Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old Job Corps student, was killed in Knoxville, Tennessee, in January 1995 by Christa Pike, who was 18 at the time. Pike told investigators that she was angry because Slemmer had been 'running her mouth' about her and was trying to 'get' her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, according to court records.
The case returned to national attention after Pike's scheduled execution on 30 September 2026 was halted. The Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily stayed the execution while it considered claims concerning Pike's history of childhood abuse and neglect. The US Supreme Court later vacated the stay, allowing the execution to proceed. Tennessee's lethal-injection procedure was subsequently unsuccessful, with Pike receiving two rounds of pentobarbital before being taken to hospital, according to officials and her lawyers.
