She is currently unconscious and on a ventilator.

new information comes to light now that she has been hospitalised after two unsuccessful attempts to execute her by lethal injection on 30 September.

Pike, who has after she was sentenced to death for the torture of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995, was supposed to be executed last week.

She was the first woman set to be executed in but her legal representatives say she is still alive after being given ‘life-saving measures’ as two syringes of pentobarbital were injected into her and failed to work appropriately.

The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part trailer

Pike entered the execution chamber as planned and uttere with her saying: “I’m going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life, and that is with love.

“I’m at peace, I’m ready to be free. This is a happy day.”

Christa Pike was handed a death sentence (Tennessee Department of Correction)

Despite the lethal injection protocols requiring two doses of the deadly pentobarbital, the protocol doesn’t take into account what would need to happen if either failed.

Her lawyers – who had fought to stop the injections from taking place due to alleged health problems which made finding veins for the IV difficult, and a blood-clotting disorder – hit out after the failed attempt.

Per the , her lawyers said: “Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution.

“We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy.”

But the Tennessee Department of Correction says it ‘followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol’.

Ironically, Pike had requested to be killed in an alternative format prior to her lethal injections, citing she was fearful of the method failing.

She referenced the failed attempt of triple-murderer on 21 May, as being an example of why she was scared.

At the time, the inmate had been expected to die the same way as Pike, after he was sentenced to death in 1996 for the kidnapping and murders of Marcellos Anderson, his mother Delois Anderson, and Frederick Tucker.

However, the medical team was unable to source a primary IV line, and ultimately could not find a suitable second vein to establish a backup line, which is required by law in the execution protocol.

Tony Carruthers was set to be put to death on 21 May(Tennessee Department of Corrections)

As a result, he was given a one-year stay, which means he gets to be left alone for the time being until a new execution date is set.

His attorney’s also argued that his current mental state, brought on by Schizoaffective Disorder, Bipolar Type, and brain damage, would be too impaired for him to be executed.

“These disorders manifest in current symptoms of unending, synergistic, and complex delusions that thwart a rational understanding of his imminent execution,” his lawyers said at the time.

Now, Pike’s legal team are claiming the IV lines failed during her execution attempt, or that her veins had ruptured.

“Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realise that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms. Pike’s body,” they wrote.

The extent of Pike’s condition remains unclear.

What happens to Christa Pike’s body after death row execution

Teen killer Christa Pike, now 50, is convicted of killing a classmate

Warning: This article contains child abuse and crimes which some readers may find distressing.

Christa Pike is set to be executed in Tennessee today.

Despite by lethal injection, it remains scheduled to take place on Wednesday (30 September) at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee.

If someone claims her body

Christa Pike, 50, faces execution via lethal injection (Knox County Sheriff’s Department)

In most cases, the state will release the body of an inmate to friends or family members. After prison officials notify a pre-designated family member or legal representative, they are given a set window of time to claim the body.

The individual or estate is then responsible for the body, funeral, burial and transportation costs.

If nobody claims her body

She was found guilty of murder nearly 30 years ago (WBIR10)

If nobody claims Pike’s body, Tennessee officials must try to contact her relatives and keep the body for 96 hours. After that, the state’s chief medical examiner has another 72 hours to decide whether to take responsibility for it.

The county would arrange for it to be legally buried or cremated, as Pike’s property could be used to cover the cost. If there is not enough money the county would pay.

Although, Pike may already have arranged for someone to claim her body after her execution.

Why Pike is on death row

She was sentenced to death for the murder of Colleen Slemmer (Find a Grave)

A University of Tennessee employee found Slemmer’s body on 13 January, testifying that they had ‘first mistaken it for the corpse of an animal’.

Tennessee Supreme Court docs obtained by state that Pike ‘told her friend Kim Iloilo, who was also a student at the facility, that she intended to kill another student, Colleen Slemmer, because she ‘had just felt mean that day’.

“Pike went to Iloilo’s room and told Iloilo that she had just killed Slemmer and that she had brought back a piece of the victim’s skull as a souvenir,” the documents state.

“Pike said that a pentagram had been carved onto the victim’s forehead and chest. Iloilo said that Pike was dancing in a circle, smiling, and singing ‘la, la, la’ while she related these details about the murder.

“When Iloilo saw Pike at breakfast the next morning she asked Pike what she had done with the piece of the victim’s skull. Pike replied that it was in her pocket and then said, ‘And, yes, I’m eating breakfast with it’.”

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.

Featured Image Credit: Tennesse Department of Corrections

Christa Pike’s chilling final hours in countdown to execution before she meets ultimate punishment

Christa Pike will become the first woman to be executed in the state of Tennessee in 200 years today (30 September)

Britt Jones

At the time, Pike was just 18 years when she killed 19-year-old Slemmer, leading to national outcry as her crimes came to light.

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Throughout her incarceration, attorneys representing Pike had attempted to have her death date stopped, and most recently, filed a petition with the court ahead of her execution, and was denied.

In a statement, Governor Bill Lee said: “After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene.”

Christa Pike will be executed via lethal injection (Tennessee Department of Correction)

This means that Pike will be put to death as planned today (30 September) at 11:00 EDT, which is 3pm GMT.

Usually, when it comes to the death process in prison, there are a few things that happen in to the execution.

29 September: According to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution – where Pike is held – will continue to be locked down and restricted to inmates as Pike is held in the prison’s Capital Punishment Unit under observation.

12am: There, she would have eaten her final meal by midnight

3am: After her final meal, Pike would then have any personal call or visit stopped 12 hours prior to the scheduled execution, but she is able to speak with her lawyer when needed.

8am: At 8am local time, witnesses of the execution are to be briefed, per the outlet, and the pentobarbital syringes should be prepared for injection.

8:30am: Just half an hour later, media witnesses will arrive to the scene as members of Slemmer’s family enter the building by 9:15am.

9:45am: From there, both groups are to be taken into separate witness rooms by 9:45am, where Pike will be removed from her holding cell and strapped to a gurney as she’s moved to the execution chamber.

Execution time: Once in the chamber, a primary and backup IV will be inserted into Pike via vein, and she’ll also be hooked up to heart-monitoring equipment.

Once the prison wardens have confirmed that no stay of death or reprieve has been granted to Pike, she will then be offered the chance to make her final statement.

If she chooses to utter her last words, give grams of pentobarbital will be administered, and for five minutes, a waiting period will begin as the drugs take effect.

Afterwards, a doctor will confirm whether Pike has died, and if so, will declare her time of death.

If she survives, then a second dose can be administered.

The process is well established (Getty Stock Images)

The process is very methodical, and has happened a number of times to inmates who are executed in the state of Tennessee.

But that doesn’t mean it always goes to plan, which is something Pike has revealed in the run up to her own death.

In a letter written Pike said that she was not afraid to die and at peace.

“Whether my clemency is granted or not, I am at peace,” she wrote. “I’m not afraid to die.”

Pike then said the only thing she is ‘nervous’

Pike said something similar about her fears of in the YouTube documentary Dead Woman Walking: Pike Vs Tennessee, because of a previous failed attempt.

“I’m so scared that what just happened to Tony Carruthers will happen to me,” she said, referencing the May 2026 case, where Carruthers was granted a one-year reprieve after staff were unsuccessful in locating an intravenous line to inject the drugs into.

However, such a case is rare to occur.

Featured Image Credit: WKRN