Her Heinous Crime Put Her On Death Row At 18 Years Old

Lights out, everybody. What's up, everybody? And welcome back to another episode of Lights Out. I'm your host, Josh, and I'm joined by the one and only Daniel, the [music] producer. Yeah, I'm in the light now. Yeah. >> You're in the light. You're not in the dark. You know, I said, "You can come out of the corner today." And uh join me For this one cuz I I honestly didn't want to sit alone. That's fair. >> I'm tired of sitting alone. That's fair. >> So, thank you. >> you know, he's in Japan. Yeah, Ian's in Japan

right now, living it up, eating probably everything in sight. Oh, I'm so jealous. >> All the good food there. I'm so jealous. He's having a great time. Uh but yeah, Ian's Ian's uh doing his thing, and so Danny's helping Me out with today's episode. It's a my god, this one is uh just it's so stupid, but it's just it's so incredibly sad. This poor girl that was brutally brutally murdered by just uh evil evil human. Truly. Christa Pike. Man, I I How do you even really This one How do you even cross my radar until

till recently. And I never really Thought that much about [music] it cuz there's, you know, there's surprisingly some talk online about how her punishment is uh not fair, it's cruel. And I was like, "Okay, well, let let me look at this." Cuz I'm like, "Whenever I see people advocating for somebody on death row to get off of death row, I'm always like, 'Okay, well, let's let's see what happened here.'" And you start diving Into this case, you find out really really quickly why Christa Pike is on death row. Yeah. I mean, you know, this was

uh just absolutely brutal crime, and she became the youngest woman to land herself on death row at 18 years old. Uh, man, it's uh it's uh it's a tough one to to really even wrap your head around because it's just like, why? Why'd she do it? And There's a couple different things uh that you can point to. But, Krista Pike, man, whew, she's actually scheduled to be executed this September, believe it or not. After three decades behind bars, believe it or not. Uh which we'll see. I mean, that's the that's the one issue with the

criminal justice system, right? When you end up On death row, it's usually a long, long time before you're executed. Uh there's a lot of waiting, there's tons of appeals, right? And that's what Krista's been doing all these years is fighting her sentence and trying to uh get it overturned, and which I can't I can't blame people when they want to do this because I understand, you know, they want to live, but it is just such a tax on the On the victims' families, on the justice system, on everybody, when they should really just live out

their sentence, or this case. Yeah. Well, I mean, Colleen, the victim in this case, her mother has been very outspoken and and has found it really painful to even live with the fact that Krista's still alive, that she was sentenced to death, but she's still Awaiting execution because her mother believes, you know, the the sort of the the classic philosophy of an eye for an eye. And I think uh you know, by the end of this, uh I think you'll see why why she feels the way that she does, because it is just absolutely brutal

what happens to poor Colleen. But, let's go ahead and get into the Krista Pike case. You know, 18 years old at the time of this crime back in 1995, it was so shocking that People could not believe that an 18-year-old could be responsible for such a heinous crime and everybody was asking over what and what we'll see is a very volatile relationship that sort of uh really really gets dark real quick and you know a boyfriend who's a Satanist so-called Satanist you know and just things just spiral out of control before we know it the

absolute worst happens. So to really try to understand Christa Pike why she did what she did and why everything happened the way that it did we have to go back to the beginning cuz I think with every killer serial killer out there often times there are signs in their early childhood and in their upbringing that sort of points you know to them going down a particular path right? Christa Gail Pike she had a pretty rough start from day one. She's born in North Carolina on March 10th 1976. There are some sources out there that say

she was born in West Virginia uh the sources that we use specified North Carolina so we're going to roll with that. But Christa's mother drank heavily during the pregnancy and Christa was born with some problems uh brain problems. She also suffered from seizures as a baby. But that was far from the only thing that she was dealing with. Christa's childhood was basically A nightmare of instability and horrific abuse. Her mother Christa wasn't a stable parent instead she prioritized partying and the men in her life. She also struggled with depression and alcoholism and even attempted to

take her own life when Christa was just a toddler. She dealt with a lot of trauma from her own childhood and instead of breaking the cycle she passed it on. She abused Christa and often neglected her. Christa's father Emil lived in West Virginia and when Christa couldn't look after Christa she sent her to stay with him and other family members. So Christa she shuffled between different households growing up and in each place something happened to her. Her father would beat and whip her, leaving scars. Her maternal grandmother had alcohol use disorder and would hit her.

