Teen Killer Dodges State’s First Female Execution in 200 Years—For Now

Christa Pike, a convicted Tennessee murderer, will not be executed Wednesday after the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a last-minute stay, potentially preventing her from becoming the first woman put to death in the state since the early 1800s.

The 2-1 ruling pauses the execution “until further notice” while judges consider motions from Pike’s lawyers and the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.

Tennessee officials quickly asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the stay and allow the execution to proceed.

Pike was 18 in 1995 when she and two accomplices killed 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in what prosecutors described as a brutal satanic attack. Court records say the assault, which involved beating, kicking and stabbing, lasted between 30 minutes and an hour, according to Pike’s own account.

Pike and Slemmer met through the Job Corps Center, a vocational program in Knoxville, court documents say.

Records show that Pike accused Slemmer of trying to take her boyfriend and “running her mouth.” The day before the killing, Pike reportedly told another student that she wanted Slemmer dead because she “just felt mean that day.” She carried a box cutter and a meat cleaver.

Pike, her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson lured Slemmer away by telling her they planned to visit a music store and retrieve marijuana they had hidden in a nearby park.

According to court records, Pike then attacked Slemmer, knocked her down and struck her face with her knee and foot.

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Slemmer briefly escaped and attempted to run, but Shipp caught her and held her on the ground as Pike cut her with the box cutter. The victim pleaded for her life, yet the assault continued. The attackers eventually gagged her with a hair tie.

Shipp also carved pentagrams into Slemmer’s face and chest.

Forensic psychiatrist Dr. William Bernet testified at trial that the killing contained “satanic elements,” but also reflected what he called “collective aggression.” In that phenomenon, he said, a group becomes emotionally charged and ultimately engages in extremely violent behavior, according to court records.

Dr. Eric Engum said Pike had been diagnosed with “very severe borderline personality disorder,” along with cannabis dependence and depression. He testified, however, that she displayed no signs of brain damage or insanity.

Court records say Pike kept a fragment of Slemmer’s crushed skull as a trophy and later displayed it at school. She told a friend that Slemmer had begged the attackers to stop, that she had cut the girl’s throat roughly six times and that Shipp had smashed her head with a rock. Pike also showed another classmate her blood-covered sneakers and brought the skull fragment to breakfast the following morning.

Shipp and Peterson were not sentenced to death. Shipp was younger than 18 when the crime occurred and therefore was ineligible for capital punishment, while Peterson testified for the prosecution.

Pike’s supporters argue that her defense team failed to adequately present mitigating evidence during sentencing, including claims of untreated bipolar disorder and PTSD linked to repeated domestic violence and sexual assaults. Nearly 25,000 people had signed a petition urging Gov. Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life in prison.

The stay remains temporary while the legal challenge continues.