Tennessee is moving closer to executing its first woman in over two centuries after the state Supreme Court allowed the case of Christa Gail Pike to proceed. Now 49, Pike is the only woman on Tennesseeās death row. She was just 18 when she was convicted in one of the stateās most gruesome murder casesāthe 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student in the Knoxville Job Corps program. Authorities say jealousy and a dispute over Pikeās boyfriend led to a premeditated and brutal attack that shocked law enforcement and the public alike.
Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to death. Other individuals involved in the crime received lesser sentences, and Pike later received an additional prison term following another serious incident while incarcerated. Her execution is currently scheduled for September 30, 2026, though her attorneys continue to fight it, citing her youth at the time of the offense, mental health diagnoses, history of trauma, and expressions of remorseāfactors that have made the case both rare and fiercely debated.
