351:
Criminal Court Judge Mary Beth
Leibowitz granted the request and an execution date of August 19, 2002, was set. Pike soon thereafter changed her mind and on July 8, 2002, defense lawyers filed a motion to allow the appeal process to continue. This motion was denied. However, on August 2, 2002, a three-judge state appeals court panel ruled that the proceedings should be continued and the execution was not carried out. In December 2008, Pike's latest request for a new trial was turned down and she was returned to death row. With this denial Pike's allowed appeals under the rules and procedures of the State of Tennessee's criminal justice system were exhausted.
258:
them were frequently negligent. An aunt noted that infant Pike would be "crawling around through piles of dog stool all over the house," and that Hansen wanted to keep partying when she received news that her toddler was experiencing severe seizures. Pike's paternal grandmother would frequently help care for her; Pike believed she was the only one who ever loved her. When her grandmother died in 1988, Pike made her first suicide attempt at age 12, for which she received little support.
262:
half-sisters claimed to have been molested by Pike, causing her father to send her away. Pike additionally claimed to have been sexually assaulted or molested at several points in time; her friends and family doubt these occurrences, noting that she is a pathological liar. In one incident, a man phoned claiming that he was going to rape her; in response, Pike and a friend beat him with a stick in a parking lot.
398:
about the escape plot. This led to the attempted prison break being thwarted by a joint investigation involving the
Tennessee Department of Corrections, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and the New Jersey State Police. According to the TBI, the plan was not very far along when uncovered and "the jailbreak was not imminent".
394:
1700-mile (by car) round trip from
Flemington, New Jersey to Nashville, Tennessee to visit Pike in person on visiting days once or twice a month. Eventually Kohut communicated a plan for her escape to Pike and enlisted the help of corrections officer Heflin, who agreed to participate in return for cash and gifts.
429:
and various other factors, Pike's attorneys were granted extensions by the court, allowing them more time to argue as to why Pike should not be executed. The state did not oppose the extensions. On June 7, 2021, Pike's attorneys filed a motion to oppose the execution date and request a
Certificate of
401:
In March 2012, Kohut was arrested and charged with bribery and conspiracy to commit escape, while Heflin was arrested and charged with bribery, official misconduct and conspiracy to commit escape. Pike was not charged and it was unclear to the investigators if she was a participant in the conspiracy
320:
Pike began to show off the piece of skull around the school, and within thirty-six hours the three were arrested. The log book showed that Pike, Shipp, Peterson, and
Slemmer left together and only three returned. Detectives found the piece of skull in Pike's jacket pocket. Soon after her arrest, Pike
297:
Christa became jealous of her Job Corps classmate, 19-year-old
Colleen Slemmer, who she thought was trying to "steal" her boyfriend from her; 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
257:
Christa Pike was born in 1976 to
Carissa Hansen and Emil Glenn Pike in Beckley, West Virginia. Her parents had a tumultuous relationship, being married for two years, divorced for a year after Hansen was found to be cheating, and remarried for another two years after Hansen attempted suicide. Both of
380:
at the time of her attack. Pike was convicted of attempted first degree murder on August 12, 2004. Although it is the position of the
Tennessee Department of Corrections that Cornett assisted in this crime, their investigators concluded there was insufficient evidence to charge her with helping Pike
452:
In
October 2023, Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green denied Pike's request, saying the November 2022 Supreme Court ruling didn't apply to her. "The Booker case addressed only juvenile offenders in Tennessee," Judge Green noted. "The high court, in the opinion written by now retired Justice
261:
Pike's living situation continued to be unstable throughout her teenage years as she was both the recipient, and perpetrator, of violence. One of her mother's boyfriends punched her in the face; criminal charges were filed, then settled. While staying with her father's new family, one of her young
397:
Because of security concerns, the
Tennessee Department of Corrections has not provided many details about the plan; however, the eventually unsealed indictment laid out a scenario where a prison key would be traced and then a duplicate created. Early in 2012, prison personnel received information
350:
Following the guilty verdict, Pike "launched, cancelled and then re-launched" an appeal of her conviction in the Tennessee state courts. In June 2001, then again in June 2002, against the advice of her lawyers, Pike asked the courts to drop her appeal and sought to be executed via electrocution.
