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The night air in Knoxville, Tennessee, was freezing on January 12, 1995, but inside the Job Corps dorms, tension had been burning hot for weeks. At the center of it was 18-year-old Christa Pike. Volatile and intensely jealous, Christa had become convinced that another student, 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, was trying to steal her boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp.
That night, Christa set a trap. Under the guise of burying the hatchet and sharing some marijuana, Christa and Tadaryl lured Colleen into the dark, wooded grounds near the University of Tennessee campus. A third student, Shadolla Peterson, tagged along as a lookout.
Colleen had no idea what she was walking into.
Once hidden by the shadows, the atmosphere shifted instantly. What was supposed to be a peaceful truce turned into a horrific 45-minute nightmare. Christa and Tadaryl launched a violent attack, torturing Colleen while she pleaded for her life. They slashed her, beat her, and carved a pentagram into her chest. The ordeal ended when Christa lifted a heavy piece of asphalt and crushed Colleen’s skull. Before walking away, Christa picked up a jagged fragment of Colleen’s skull and slipped it into her jacket pocket as a trophy.
Within 36 hours, police had cracked the case. Christa didn't just confess—she proudly showed investigators the piece of skull still tucked in her coat.
In 1996, a jury convicted Christa Pike of first-degree murder and conspiracy. At just 18 years old, she became the youngest woman sentenced to death in modern U.S. history. Tadaryl Shipp, ineligible for the death penalty as a minor, received a life sentence, while Shadolla Peterson received probation for testifying against them.
Behind bars at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville, Christa’s dark history didn't end. In 2001, she nearly strangled a fellow inmate to death with a shoelace, adding an attempted murder charge to her record. Years later, in 2012, she made headlines again after authorities foiled an elaborate prison escape plot involving a bribed correctional officer.
Over the decades, her legal team has fought her execution, citing severe childhood abuse, brain damage, and mental illness. Yet court after court has upheld her sentence. Today, Christa Pike is scheduled to be executed by the state of Tennessee.
Sources:
Chattanoogan Reporting on Federal Appeals
Death Penalty Information Reporting on the Case
CHRISTA GAIL PIKE v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Hearing for convicted Job Corps killer Pike resumes
Murder victim's mother begs TN to release skull fragment
Judge denies Job Corps killer's appeal
Killer Christa Gail Pike asks fed court to block her execution
Final death-row appeal of Christa Gail Pike delayed again
Christa Pike woos Donald Kohut and Justin Heflin to help plan escape
Man arrested in foiled plot to bust Tenn. female death row inmate from jail
Tennessee Death Row Woman's Escape Plot Foiled
Judge dismisses death row inmate Christa Pike's bid to reopen her criminal case
Federal judge’s ruling opens death chamber door for Christa Gail Pike
Christa Gail Pike v. State of Tennessee (Tenn. Crim. App. 2013)
Christa Pike, Child Rape Victim, Faces Execution for Crime She Committed as a Teenager
True Crime Weekly Reporting of the Case
Inkwell Imprints Reporting on the Case
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