While her grandfather would babysit Krista in his farm's slaughterhouse. So, a lot of horrible things going on there. And, you know, on a child that's going to leave not only leave scars, but it's going to, you know, leave a lot of trauma uh for them to deal with later on. Krista would even watch him kill and skin animals, some of which she'd grown attached to and even named, which is just completely [ __ ] up. And it seemed Like every home she was sent to had its own way of traumatizing her. And as the years

went on, that instability didn't fade. It became the only constant. Whenever she went back to her mom's house, nothing got better. Her mom would often leave to go out drinking. And uh yeah, just leaving her alone. Krista did have an older half-sister, Alicia, but we don't know that much about her, but she later admitted to contributing to the abuse. She would Tell Krista she was unwanted and she should leave the family. She'd even lock Krista in a room for hours while their mother was gone. And it so it just really seemed like everyone in her

family was torturing her in one way or another. But there was one exception, her paternal grandmother. She treated Krista with love and care. And whenever Krista stayed with her, it was a rare break from everything else. Unfortunately, even her grandmother's Home may not have been safe. It's believed that her grandmother's boyfriend was sexually assaulting Krista when she was just 2 years old. It's unclear whether her grandmother knew about this, but others eventually began to suspect that something was very wrong. When Krista was in kindergarten, a teacher caught her drawing penises in class. And obviously, the

teacher was concerned And reported it, but Krista's mom never got her any help, and the warning sign was ignored. And it didn't stop there. I mean, this is a lot to happen in such a short amount of time in early on childhood, but Krista would continue to face horrific sexual abuse. Her mom had many boyfriends, many different husbands and boyfriends growing up, and Krista later said that some of them touched her inappropriately. She also experienced abuse outside of her home. When she was a preteen, she was walking outside when a neighbor pushed her down into

a wheat patch and raped her. The next day at school, she told a teacher about what had happened and they called the police. So, it's just like back-to-back, to back, one thing after another. Krista was able to identify the man in a lineup and he was charged, but he Ultimately pleaded no contest to a lesser offense. But even then, Krista's mom didn't believe the rape had happened and refused to get her any mental health help. Then at just 12 years old, Krista suffered a major loss, which was the only person that showed her any sort

of love and care, her paternal grandmother, had died. It sent her into a mental health crisis and she began experiencing periods of amnesia and dissociation. She Later said that during these episodes, she perceived herself outside and above herself. And all this led to Krista trying to end her own life by overdosing on Tylenol. And as time went on, things just didn't get any better. At 13, she was sexually assaulted by her mother's boyfriend and after that relationship ended, her mother ended her fourth marriage with a man who physically tormented Krista. He constantly whipped her with

a leather Strap. And some sources even say that he even hung the strap on her bedroom wall as a reminder of what could happen at any moment. Eventually, Krista sent Krista to live with her dad, not to protect her from the abuse, but because her husband just didn't like kids. And when that marriage ended, Krista went back to her mom's and things got even worse. Her mom's next boyfriend was even more abusive. He too would whip Her, sometimes waking her up in the middle of the night in order to do it, and on top of

that, he sexually abused her. He'd have {quote} wrestling matches where he would twist her nipples and touch her inappropriately. But everything came to a head when he reportedly punched her in the face and someone contacted CPS and got them involved and a judge finally ordered that he not be left alone with Krista. And at that Point, she was then sent from her mom's house back to her father's again. But her father's house was also full of just as much abuse and toxicity. He just continued whipping her, beating her. He kicked her out twice. The last

