Convicted killer Christa Gail Pike is set to make U.S. history as the first woman to be executed in 200 years.
The 49-year-old, who brutally murdered a fellow student in 1995, has been scheduled for execution in Tennessee.
The horrific case that landed Pike on death row at just 20 years old is resurfacing as legal teams fight to spare her life, and the victim’s family pushes for justice to finally be served.
The Crime That Shocked the Nation
Pike was just 18 when she lured Colleen Slemmer, 19, into the woods near the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, convinced the young woman was trying to steal her boyfriend.
On January 12, 1995, Pike, along with her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and friend Shadolla Peterson, carried out what would become one of the most gruesome murders in modern Tennessee history.
Armed with a box cutter and a piece of asphalt, Pike cut, beat, and bludgeoned Slemmer, even carving a pentagram into her chest. Court records reveal the attack was so savage that a groundskeeper initially thought Slemmer’s body belonged to an animal.
But the horror didn’t end there. Pike reportedly kept a piece of Slemmer’s skull as a trophy and showed it off to others on campus.
“I took the life of someone's child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think that someone as loving and compassionate as myself had the ability to commit such a crime,” Pike later wrote in a letter to The Tennessean.
“Think back to the worst mistake you made as a reckless teenager. Well, mine happened to be huge, unforgettable, and ruined countless lives…”
Pike Doesn't Believe She Should Be Executed: “I'm Only One Person”
In a prison interview for a WEtv documentary, Pike acknowledged her guilt but pleaded for life instead of death.
“I know I don't deserve to be out walking around with everybody else in normal society. I did something horrible that is unacceptable and I realize that,” she said.
“I'm only one person.”
She added that while she accepts life behind bars, she doesn’t believe she should die for what she called “the action of three individuals.”
After nearly 30 years behind bars, Pike’s execution date has been set for September 30, 2026, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
The Tennessee Supreme Court’s decision makes her the 19th woman to be executed in the U.S. since 1976 and the first in Tennessee since the early 1800s.
Nationwide, there are only 48 women on death row, compared to nearly 2,100 men.
By August 28, 2026, the state must inform Pike of the execution method.
Attorneys Say Childhood Abuse and Mental Illness Were Ignored
Pike’s defense team continues to push for clemency, arguing that today’s juries would be far less likely to sentence an 18-year-old to death, especially one with a documented history of mental illness and abuse.
“Christa’s childhood was fraught with years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect,” her attorneys said.
“With time and treatment for bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, which were not diagnosed until years later, Christa has become a thoughtful woman with deep remorse for her crime.”
They also emphasize that these details were never presented during her original 1996 sentencing.