Tennessee’s Supreme Court approved the execution of Christa Gail Pike’s sentence, perhaps marking the state’s first female execution in more than 200 years. On January 12, 1995, Pike, who is presently the only woman on Tennessee’s execution row, enticed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer into a forested area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus in Knoxville. Pike was eighteen at the time. Pike and Slemmer participated in the career-training Knoxville Job Corps, according to Fox News.
Pike apparently persuaded herself that Slemmer had feelings for her boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp, and became the mastermind of a startling scheme out of jealousy. With the assistance of Shipp and a third accomplice, Shadolla Peterson, Pike managed to get Slemmer into the previously mentioned wooded area. She then used a box cutter to slash her throat, attacked her with a meat cleaver, carved a pentagram into her chest, and finally crushed her skull with a piece of asphalt.
Before her arrest, Pike allegedly showed off a piece of Slemmer’s shattered skull to her classmates, claiming it as a gory trophy. The case was handled by retired investigator Randy York, who stated: “She was very giddy, laughed, and very cooperative during the interview.” She wanted to share everything with us. The only female inmate on Tennessee’s death row is Christa Gail Pike. The Tennessee Department of Correction is credited. “She had a piece of the skull wrapped up in a napkin in her coat pocket,” he continued. It’s a trophy. It demonstrated how precisely the piece she had fit into the skull like a puzzle piece.
In 1996, Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder and given the death penalty. Peterson, who testified against Pike and Shipp, was given probation, while Shipp was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole (a parole board rejected his request for release earlier this year). Pike was found guilty of attempting to strangle a prisoner in 2004, and her sentence was increased by 25 years. Pike’s case has been stuck in the appeals process for the greater part of thirty years, but according to court documents submitted on September 30, the State of Tennessee has asked for an execution date for the 49-year-old Pike. September 30, 2026 has been designated as that date. Pike’s legal team is still fighting her sentence, claiming that her age at the time of the murder and her background of abuse, trauma, and untreated mental illness should be taken into consideration.
Following her tragic crime, Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder by psychologists. According to the 49-year-old’s defense team, “Christa’s childhood was fraught with years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect,” according to CBS News. “After receiving treatment and time, she has developed into a thoughtful woman who deeply regrets her crime.” Pike will be the first woman executed in Tennessee since 1820 and only the fourth in the state’s history if and when her sentence is carried out. The Death Penalty Information Center states that Martin Eve’s hanging in 1820 as an accessory to murder was the last known execution of a woman in Tennessee.
Following Governor Bill Lee’s request for an impartial investigation of the appropriate testing of lethal injection medications, Tennessee suspended the death sentence in May 2022. Executions resumed in May 2025 when a revamped lethal injection protocol was put into place.Tennessee’s Supreme Court approved the execution of Christa Gail Pike’s sentence, perhaps marking the state’s first female execution in more than 200 years. On January 12, 1995, Pike, who is presently the only woman on Tennessee’s execution row, enticed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer into a forested area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus in Knoxville.
Pike was eighteen at the time. Pike and Slemmer participated in the career-training Knoxville Job Corps, according to Fox News. Pike apparently persuaded herself that Slemmer had feelings for her boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp, and became the mastermind of a startling scheme out of jealousy. With the assistance of Shipp and a third accomplice, Shadolla Peterson, Pike managed to get Slemmer into the previously mentioned wooded area. She then used a box cutter to slash her throat, attacked her with a meat cleaver, carved a pentagram into her chest, and finally crushed her skull with a piece of asphalt. Before her arrest, Pike allegedly showed off a piece of Slemmer’s shattered skull to her classmates, claiming it as a gory trophy. The case was handled by retired investigator Randy York, who stated: “She was very giddy, laughed, and very cooperative during the interview.” She wanted to share everything with us. The only female inmate on Tennessee’s death row is Christa Gail Pike. The Tennessee Department of Correction is credited.
“She had a piece of the skull wrapped up in a napkin in her coat pocket,” he continued. It’s a trophy. It demonstrated how precisely the piece she had fit into the skull like a puzzle piece. In 1996, Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder and given the death penalty. Peterson, who testified against Pike and Shipp, was given probation, while Shipp was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole (a parole board rejected his request for release earlier this year).