time he claimed he found Krista abusing his 2-year-old daughter whom he had with his new wife. After that, Krista was sent back to live with her mother. It's unclear whether the abusive boyfriend was still living In the home at that point. And even outside of the house, Krista was still not safe. One day, 17-year-old Krista was walking down the street when a stranger jumped her. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her up a hill, and he slammed her onto the ground, hitting her head on a rock, and then violently raped her. She screamed

for help, but he didn't stop until a car drove by, and then he took off. Krista was able to run over to a Friend's home and call the police, and then she was taken to the hospital, and tests confirmed that she had in fact been assaulted. Her mom, of course, still did not believe her, and she never took Krista to any follow-up appointments or any counseling or support. I mean, her mother is the worst mom on the planet. >> Completely agree. Completely agree. A lot of the pain and suffering that she then caused on her

own later in life Could have been avoided if she got the mental health care she needed in the first place. >> Right. Right. I mean, her parents are really truly to blame for putting their own daughter on this this horrible path and continuing the cycle of abuse and violence. Uh it's really sad. I feel for Krista in that respect of just nobody should have to go through the things that she went through. No, I Agree. I agree. By the time Krista reached her teenage years, she hadn't just experienced trauma, she had been shaped by it,

which makes complete sense. Krista dropped out of high school in 1993. She never had any stability in her education, and by that point she had changed schools 12 times, which is going to be tough for for any kid. I mean, that's a lot of change, the constant change before house, she has no Stability, no security, uh pretty much living in fear. And I mean, that's really going to have an effect on you and effect on your psyche and, you know, maturing and becoming uh a capable, productive adult. Uh and despite all of this, surprisingly, her

mom still wanted Krista to pursue a career in like, "Oh, yeah, you should have a normal job and a normal life." And so, Krista enrolled in Job Corps, a program designed to give Her a fresh start. Are you tired of looking at your bank account wondering where all your money went? Spending hours and hours combing over bank statements, or does not looking at your bank account at all? Well, that was me for a long time. But Rocket Money absolutely changed the game. I'm a huge Rocket Money fan. It's an app that I use every single

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that will help you find and cancel unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps you lower your bills so that you can grow your savings. So, check it out today, and let Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at Rocketmoney.com/lightsout. That's rocketmoney.com/lightsout. rocketmoney.com/lightsout. Job Corps is a federal program that offers free residential education and career training to low-income students ages 16 to 24. It was created as a part of President Lyndon B. Johnson's Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. And at the time this story takes place, the Job Corps had 111 centers around the

country with roughly 60,000 young people enrolling each year. Students there received housing, meals, mental health counseling, and medical care. In September of 1994, Krista started a nursing program at a Job Corps facility in Knoxville, Tennessee. Faculty and students at the center have said it was a tense environment. Things like violence, drug use, and intense bullying were just part of daily life. Some students were even known for bringing Knives and guns to class. But, Krista wasn't fazed by that. At first, she fit in. She made friends quickly, including a girl named Colleen Slemmer. Colleen grew up

in Florida and joined Job Corps at 19 to study computer science. The two met at orientation. And even though they were very different, they got along at first. Krista was more extroverted, Colleen was quieter. She spent a lot of time in her dorm room reading and studying. Other students Described her as studious, shy, but still friendly. Krista, on the other hand, was almost the opposite. She wasn't as focused on classes and would get written up for ditching or disrespecting teachers. She was social and outgoing, but she was also known for flying off the handle in

sudden bursts of rage. She got in trouble more than once for getting into verbal and physical fights at the center. A former employee at the Knoxville Job Corps facility, E.J. Rasco, later said in an interview, "When I met this young lady, she was very positive, had a pleasing attitude and personality." He did her initial enrollment interview and remembered she seemed excited about going. At first, Job Corps might have given Krista some sense of belonging, but that changed quickly when she met someone who would alter everything, Tedarrell Ship. So, you can kind of see how Krista,

