Colleen Slemmer was brutally tortured and killed by Christa Pike in 1995. At the time, Pike was 18. She was sent to death row and now, at 50, Pike is set to be executed.
Pike and her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp were convicted of the murder of Slemmer. Pike has been accused of cutting a pentagram on Slemmer’s chest and striking her on the head with a piece of asphalt.
Speaking ahead of Pike’s execution, Slemmer’s mother said “Maybe now finally we have the justice. May Martinez added “It may not bring my daughter back but it might save another person from getting killed because she will do it again,” speaking to WKRN.
She was a victim of sexual abuse, multiple rapes, and parental abandonment and neglect. Dr. Bethany Brand, a clinical psychologist, noted that Pike’s history was one of ‘extraordinarily severe extreme trauma’. Pike reportedly was born with brain damage from her mother’s use of alcohol when pregnant. She suffered seizures from infancy and growing up, struggled to control impulses and follow instructions. She was also reportedly raped by her grandmother’s boyfriend. Unmedicated and untreated, she was not able to put the ‘brakes on’ her bipolar-and trauma-triggered emotions,” Dr Brand further observed.
Pike reportedly tried to take her own life at the age of 12. Then, at the age of 17, she was raped by a stranger. She added that Pike ‘experienced more severe adverse events than 99% of the US population,’ as per a Cornell Law School advocacy page . At 11, she was raped again and her mother didn’t believe her until Pike developed an infection forcing a teacher to intervene. “At 18 years old, her immature, traumatized brain made her exceptionally vulnerable to impulses and extremely poor decisions.
She developed ‘Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of the sexual violence she suffered as a child,’ the Cornell page notes.
Dr.
Jealousy was said to be the motive, but in the time since, horrific details from Pike’s own childhood surfaced. Jonathan Pincus, Professor of Neurology at Georgetown University said that growing up, Pike had an ‘almost unbearably abusive background.’
This marks the first execution of a woman in Tennessee in 200 years. He was present during the 1996 trial of Christa Pike, but has largely remained out of the public eye since then. Over $2500 was raised with the help of the Justice Coalition of Jacksonville to assist the Martinez duo in their travel. Pike is set to be executed on September 30 at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
The case has put focus on Colleen Slemmer’s parents and where they are now. Here’s all you need to know. Slemmer’s biological father is Michael Deacy. which is where Slemmer is from, his current whereabouts are not known While records indicate he used to live in Florida . On the contrary, Slemmer’s mother, May, has maintained a high profile and advocated for justice for her daughter throughout. She remarried and is now with Raul Martinez. May and Raul Martinez traveled to Tennessee to witness Pike’s execution. May had reportedly reached out to Ask Anthony, seeking help with travel costs so they could be there for Pike’s execution.
