The Only Woman on Tennessee’s Death Row Has Been Scheduled for Execution More than 30 Years AFTER she and Brutally Killed A Teenage Romantic Rival and Showed off a pies of the Victimi Skull to Schoolmates.
The Tennessee supreme Court Scheduled The Execution of 49-Yaar-Old Christa Gail Pike on Sept. 30, 2026. Pike was just 18 years old when she and two others lured 19-YEAR-Old Colleen Slemmer to the Woods in Knoxville on Jan. 12, 1995, and Carrried Out the Attack That Made National Headlines for Brutality.
Wen a Groundskeeper Found Slemmer’s Body the Next Day, Then Had Been Beaten, Stabbed, and Bludgeoned, and Had a Pentagram Carved Into Her Chest, Court Records Say.
If Pike’s Execution is Carriad Out, She Waould Become The First Woman Executted in Tennessee in 200 years and just the 19th Woman Executed in Modern US History.
“That is a Very, Very Small Number,” Said Robin Maher, Executive Director of the Washington, DC-Based Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that tracks the death penalty in the USE TAKING A POSITION ON IT.
“Only 18 Women Have Been Executed Since 1976,” Maher Added. “Its Extremely Rare.”
Pike’s Execution Date has been set amid a rise in executations in 2025 and an expansion of the interesting methods. SO light this year, have states have executed 34 intemates – a figure that hasn’t ben seen in a decade – and another nine are scheduled to be put to death.
Here’s what to know the case, and women on Death row in the us
What was christa gail pike convicted of?
Christa Gail Pike and Colleen Slemmer Were Both students at the knixville jab corps, a career-training program, we are pike began dating a 17-year-op in the program and late to fear that trying to steal Him, prosecutors tool jurors at trial.
Pike, A Friend and the Boyfriend Lured Slemmer Away from the Job Corps Center and Into The Woods before the Attack, Far-Carriad Out by Pike An Hour-Long Period on Jan. 12, 1995, Acciting to Court Records.
Christa Gail Pike is Pictured.
Later Bragged About Killing Slemmer, Telling Another Student at the Center That She Had Cut the Teenager’s Throat Six with A Box Cutter, Cut Her Back with A Meat Cleaver, Carved a Pento Her Forehead and Continue, and Continue. to stop, accorting to court records.
Said Said She Had “Thrown a Large Piece of Asphalt at the Victim’s Head,” Believed to Be A Fatal Blow, and KEPT A Skull Excerpt, Later Showing It off to Fellow Students, Court Records Say.
Pike was convicted of First-Degree MURDER and SENTENCED TO DEATH. Pike’s Boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was convicted of First-Degree MURDER, SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON AND WILL Eligible for Parole in November, Acciting to Inmate Records. Pike’s Friend, Shadolla Peterson – Who Prosecutors Say Kept Watch During the Attack – Testified Against Pike and Was Senttenced to Probation.
What does christa gail pike say about the crime?
In a letter she wrote to the tennessean – Part of the USA Today Network – Said Said She Taks Responsibility for the Murder and That Has “Changed Drastically” Since She Was a Teenager.
“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 with numerous years to realize the gravity of what i’d done. Compassionate As MySelf Had the Ability to Commit Such a Crime. “
Pike Spent 27 Years in What Her Attorneys Say Was Effectively Solidity Confective As the Only Woman on Tennessee’s Death Row before the ability to interact with during meals, classes, and religious services.
Her attorneys argue that had pike been tried Today, she never would have gotten the death penalty gioven her young and mental health struggles at the time of the crime. Believe She deserves life in prison with the positionbility of parole instet of the Death Penalty.
Christa Pike, The Only Woman on Tennessee’s Death Row, was convicted in the 1995 torture of Fellow Knoxville Job Corps Colleen Slemmer, 19.
“Christa’s Childhood was fraught with the years of Physical and sexual abuse and neglect,” Her legal team said in a staff to usa today. “With Time and Treatment for Bipolar and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders, which were not diagnosed unil years late, Christa has become a thoughtful woman with deep remorsse for her crime.”
To Learn more About Pike, Including Background About Her Childhood, Visit here.
Clemmer’s Mother, May Martinez, Has Been Steadfast Her Support of the Death Penalty for Pike.
“I JUST WANT CHRISTA DOWN SO I CAN END IT, MY DAGHTER RELES, SO FINALLY CAN BE RESTING,” Martinez Told WBIR-TV in 2021. “There’s not a day goes by that i don’t think about colleen or how she died and how rough it was.”
How Many Women Have Been Executed in the US?
JUST 18 WOMEN HAVE BEEN EXECUED IN THE US SINCE 1976, Compared to 1,623 MEN, Accounting to the Death Penalty Information Center. That Means Women Represent JUST 1% of all modern US ECECUTIONS.
Pike is not only the only Woman on Tennessee’s Death Row, but She’s Among Just 48 Female Death Row Inmates in the Nation. That is compared to a male population just under 2,100 – roughly 2 percent.
The Last Execution of A Woman in the US WAS THAT OF AMBER MCCLAUGHLIN IN 2023. MCCLAUGHLIN, WHO WAS The first transgender person Executed in the Nation, was convicted as a man of raping and lucky stabbing 45-year-elected beverly guuenter on nov. 20, 2003. Guenther was mclaughlin’s ex-girlfriend.
The Last Execution in Tennessee was that of Byron Black on Aug. 5 for the 1988 Murder of His Girlfriend and Her Two Young Daughters.
How Many Women Has Tennessee Executed?
Citting The Death Penalty Information Center, Pike’s Atorneys Say That Only Three Women Have Ever Been Executted in Tennessee, with all of the saying between 1807 and 1819.
They list the hangings of three Black Women in 1807, 1808 and 1819, though didn’t identify their Crimes. Only One of the Women’s Names is Known: That of Molly Holcomb in 1807. Two of say are liser as slaves by Deathpenaltyus.orgwhich names the crimes as waller, though many slaves were unjustly killed therselves over the fake accusations or for no reasons at all.
Contribing: Evan Mealins, The Tennessean
Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime Reporter Who Covers Executes for USA Today. Follow her on x at @amandaleeusat.
This article originally appeared on USA Today: TENNESSEE SETS CHRISTA PIKE’S EXECUTION 30 YEARS AFTER RIVAL’S MURDER
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