For the first time in 200 years, a woman will be executed in the U.S. state of Tennessee. Krista Pike, now 50, committed the crime 31 years ago, at the age of 18.
Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Ship, beat, tortured and killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, whom they had met at a vocational training camp for troubled teenagers. The 1995 murder drew widespread attention in Knoxville because a five-pointed star had been carved into Colleen’s chest, presented as a symbol of a satanic ritual.
Pike claimed that Colleen had insulted her and tried to deceive her boyfriend. Later, two other campers testified that Pike had bragged about the killing both before and after the crime.
A year after the murder, Pike was sentenced to death. Her boyfriend, who was 17 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
What makes the case notable is not only the use of the death penalty, but also how much time has passed between the crime and the scheduled execution. Pike committed the crime at just 18 and is now 50, making the time span involved in the case particularly striking.
The sentences imposed on the two defendants in the same case also differed: Pike was sentenced to death, while her 17-year-old boyfriend was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The difference shows that the court imposed different sentences on the defendants in connection with the same murder case.