Pike was found guilty of attempting to strangle a prisoner in 2004, and her sentence was increased by 25 years. Pike’s case has been stuck in the appeals process for the greater part of thirty years, but according to court documents submitted on September 30, the State of Tennessee has asked for an execution date for the 49-year-old Pike. September 30, 2026 has been designated as that date. Pike’s legal team is still fighting her sentence, claiming that her age at the time of the murder and her background of abuse, trauma, and untreated mental illness should be taken into consideration. Following her tragic crime, Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder by psychologists. According to the 49-year-old’s defense team, “Christa’s childhood was fraught with years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect,” according to CBS News.
“After receiving treatment and time, she has developed into a thoughtful woman who deeply regrets her crime.” Pike will be the first woman executed in Tennessee since 1820 and only the fourth in the state’s history if and when her sentence is carried out. The Death Penalty Information Center states that Martin Eve’s hanging in 1820 as an accessory to murder was the last known execution of a woman in Tennessee. Following Governor Bill Lee’s request for an impartial investigation of the appropriate testing of lethal injection medications, Tennessee suspended the death sentence in May 2022. Executions resumed in May 2025 when a revamped lethal injection protocol was put into place.Tennessee’s Supreme Court approved the execution of Christa Gail Pike’s sentence, perhaps marking the state’s first female execution in more than 200 years.
On January 12, 1995, Pike, who is presently the only woman on Tennessee’s execution row, enticed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer into a forested area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus in Knoxville. Pike was eighteen at the time. Pike and Slemmer participated in the career-training Knoxville Job Corps, according to Fox News. Pike apparently persuaded herself that Slemmer had feelings for her boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp, and became the mastermind of a startling scheme out of jealousy. With the assistance of Shipp and a third accomplice, Shadolla Peterson, Pike managed to get Slemmer into the previously mentioned wooded area.
She then used a box cutter to slash her throat, attacked her with a meat cleaver, carved a pentagram into her chest, and finally crushed her skull with a piece of asphalt. Before her arrest, Pike allegedly showed off a piece of Slemmer’s shattered skull to her classmates, claiming it as a gory trophy. The case was handled by retired investigator Randy York, who stated: “She was very giddy, laughed, and very cooperative during the interview.” She wanted to share everything with us.
The only female inmate on Tennessee’s death row is Christa Gail Pike. The Tennessee Department of Correction is credited. “She had a piece of the skull wrapped up in a napkin in her coat pocket,” he continued. It’s a trophy. It demonstrated how precisely the piece she had fit into the skull like a puzzle piece. In 1996, Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder and given the death penalty. Peterson, who testified against Pike and Shipp, was given probation, while Shipp was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole (a parole board rejected his request for release earlier this year).
Pike was found guilty of attempting to strangle a prisoner in 2004, and her sentence was increased by 25 years. Pike’s case has been stuck in the appeals process for the greater part of thirty years, but according to court documents submitted on September 30, the State of Tennessee has asked for an execution date for the 49-year-old Pike. September 30, 2026 has been designated as that date. Pike’s legal team is still fighting her sentence, claiming that her age at the time of the murder and her background of abuse, trauma, and untreated mental illness should be taken into consideration.
Following her tragic crime, Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder by psychologists. According to the 49-year-old’s defense team, “Christa’s childhood was fraught with years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect,” according to CBS News. “After receiving treatment and time, she has developed into a thoughtful woman who deeply regrets her crime.” Pike will be the first woman executed in Tennessee since 1820 and only the fourth in the state’s history if and when her sentence is carried out. The Death Penalty Information Center states that Martin Eve’s hanging in 1820 as an accessory to murder was the last known execution of a woman in Tennessee. Following Governor Bill Lee’s request for an impartial investigation of the appropriate testing of lethal injection medications, Tennessee suspended the death sentence in May 2022. Executions resumed in May 2025 when a revamped lethal injection protocol was put into place.