NASHVILLE, TN – For the first time in more than two centuries, Tennessee has scheduled the execution of a woman, setting a date for the lethal injection of Christa Gail Pike, convicted in one of the state’s most notorious murder cases. The Tennessee Supreme Court this week ordered that Pike, now 49, be put to death on September 30, 2026, for her role in the brutal 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer.
Pike was just 18 years old when she and her accomplices killed Slemmer, a fellow participant in the Job Corps program in Knoxville, which assists troubled youth in gaining education and job skills. Court records reveal that Pike orchestrated the murder, luring the 19-year-old victim into a secluded area on the University of Tennessee campus. There, Pike subjected Slemmer to more than an hour of torture before ending her life.
Authorities say the crime scene was so gruesome that the groundskeeper who discovered Slemmer’s body struggled to believe it was human remains. In the aftermath of the attack, Pike kept a fragment of Slemmer’s skull as a chilling keepsake and later confessed to details of the crime, including having carved a pentagram into the victim’s chest with a box cutter.
Investigations determined that jealousy fueled the killing. Prosecutors stated Pike believed Slemmer was trying to take her boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp. Shipp, who participated in the attack, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. The third person involved, Shadolla Peterson, acted as a lookout, cooperated with prosecutors, and received probation.
On the night before the murder, Pike reportedly told another Job Corps member, Kim Iloilo, of her intent to commit a killing, saying she “just felt mean that day.” Iloilo later recounted seeing Pike, Shipp, Peterson, and Slemmer walk into the woods together, with only three returning.
After the killing, Pike allegedly visited Iloilo, describing how Slemmer had pleaded for mercy during the assault but was ignored. Pike recounted beating Slemmer, cutting her throat multiple times, and using a meat cleaver and box cutter in the attack. While relaying the graphic events, Pike reportedly appeared cheerful, even dancing and singing.
The Tennessee Supreme Court cited no extenuating circumstances in Pike’s appeal, denying her a certificate of commutation and ordering that the execution proceed as planned at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, which houses the state’s death row inmates.
Under Tennessee law, officials must inform condemned individuals of their execution method in advance. The court’s order mandates that Pike be notified by August 28, 2026, a little more than a month before the scheduled execution.
Pike’s execution would mark a rare event in state history; the last woman executed in Tennessee was in 1820. With this ruling, the state moves to enforce its harshest penalty in a case that has haunted the Knoxville community for nearly three decades.