Tennessee Schedules Date for Christa Pike's Execution
Christa Pike Set For September Execution Next Year
The state of Tennessee has officially set a date for Christa Pike's execution -- and if it goes through, she'll become the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years.
The state's Supreme Court has scheduled the execution for September 30, 2026, USA Today reports.
Pike killed Colleen Slemmer, whom she'd originally met through a career-training program, after she began suspecting Colleen would try and steal her boyfriend.
Pike, as well as her boyfriend and another friend, lured Colleen into a wooded area near the Knoxville Job Corps center, where the victim was attacked and eventually killed. Pike reportedly bragged about the incident, during which she carved pentagrams into Colleen's forehead and chest.
Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, were both convicted of first-degree murder, while her friend, Shadolla Peterson, testified against her and ended up sentenced to probation. Shipp was sentenced to life in prison ... he's set to become eligible for parole next month.
Pike has since accepted responsibility for her actions, and her attorneys have claimed her troubled upbringing -- which allegedly included physical and sexual abuse -- would have earned her a life sentence had she been tried today.
Pike's attorneys also cited the Death Penalty Information Center ... only three women have ever been executed in the state of Tennessee, the most recent in 1819.
Although lethal injection using pentobarbital has been Tennessee's main method of execution for several years, five offenders chose electrocution as their method between 2018 and 2019, according to the Tennessee Department of Corrections.