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In May 2014, Pike's lawyers entered an appeal in the federal court system. Her lawyers sought a commutation of the sentence from death to prison on the following grounds: ineffective assistance of counsel; Pike suffered from mental illness; and capital punishment as administered in Tennessee is
393:
man named Donald Kohut. Though it has never been determined how it exactly began, Kohut, who worked as a personal trainer and was then in his early thirties, entered into a letter-writing correspondence with Pike around the beginning of 2011. By July of that year, Kohut was making the nearly
433:
Prior to November 2022, Pike had completely exhausted all appeals processes. However, in November 2022, the state Supreme Court found that the state's law for juveniles automatically sentenced to life in prison without a chance at parole was unconstitutional. (See Knoxville case
265:
Although she had been bright as a child, her unstable home life caused her to frequently change schools, causing her performance in school to deteriorate. In tenth grade, she was sent to a juvenile facility for a year, where she became interested in the
334:, 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. Shipp received a life sentence with the possibility of
313:. Upon arrival at the secluded location, Slemmer was attacked by Pike and Shipp while Peterson acted as lookout. According to later court testimony, for the next thirty minutes Slemmer was taunted, beaten, and slashed; and a
376:) attacked and attempted to strangle fellow inmate Patricia Jones with a shoe string, and nearly succeeded in choking her to death. Jones had been serving a life sentence for the 1994 murder of 84-year-old Alberta Coker in
449:) in an attempt to reopen her bid to have her 1996 conviction and sentence thrown out. Pike's lawyers argued her young age and damaged mental health at the time of the killing should spare her from facing execution.
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issued on March 11, 2016, all grounds were rejected and the requested commutation was denied. On August 22, 2019, having heard the same appeal by Pike's lawyers on October 1, 2018, the three judge panel on the
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During Pike's trial, the prosecution was aided by evidence and Pike's confession. Pike was charged with first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. On March 22, 1996, after only a few hours of
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Sharon Lee, specifically addressed the question of juveniles, not adults. This ruling applies only to juvenile homicide offenders - not to adult offenders," the decision states.
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409:. Heflin, who cooperated with authorities after his arrest, served no prison time, but was terminated from his job with the Tennessee Department of Corrections.
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502:. Christa Pike was also featured on season one episode four of the TV show World's Most Dangerous Criminals. A book was written about the murder, called
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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.
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212:
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637:"DEFENDANT CHRISTA PIKE'S RESPONSE IN OPPOSITION TO THE STATE'S MOTION TO SET EXECUTION DATE AND REQUEST FOR A CERTIFICATE OF COMMUTATION"
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confessed to police of the torture and killing of Slemmer, but insisted they were merely trying to scare her and it got out of control.
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In March 2012, it was revealed that Pike had made escape plans involving corrections officer Justin Heflin and a
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551:"Chattanooga Federal Judge Upholds Conviction of Christa Pike, Who Carried out Torture Murder Of Romantic Rival"
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688:
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270:, a government program aimed at helping low-income youth by offering vocational training and career skills.
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281:. Pike began dating a man a year her junior named Tadaryl Shipp. Together, they developed interest in the
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If Pike is executed, she would be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in roughly 200 years.
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On May 31, 2012, Kohut was sentenced to seven years in prison to be served at the Tennessee State
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and proceeded to the woods, where Slemmer was told they wanted to make peace by offering her some
857:"Pike 's own words did her in - Court not convinced killer reacted to save another inmate's life"
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790:"Killer Christa Gail Pike asks fed court to block her execution » Knoxville News Sentinel"
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914:"Christa Pike woos Donald Kohut and Justin Heflin to help plan escape | KSDK.com"
231:(born March 10, 1976) is an American convicted murderer, and the youngest woman to be
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1041:"Tennessee Is Seeking an Execution Date for the Only Woman on the State's Death Row"
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On August 30, 2023, lawyers for Pike used the November 2022 Supreme Court ruling (
1015:"Judge dismisses death row inmate Christa Pike's bid to reopen her criminal case"
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342:, received probation for pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact.
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As of March 10, 2024, the state had not yet set an execution date for Pike.
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Hunterdon County Democrat, "Tennessee prisoner faces 45 more counts in N.J."
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Philip Caulfield, "2 Busted in Plot To Spring Female Killer From Death Row"
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On January 12, 1995, Pike, Shipp, Peterson, and Slemmer signed out of the
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In the fall of 1994, Pike attended the now-closed Job Corps center in
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1069:"Only woman on death row in Tennessee seeks commutation of sentence"
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panel unanimously upheld the lower court ruling and denied relief.
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of her classmate Colleen Slemmer, which she committed at age 18.
1073:
978:
Christina Ng, "Tennessee Death Row Woman's Escape Plot Foiled"
372:
On August 24, 2001, Pike (with alleged assistance from inmate
355:
unconstitutional. In a 61-page ruling by U.S. District Judge
815:
Federal court denies Pike's request to overturn death penalty
521:
List of people scheduled to be executed in the United States
470:
The murder of Colleen Slemmer was featured on the TV shows
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Love and Hate on Death Row, The Tennessean July 6 2003
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United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
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United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
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456:Pike, however, was legally an adult, Green wrote.
966:Associated Press, "Pair Planed to Copy Jail Key"
968:, Chattanooga Times Free Press, March 24, 2012.
