Archive · 29 Sep 2026
Christa Pike Faces Tennessee Execution After Three Decades
Christa Pike is a 50-year-old woman on Tennessee’s death row.
She was convicted of killing her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in 1995.
The killing happened at the Knoxville Job Corps.
Prosecutors said Pike acted with her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, and another teenager.
The attack was extremely violent and included a pentagram carved into Slemmer’s body.
Pike received a death sentence, while Shipp received life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Pike’s lawyers asked the governor to change her punishment to life without parole, citing abuse, mental-health conditions, and her age at the time.
The governor rejected that request, and Pike’s execution is scheduled for September 30, which would make her the first woman executed by Tennessee since 1820.
Christa Pike, 50, is scheduled for lethal injection at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on September 30.
Pike was convicted of killing 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer at the Knoxville Job Corps in January 1995.
Prosecutors said Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, lured Slemmer to a secluded area and attacked her; a third teenager was also involved.
Slemmer was attacked with a box cutter, had a pentagram carved into her chest, and suffered the removal of part of her skull.
Governor Bill Lee denied Pike’s clemency request, while her lawyers plan to pursue further appeals; Slemmer’s mother supports the execution.
- Who
- Christa Pike, Colleen Slemmer, Tadaryl Shipp, a third teenager, Governor Bill Lee, and Slemmer’s mother May Martinez.
- What
- Pike is scheduled for execution after being convicted of Slemmer’s 1995 murder.
- When
- The killing occurred in January 1995; Pike’s execution is scheduled for September 30.
- Where
- The killing occurred at the Knoxville Job Corps in Knoxville, Tennessee; the execution is scheduled at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
- Why
- Pike was sentenced to death after her first-degree murder conviction; prosecutors said she killed Slemmer because she viewed her as a romantic rival.
Arguments Against Execution
Arguments Supporting Execution
Pike’s sentence
Arguments Against Execution
Pike’s lawyers asked for life without parole, citing her traumatic childhood, abuse, bipolar disorder, PTSD, brain-damage claims, and the effects of adolescent development because she was 18 when the crime occurred.
Arguments Supporting Execution
Governor Bill Lee rejected clemency, allowing Pike’s death sentence to stand after courts declined to halt the execution.
Justice for Slemmer
Arguments Against Execution
Pike expressed remorse and said it took her years to understand the crime’s impact; death-penalty opponents, including Pastor Kevin Riggs, protested the execution.
Arguments Supporting Execution
Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, supports the execution and said she has spent decades waiting for justice for her daughter.
- Defendant
- Christa Pike, 50
- Victim
- Colleen Slemmer, 19
- Crime date
- January 1995
- Execution location
- Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Nashville
- Execution method
- Lethal injection
- Tennessee precedent
- If carried out, Pike would be the first woman executed by Tennessee since 1820
- Co-defendant sentence
- Tadaryl Shipp received life in prison with the possibility of parole
- Clemency decision
- Governor Bill Lee rejected Pike’s request to commute her sentence
