By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-10-01 00:20:58 | Updated at 2026-10-01 01:02:18
55 minutes ago
Convicted killer Christa Pike will be put to death by the state of Tennessee today after US courts made a double U-turn on whether her execution would go ahead.
In 1995, the 50-year-old tortured and murdered classmate Colleen Slemmer with her boyfriend in Knoxville, with the victim found with a Satanic symbol carved into her body.
The following year, Pike was handed the death penalty - condemning her to become the first woman to be executed by the state of Tennessee in more than 200 years.
She was due to be killed on Wednesday, but the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit approved a request for a stay of execution at the 11th hour.
Execution witnesses had already arrived the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville before the court order came through just one hour before the 50-year-old was scheduled to be killed via lethal injection.
The ruling was made to allow judges time to consider whether claims she was sexually abused as a child were fully considered during her trial three decades ago.
Tennessee's Attorney General Johnathan Skrmetti immediately launched an appeal to the US Supreme Court after her execution was put on ice.
In the appeal, his office said the decision rewarded the “abusive delay tactics” of Pike's legal team and further traumatised the victim's family.
Christa Pike tortured and murdered classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995
REUTERS
But late on Wednesday evening, the Supreme Court reversed the lower-court order, clearing the way for Pike to be put to death.
The 50-year-old's rescheduled execution is now set to take place on Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Correction confirmed.
It said in a statement it would "move forward with the execution today".
The application to vacate the stay of execution was granted by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
Justices did not provide an explanation for their decision to overturn the last-minute reprieve.
Execution witnesses had already arrived the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville
STATE OF TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
According to court documents from her 1996 trial, Pike's "satanic" attack on her 19-year-old classmate lasted between 30 minutes and an hour, which saw Ms Slemmer beaten, kicked and stabbed multiple times.
The female killer accused the victim of trying to get [her] boyfriend" and "running her mouth" prior to the murder, according to the case file.
Just 24 hours before the attack, Pike told a friend she wanted to kill her classmate because she "just felt mean that day".
After luring Ms Slemmer to woods close to the University of Tennesse campus, Pike knocked her to the ground and proceeded to kick her in the face.
After the victim broke free, Pike's boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp held Ms Slemmer down to allow his girlfriend to slash her with a box cutter.
The 50-year-old's rescheduled execution is now set to take place on Thursday
REUTERS
Shipp - who was 17 years old at the time - then proceeded to carve pentagram symbols into the victim's chest and face.
According to court records, Pike took a piece of the victim's skull to school the day after the killing to show it off as a trophy to other students.
During the trial, Dr William Bernet said the brutal murder had "satanic elements" and showed signs of "the phenomenon of collective aggression".
Dr Eric Engum told jurors that while Pike had been diagnosed with "very severe borderline personality disorder", she did not exhibit signs of brain damage or insanity.
Due to being underage at the time, Shipp was not eligible for the death penalty, but was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