526:List of women on death row in the United States
417:On August 27, 2020, Tennessee Attorney General
753:"Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing"
516:List of death row inmates in the United States
425:to set an execution date for Pike. Due to the
1117:American people convicted of attempted murder
184:Box cutter, meat cleaver and chunk of asphalt
8:
1157:Violence against women in the United States
845:, US Federal Courts Archive August 22, 2019
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578:
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1147:Prisoners sentenced to death by Tennessee
947:James Queally, "Raritan TWP Man Arrested"
603:
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245:period. She was 20 when convicted of the
338:plus 25 years. Peterson, who had turned
16:American convicted murderer on death row
1142:People convicted of murder by Tennessee
1137:Crimes involving Satanism or the occult
833:, Knoxville News Sentinel Match 11 2016
542:
992:, New York Daily News, March 22, 2012.
942:
940:
938:
936:
934:
908:
906:
213:Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center
1132:American prisoners sentenced to death
881:, Tennessee Department of Correction.
728:
726:
706:
704:
430:Commutation. The motion was denied.
7:
1127:American people convicted of torture
855:Satterfield, Jamie (March 9, 2006).
1122:American people convicted of murder
1177:People from Beckley, West Virginia
14:
1162:1995 murders in the United States
900:, Available on Prison Talk Online
1167:20th-century American criminals
1067:Jorge, Kaylin (June 8, 2021).
720:, Knoxville News April 7, 2008
427:COVID-19 pandemic in Tennessee
407:Northeast Correctional Complex
402:other than being aware of it.
1:
1039:Hale, Steven (June 8, 2021).
670:"Angel's Face, Devil's Heart"
1172:Criminals from West Virginia
742:, Knoxville News Dec 11 2008
698:, Knoxville News Dec 21 2008
668:Will Kern (April 22, 2001).
980:, ABC News, March 21, 2012.
831:Federal Judge Denies Appeal
779:, Knoxville News Dec 4 2008
368:Attempted murder conviction
91:Conspiracy to commit murder
1193:
1112:American female murderers
1004:, nj.com, March 29, 2019.
956:, NJ.COM, March 30, 2019.
440:, for complete ruling).
357:Harry Sandlin Mattice Jr.
222:
68:
1152:Women sentenced to death
506:, by Patricia Springer.
421:'s office requested the
495:Snapped: Killer Couples
423:Tennessee Supreme Court
385:Attempted prison escape
300:University of Tennessee
196:; 29 years ago
61:Awaiting execution on
50:Beckley, West Virginia
346:Appeals of conviction
194:January 14, 1995
777:Pike's Final Appeal
733:Judge Denies Appeal
490:Martinis and Murder
413:Scheduled execution
96:First degree murder
952:2020-11-12 at the
896:2017-09-20 at the
878:Women on Death Row
738:2012-07-17 at the
716:2012-07-17 at the
694:2012-07-17 at the
466:In popular culture
233:sentenced to death
209:Imprisoned at
115:Time at large
675:The Straits Times
504:A Love To Die For
500:Mean Girl Murders
229:Christa Gail Pike
226:
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33:Christa Gail Pike
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916:. Archived from
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755:. Archived from
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644:Tennessee Courts
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555:The Chattanoogan
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239:during the post-
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190:Date apprehended
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140:January 12, 1995
109:— March 30, 1996
103:Criminal penalty
98:— March 22, 1996
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718:Wayback Machine
711:Hearing Resumes
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696:Wayback Machine
689:Rejected Appeal
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618:. pp. 8–10
611:
609:"Pike v. Gross"
607:
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586:"Pike v. State"
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446:State v. Booker
437:State v. Booker
419:Herbert Slatery
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374:Natasha Cornett
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132:Colleen Slemmer
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58:Criminal status
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43:March 10, 1976
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920:on 2013-01-27
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843:Denied Appeal
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813:Mike Donila:
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796:on 2014-06-08
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759:on 2008-12-02
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85:Conviction(s)
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45:(age 48)
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1078:. Retrieved
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1023:. Retrieved
1021:. 2023-10-31
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922:. Retrieved
918:the original
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473:Deadly Women
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332:deliberation
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23:Christa Pike
1102:1976 births
485:Killer Kids
168:Location(s)
1096:Categories
1025:2024-03-14
924:2012-04-16
800:2014-05-13
763:2009-12-22
622:2023-11-16
537:References
479:For My Man
391:New Jersey
253:Background
201:1995-01-14
39:1976-03-10
862:April 28,
378:Knoxville
340:informant
315:pentagram
311:marijuana
307:dormitory
279:Tennessee
275:Knoxville
268:Job Corps
217:Nashville
173:Knoxville
161:Tennessee
63:death row
1019:wbir.com
950:Archived
894:Archived
736:Archived
714:Archived
692:Archived
590:casetext
510:See also
302:campus.
156:State(s)
77:Jealousy
1080:June 8,
1052:June 8,
819:WBIR-TV
561:June 6,
235:in the
199: (
180:Weapons
145:Country
129:Victims
124:Details
498:, and
336:parole
283:occult
242:Furman
119:2 days
73:Motive
52:, U.S.
640:(PDF)
612:(PDF)
532:Notes
325:Trial
293:Crime
107:Death
1082:2021
1074:WZTV
1054:2021
864:2024
563:2017
285:and
137:Date
29:Born
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