Death Row Inmate Christa Pike Insists She's 'At Peace' as Her 'Painful' Execution Looms Within Hours: 'I Am Not Afraid to Die'
Christa Pike thanked her supporters in a final letter.
Sept. 29 2026, Published 3:42 p.m. ET
Christa Pike says she is "at peace," with just hours left until she is set to become the first woman put to death in Tennessee in more than 200 years, RadarOnline.com can report.
The 50-year-old is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Wednesday, Sept 30, for a 1995 killing, and she admitted that she was "nervous" about the process.
Christa Pike Shares Her Final Thoughts
Pike is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Wednesday.
Pike is set to be executed for the brutal 1995 murder of a classmate whom she accused of "trying to get with her boyfriend." The 50-year-old has spent the last 30 years on death row. She is the only woman in Tennessee currently scheduled to die.
Before her sentence is carried out, Pike's spiritual advisor shared a letter on her behalf expressing her "gratitude" to everyone who has supported her, writing: "I've felt more love in the last two weeks than I have my entire life."
On Monday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee denied clemency for Pike, saying in a statement, "After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike's request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene."
Pike's last chance at salvation is now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court, but regardless of how they rule, she is mentally prepared.
"Whether my clemency is granted or not, I am at peace," she writes. "I am not afraid to die. I'm only nervous about the process."
Christa Pike's Lawyer Wants to Prevent Her Execution
She shared her final thoughts in a personal letter.
Pike's lawyer has argued the "process" should be paused and has challenged Tennessee's lethal injection protocol, citing a rare blood disorder that could complicate IV placement and lead to a "prolonged and agonizing" death for her.
Her lawyer has also requested an all-female team to carry out the injection, arguing that Pike has post-traumatic stress disorder from abuse she suffered at the hands of men as a young girl, including when she was just two years old.
"(Lethal injection administered by men) will increase the likelihood that an 8th Amendment violation will occur," Pike’s lawyer Stephen Ferrell said in reference to cruel and unusual punishment.
Christa Pike 'Just Felt Mean That Day'
Pike was 18 years old when she killed her rival.
As Radar reported, Pike was 18 when she and 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer participated in a federal job-training program for troubled adolescents in 1995. But according to court documents, the two were not friendly with each other.
"They had a strained relationship," the court documents said. "Pike claimed that Slemmer 'had been trying to get (her) boyfriend' and… 'running her mouth' everywhere."
According to the Tennessee Supreme Court, "On January 11, 1995, Pike, a student at the Job Corps Centre in Knoxville, told her friend Kim Iloilo, who was also a student at the facility, that she intended to kill another student, Colleen Slemmer, because she 'had just felt mean that day.'"
"The next day, Pike lured Slemmer out by convincing her they were making a trip to a local Blockbuster video store. Instead, however, she and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat their classmate, slashed her throat, and engraved satanic symbols on her body."
Christa Pike Kept a Piece of Her Victim's Skull
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She kept a piece of her murder victim's skull as a 'souvenir'.
Later that night, Pike went to Iloilo's room and boasted that she had just killed Slemmer and that she had brought back a piece of the victim's skull as a souvenir.
"Pike then showed Iloilo the piece of skull and told her that she had "cut the victim's throat six times, beaten her, and thrown asphalt at the victim’s head," the report states. "Pike told Iloilo that the victim had begged them to stop cutting and beating her, but Pike did not stop because the victim continued to talk."
Pike told Iloilo that she had thrown a large piece of asphalt at the victim’s head, and when it broke into smaller pieces, she had thrown those at the victim as well. She also told her friend that a meat cleaver had been used "to cut the victim’s back and a box cutter had been used to cut her throat."
Iloilo said that Pike was dancing in a circle, smiling, and singing "la, la, la" while she confessed the details of the murder.
"When Iloilo saw Pike at breakfast the next morning, she asked Pike what she had done with the piece of the victim’s skull," the report summarized. "Pike replied that it was in her pocket and then said, 'And, yes, I’m eating breakfast with it'."