you know, from all the experiences of her childhood, she gets in the Job Corps, you know, to try to turn her life around, try to get on the right path, and, you know, she's kind of this extroverted, kind of outgoing, but clearly has no, you know, respect for authority, really. She has no structure in her life. She didn't finish school. So, she's kind of she's kind of wild. Then she meets Colleen, Who's just seems by all accounts to be just a very, very nice human being, you know, would give the shirt off her back for

you. And, you know, she's friendly with everybody. And, you know, they're they're just doing their thing, they're making friends, you know, trying to take advantage of what Job Corps has to offer, until Tedarrell. And And Tedarrell, I think, plays a I mean, he does play a huge, huge role in this case, but I think he kind of gets off a little bit with some of his responsibility in a lot of these situations, cuz as we'll see, he is kind of the you know, potentially instigator or you know, I I wondered really what his role was

with Krista and Colleen cuz it kind of seems like he kind of you know, flies Under the radar a little bit and Krista gets all of the sort of the blame for blame for what ends up happening, but but it kind of seems like he is the motivator. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Because Todarrel had a troubled childhood growing up in Memphis, Tennessee. He had a history of violence. He uh it's rumored he was involved with gang activity as a teen, uh but not able to substantiate that. It's just kind of what's been reported, But Todarrel dropped

out of school. His mom didn't want to get him to give up on his future, so she enrolled him in Job Corps to study culinary arts. And not long after he arrived, he caught Krista's attention. One day after class, Krista pointed him out to her friend Kim who took it upon herself to introduce them. And their connection was instant supposedly and they started a relationship soon after. Friends Described them as inseparable and said Krista seemed infatuated with him. Which it kind of seems like she may have been more into him than he was ever into

her, but she just kind of latches on to Todarrel. Uh and they kind of start this relationship, you know, although I don't think it's that serious because the relationship was not healthy. Todarrel was often in trouble at the center for fighting or having angry outbursts. There were rumors that He brought guns to class and was involved with gang members at the facility. A former student, Andrew Drace, later testified that a group of gang members broke into his dorm room, threw a towel over his face, and beat him up. And that Todarrel was one of them.

Andrew said he was in fear of him daily. He also testified that Todarrel once tried to throw him off a 200-ft high bridge onto a railroad track. Which if that's true, that this says a lot about Todarrel. Andrew managed to fight him off and get away after people in passing cars stopped to see what the hell was going on. And even with Tederrel's violent streak, Krista was all in on the relationship. She even adopted one of his main interests, Satanism. Cuz Tederrel was loud and proud about his belief in Satanism. He wore, you Know, inverted

pentagram necklace. He had a tattoo that even said baby Satan on it, which >> [snorts] >> How cringe is that? Baby Satan? It's really cringe. Yeah. And then he carried around his copy of the Satanic Bible. And of course, he would talk to everybody he possibly could about worshipping the underlord. When he and Krista started dating, she embraced it all of a sudden, too. She Started calling herself little devil. And even got it tattooed on her. Friends noticed that she also began wearing a pentagram necklace. Together, they would pray to the devil in front of

a makeshift altar that he had set up in his dorm room. One night, a dorm supervisor caught them holding a seance in his room. And when the supervisor told them to stop and they refused, things escalated quickly and security had to be called. Even though It was widely known around Job Corps that they were Satanists, many people didn't take them seriously. Some students thought they were just doing it for attention, which let's be honest, a lot of cases that's what's going on here. >> You know, it's edgy, it's you know, I'm a Satanist, I'm dark.

