NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Supreme Court has scheduled the state’s first female execution in more than 200 years, ordering that 49-year-old Christa Gail Pike be put to death on September 30, 2026, for the brutal 1995 torture and murder of fellow Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer.
In a decision released this week, the high court granted the state’s request to carry out the execution, rejecting Pike’s appeal for commutation. Justices ruled that she had failed to demonstrate any extenuating circumstances under Tennessee law that would justify delaying or altering her sentence.
The execution will be conducted at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, home to the state’s death row inmates.
Pike, then 18, led a deadly assault on 19-year-old Slemmer in a wooded area near the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Prosecutors said the attack stemmed from Pike’s jealousy, as she believed Slemmer was pursuing her boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp, who was later sentenced to life in prison. A third participant, Shadolla Peterson, cooperated with prosecutors and received probation.
According to court records, Pike and her accomplices lured Slemmer from their Job Corps dormitory on January 12, 1995, under the pretense of making peace. Instead, the group spent more than an hour torturing her.
Pike used a box cutter to carve a pentagram into Slemmer’s chest before striking her repeatedly in the head. A campus groundskeeper discovered the victim’s body the following day, initially mistaking it for animal remains due to the extent of the injuries.
Testimony from another student, Kim Iloilo, revealed that Pike had spoken about wanting to kill someone just a day before the murder, saying she “just felt mean that day.” Iloilo told investigators she saw the group walk into the woods around 8 p.m. and return two hours later without Slemmer.
The Tennessee Supreme Court’s 1998 opinion recounted Pike’s disturbing confession. That night, she allegedly told Iloilo that she had brought back a fragment of Slemmer’s skull as a “souvenir,” describing the killing in chilling detail while “smiling and singing.” Iloilo later testified that Pike claimed to have kept the skull piece in her pocket during breakfast the next morning.
The state must notify Pike of the method of execution by August 28, 2026, according to the court order. Tennessee currently allows inmates to choose between lethal injection or electrocution.
If carried out as scheduled, Pike’s execution will mark a historic and controversial moment for Tennessee’s justice system, as no woman has been executed in the state since the early 1800s.
