeper discovered Slemmer's body the next day in the woods, the teenager had been stabbed, beaten, and bludgeoned, with a pentagram carved into her chest.
Investigators also said Pike took a piece of the victim’s skull and showed it off to fellow students.
Pike and her then-boyfriend, Tadarly Shipp, attacked the victim for over an hour
Image credits: WBIR Channel 10
Pike was convicted of first-degree m*rder and sentenced to capital punishment, which was scheduled for September 30, 2026. Her boyfriend, Shipp, was convicted of first-degree m*rder and sentenced to life in prison. He will become eligible for parole in November.
Pike's friend, Peterson, accused of keeping watch during the crime, testified against her and was sentenced to probation.
Pike's friend, Peterson, accused of keeping watch during the crime, testified against her and was sentenced to probation.
Pike was also convicted in 2004 for trying to strangle a fellow inmate during a prison fight, which added 25 years to her sentence, The Post reported.
Image credits: WBIR Channel 10
Her attorneys previously petitioned the state’s high court to reduce her criminal sentence, citing her young age and “severe mental illness” at the time of the crime.
According to her attorneys, the perpetrator endured physical and s*xual assault and neglect as a child. Following her arrest, she was diagnosed with bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorder.
According to her attorneys, the perpetrator endured physical and s*xual assault and neglect as a child. Following her arrest, she was diagnosed with bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Pike’s capital punishment date has been set for September 30, 2026
Image credits: WBIR Channel 10
In a statement issued on Wednesday (October 1), Pike’s attorneys said she has become “a thoughtful woman with deep remorse for her crime” after years of treatment.
The Tennessee Supreme Court also set execution dates for Tony Carruthers, Gary Sutton, and Anthony Hines.
Carruthers was convicted in 1996 of robbing and taking the life of 21-year-old Marcellos Anderson, 17-year-old Frederick Tucker, and the first victim’s 43-year-old mother, Delois Anderson. The crime is believed to have been caused over a dispute over the selling of illegal substances.
Carruthers was convicted in 1996 of robbing and taking the life of 21-year-old Marcellos Anderson, 17-year-old Frederick Tucker, and the first victim’s 43-year-old mother, Delois Anderson. The crime is believed to have been caused over a dispute over the selling of illegal substances.
Image credits: WBIR Channel 10
Hines was convicted in connection to the fatal stabbing of 54-year-old Katherine Jean Jenkins, a motel maid, in 1985.
Sutton was sentenced for the 1992 homicide of 24-year-old Tommy Griffin, after being convicted of the crime of Griffin’s sister, Connie Branam.
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty in 27 states.
In the United States, capital punishment is a legal penalty in 27 states.
Pike, now 49, said she has “changed drastically” since the crime
Image credits: WBIR Channel 10
Tennessee resumed executions in May after a three-year pause, which followed an independent review that found the state had not been properly testing lethal injection chemicals for purity and potency.
In a letter she wrote to The Tennessean, Pike said she takes responsibility for her classmate’s homicide and that she has "changed drastically" since the crime.
"Think back to the worst mistake you made as a reckless teenager. Well, mine happened to be huge, unforgettable and ruined countless lives," she wrote. "I was a mentally ill 18 yr. old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I'd done.”
In 2021, the victim’s mother, May Martinez, said that she wanted Pike to receive capital punishment
Image credits: WBIR Channel 10
Part of that realization, she wrote, was acknowledging that she had taken someone’s child, sister, and friend, a thought that now makes her “sick.”
Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, told WBIR in 2021 that she wanted a date set for Pike’s execution.
"I just want Christa down so I can end it, relieve my daughter, so she finally can be resting," she said. "There's not a day goes by that I don't think about Colleen.”
Netizens turned the case into a hotbed of heated online discussion
