Christa Pike

Christa Gail Pike was born on March 10, 1976, and grew up in Tennessee. Her childhood was marked by significant instability and abuse, and she later became involved with the Job Corps program in Knoxville.

At the time of Colleen Slemmer's murder, Pike was 18 years old and participating in the Job Corps program. She became romantically involved with fellow participant Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time.

Pike and Shipp became interested in occult and Satanic imagery, which later became a prominent feature of the prosecution's presentation of Slemmer's murder.

Pike's only confirmed murder was the killing of Colleen Slemmer.

Slemmer, 19, was another Job Corps student in Knoxville. In January 1995, Pike and Shipp lured Slemmer away from the Job Corps facility to a wooded area on the University of Tennessee's agricultural campus.

Pike and Shipp attacked Slemmer and subjected her to prolonged physical violence.

Slemmer was beaten and killed, and a pentagram was carved into her body. Investigators also recovered a piece of Slemmer's skull that Pike had kept as a souvenir.

The killing attracted national attention because of its unusually violent and ritualistic elements and occurred during a period of heightened public concern about alleged Satanic activity among young people.

Pike and Shipp lured Slemmer to an isolated wooded location before attacking her.

The murder involved prolonged physical assault and the use of a knife. The prosecution presented the pentagram carved into Slemmer's body and the removal of part of her skull as evidence of the ritualistic elements surrounding the killing.

The precise motive was connected to Pike's hostility toward Slemmer and jealousy surrounding Shipp, although the prosecution also emphasized Pike's interest in Satanic and occult themes.

Pike later admitted responsibility for Slemmer's killing.

Slemmer's disappearance was reported after she failed to return to the Job Corps facility.

Investigators quickly focused on Pike and Shipp after learning that they had been with Slemmer shortly before her disappearance.

Police questioned Pike and Shipp, and evidence recovered during the investigation linked them to the murder.

Both were arrested and charged with Slemmer's murder.

Pike's admissions to investigators became important evidence against her, including statements concerning the circumstances of the killing.

Pike was tried in Knox County, Tennessee, in 1996.

She was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.

Tadaryl Shipp was also convicted in connection with Slemmer's murder. Because Shipp was 17 when the crime occurred, he was not eligible for the death penalty and ultimately received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

Pike has remained on Tennessee's death row since March 1996. The Tennessee Department of Correction currently lists her as the only woman on Tennessee's death row.

While incarcerated, Pike was convicted in 2001 of attempted first-degree murder for an assault on fellow inmate Patricia Jones.

In 2026, Tennessee scheduled Pike's execution for September 30, 2026. Her attorneys sought to stop the execution, citing her age at the time of the murder, her history of childhood abuse and mental-health conditions.

Pike's case became closely associated with the Satanic panic of the 1990s. The pentagram carved into Slemmer's body, Pike's interest in Satanic imagery and reports concerning the teenagers' occult interests generated intense media attention.

Pike's defence in later years has focused partly on the fact that she was only 18 years old when she committed the murder. Her attorneys have argued that her youth, developmental immaturity, severe childhood abuse and mental-health conditions should be considered in determining whether the death penalty remains appropriate.

Pike has also expressed remorse for Slemmer's murder in later clemency proceedings. Slemmer's mother, however, has continued to support Pike's execution and has spoken about the lasting impact of her daughter's murder on the family.

The case remains notable because Pike has spent approximately 30 years on death row, making her one of the longest-serving female death-row prisoners in the United States.

As of the current CrimeTrakr profile date, the Tennessee Department of Correction lists Pike as the state's only female death-row prisoner and records her death-row status since March 1996.