Christa Pike Survived Lethal Injection—Now Documentary Revisits the Murderer Who Kept Part of Her Victim’s Skull

A new documentary from the New York Post is revisiting Christa Pike's murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, bringing renewed attention to the crime after Pike survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her last month. The film examines the 1995 killing and the evidence that helped secure her conviction.

Pike was 18 when Slemmer, her classmate at a Knoxville Job Corps training programme, was murdered. She was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy in 1996 and sentenced to death. More than three decades later, the case continues to draw scrutiny over both the brutality of the crime and the punishment imposed.

Among the documentary's disturbing details is Pike's retention of a fragment of Slemmer's skull. Forensic anthropologist Dr Murray Marks recalled matching that fragment to the victim's skull during the trial-a moment that reportedly drew gasps in the courtroom.

Former Knoxville police chief Phil Keith also recalled Pike's demeanour during questioning. Speaking to the Post, he described her as "ruthless, without any remorse, almost giddy"-an account that underscores why the investigation has remained so unsettling to those involved.

On September 30, 2026, Tennessee officials administered two doses of pentobarbital during an execution attempt at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Pike survived and was taken to hospital. Reporting distinguished her case from earlier failed execution attempts in which officials could not establish intravenous access to administer the drugs.

Her attorneys announced on October 10 that she had been discharged from hospital and returned to prison.

Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. Governor Bill Lee subsequently halted executions and ordered an independent review. In comments reported October 29, he emphasised that Pike remained incarcerated under Tennessee law; those remarks did not announce a new execution date.

For Slemmer's family, the renewed coverage returns attention to a loss that has endured for decades. Her mother, May Martinez, told NBC News after the failed execution that she still wanted the sentence carried out. As debate continues over Pike's survival and future punishment, Slemmer's death remains the reason this case began.