Look at my altar. >> Yeah, I did get into it a little bit when I was, you know, in my edgy honorary phase as a teenager. >> we all like you know, edged around a little bit. >> Yeah, I still wear mostly black. Like it's it's like but it never goes to something like this. Yeah, I mean A lot of the people that kind of observed them doing this in his dorm room were like kind of came across like theatrical. Yeah. Yeah. You know, like doing the rituals, doing you know, doing all of the stuff.

And so, you know, no one really seemed to take it that seriously at first. Everyone was like, okay, yeah, that's that's their thing. They're trying to be be dark and scary. But there was something very dark brewing underneath the surface. Because one day Tydell was walking down the hallway when Krista's friend Colleen waved at him. For shy Colleen, this was a little out of character. Most people who saw it though thought She was just being friendly to someone that she knew. But Krista didn't see it that way at all. She decided that that one simple

wave meant Colleen was trying to steal Tydell away from her. Which this was enough to send Krista down a hateful path of bullying and tormenting Colleen any chance she got. Just from a wave. You would think that she was trying to Colleen was trying to persuade her to date her or something like that. It Wasn't even that. It was so so simple in my name. Just a wave. A nice hey, how's it going? But Krista this she just really couldn't handle this. She started talking constantly to other students about Colleen spreading rumors that she was

sleeping with other guys on campus. And then she escalated it into non-stop verbal attacks. Students Krista calling her an ugly [ __ ] or saying hey ho as they passed each other in the hallway. At first Colleen just took it. She really engaged. Like whatever. Probably like this girl's [ __ ] nuts. What's wrong with her? But you know, she's just trying to go to school. She's just trying to do her thing. Keep her head down. And she did her best to avoid Krista. But the problem with that kind of dynamic is that it usually

doesn't stop on its own. Because the more Colleen tried to ignore it This just pissed Krista off more and more cuz she's like obviously a bully feeds off of a bully. Wants a reaction. Right. So Krista's getting more and more pissed. And according to later court testimony, Krista even told her friend Kim that she planned to kill Colleen because she just felt mean that day. Which I think if we dive below the surface, I think Krista has so much trauma just under the surface there. So Much hate and rage and anger probably towards a lot

of other people in her life that she >> of mistrust. Yeah, that she's never dealt with that it's just sort of stewing under there and she has no healthy ways of dealing with it. She's not had therapy. She's not had any sort of outlet to try to like blow off steam and so it's all just sort of she's like a volcano waiting to erupt. >> Yeah. And I think you know, when we look at this and say, "Oh, why would she react this way to a simple wave?" And it it goes back to her trauma.

I mean, she's been abused by nearly every person in her life and certainly every authority figure in her life, which would explain her, you know, hatred towards authority. But then we have to Darrell coming in and I assume that he treats her relatively nicely like compared to everyone else. So she's Probably really attached to him in that aspect. She trusts him. She likes him, which is something that's probably very hard for Krista to even do or feel. So when she has this person being nice to Darrell, it's probably very threatening because Krista's probably very insecure

of herself. And so she probably sees that Colleen is a threat because she probably sees that Colleen is a better person. Again, I'm just speculating, but this this Seems like what would be going through her mind at this at this point in time and that would result in the bullying and where we're at today. Totally. I think you nailed it on the head. I think she saw to Darrell as you know, this light in her life. It's a constant. That yeah, it's a security. It's that safety blanket. And she's worried that she would that would

be ripped away from her. And she's willing to do anything to Keep it. And the harassment didn't just stay verbal. It started bleeding into other areas of Colleen's life. At one point her dorm room was found completely trashed. Her stuff was scattered everywhere. Some of it was missing and money had been reportedly taken. No one was officially caught, but people at Job Corps had their suspicions. Krista's friend Kim even confronted her asking if she'd done it. Krista coyly Smiled and said she hadn't, but she knew who did it. We may never know for sure who

