KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Christa Gail Pike, the only woman on death row in Tennessee, faces a September 2026 execution date.

The Tennessee Supreme Court set Pike's Sept. 30, 2026, date on Tuesday. It also set dates for Gary Wayne Sutton, convicted out of Blount County, Tony Carruthers out of Shelby County, and Anthony Hines out of Cheatham County.

Pike led a gruesome and prolonged attack on Colleen A. Slemmer, 19, a fellow Knoxville Job Corps student, on a rainy night in January 1995 on a pathway on the University of Tennessee Agricultural campus.

By her own estimate, Pike, then 18, and boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, 17 at the time, slashed, beat and ultimately killed Slemmer for 30 minutes to an hour. They brought along another young Job Corps resident, Shadolla Peterson, then 18, who they alleged

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