Christa Pike became jealous of her Job Corps classmate, 19-year old Colleen Slemmer, whom she believed was trying to "steal" her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, friends of Slemmer denied the accusations. Along with friend Shadolla Peterson, 18, Pike planned to lure Slemmer to an isolated, abandoned steam plant near the University of Tennessee campus.
On January 12, 1995, Pike, Shipp, Peterson, and Slemmer signed out of the dormitory and proceeded to the woods, where Slemmer was told they wanted to make peace by offering her some marijuana.
Upon arrival at the secluded location, Slemmer was attacked by Pike and Shipp while Peterson acted as lookout. According to later court testimony, for thirty minutes, Slemmer was taunted, beaten, and slashed, a pentagram was carved in her chest. Finally, Pike smashed Slemmer's skull with a large chunk of asphalt, killing her. Pike kept a piece of Slemmer's skull as a souvenir trophy.
On March 22, 1996, after only a few hours of deliberation, Pike was found guilty on both counts. On March 30, Pike was sentenced to death by electrocution for the murder charge and 25 years in prison for the conspiracy charge. In January 1997, Shipp was also found guilty on both counts. However, after the jury could not unanimously agree whether he deserved to spend the rest of his natural life in prison, the judge sentenced him to life in prison with parole eligibility. The judge imposed a consecutive 25-year sentence for his conspiracy conviction, ensuring that he would not become eligible for parole until he was in his late 40s or early 50s. Shipp will become eligible for parole in January 2026.
On September 30, 2025, the Tennessee Supreme Court issued a death warrant for Pike, scheduling her execution to take place exactly one year later, on September 30, 2026.
If Pike is executed, she will be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in the last 200 years.