destroyed Colleen's room, but based on how Krista treated her in public, it's not hard to imagine her doing the same in private. Around this time, Colleen had had enough. She finally decided to speak up and report the bullying to staff, which you'd think would be the best way for her to protect herself, but it didn't work out that way. Reporting it actually made things more complicated. Krista was already in trouble. She'd been written up multiple times for fighting, skipping class, and breaking rules. She was basically on her last warning. Yet, for some reason, the school

didn't see the bullying as grounds for expulsion. They gave her another chance to stay. At that point, here was the situation. Krista felt threatened by the idea of Losing her boyfriend, was close to being kicked out of Job Corps, and blamed Colleen for it all. All of that together was a very dangerous headspace for her to be in. Like we were saying before, this is the first time in her life where she probably feels secure. There's a constant. It's not ever-changing, so she really wants to hold on to it. So, desperation setting in, too, cuz

she's also at risk for being kicked out of Job Corps. >> Exactly. >> Which has also been a security blanket for her for >> Exactly. uh first time in her life. And so, when desperation starts setting in, it can make people do Exactly. When you back an animal into a corner, >> Yep. they're going to react. Because if she was willing to go this far over a simple wave in a hallway, imagine what she might do if she believed Colleen was Trying to ruin her future. In trying to protect herself, Colleen's world had only become

more dangerous, and the school hadn't protected her when she needed it most. And soon, all of that anger and paranoia would move out of the hallways and into the woods. So, at the same time, Krista's relationship with Tedarrel was getting more intense and more unstable. Fellow students later said the two of them argued a lot and that things could get Explosive. Some even said the relationship turned physical at times, with rumors going around Job Corps that they were hitting each other. And although it has never been clear if that was true or who the primary

aggressor was. Through all of that, one thing was obvious. Krista was extremely attached to him, and then something happened that pushed everything even further. In December of 1994, Krista found out She was pregnant. For a moment, it seemed like she was happy. She told people right away. Friends remembered her being excited to be a mom and to have to Daryl in her life forever. But shortly after that, she disappeared from classes for a few days. When she came back, everyone learned she had had a miscarriage, and that hit her hard, really hard. People around her

said she became more volatile after that. She was more prone to lashing out, more openly mean to people around her. She seemed more emotional, more unpredictable, and stuck in a very dark place. On top of all the mental health and anger issues she was already carrying, Krista was now dealing with the physical and emotional fallout of a miscarriage. I'm not saying that to excuse her or to soften what she what she goes on to do. I am saying it because this is the reality of where her Head was. Everything was stacking up, and Krista had

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free item in every box for life. Go to hungryroot.com/lightsout and use code lightsout. That's hungryroot.com/lightsout. Code lightsout to get 40% off your first box and a free item of your choice for life. It's It's crazy to just think about all these things that Krista's dealing with because to then go through a miscarriage, and, you know, I know from, You know, personal experience going through a miscarriage in the past, like it is it it just messes you up. I mean, it is such a big thing to mentally deal with, and then you couple that with all

of the other baggage that Krista has, and all the other trauma that she's, you know, not dealt with and I mean, she needs serious, serious mental health. She does. Uh she's in a very, very dark place and You know, when you kind of put all that together and you know, you keep that in mind for what comes next, you you can just see what a dark, desperate place she is in. And again, it's not it's not an excuse at all. Uh they you know, there's at this point she's you know, an adult. 18 years old

is an adult. That you can, you know, find the find the help. I'm sure the Job Corps Probably notice that she probably had some issues going on and and maybe offered that to her and she didn't take them up on it. But, you know, it's she it's it's very obvious that yeah, she's a ticking time bomb that's about to go off. She doesn't know what to do. But, first something strange happened. Krista seemed to chill out. In late December of 1994, the Job Corps facility closed for the holidays and students Headed home for break. And

I just need to point something out. Krista started at Job Corps in September. And so, everything you just heard all happened in a matter of just four months, which is an extremely short time for all of this to completely unravel. I mean, it's a lot. It's a lot going on. Which makes what comes next that much more shocking. In January of 1995, when students Returned after break, Krista seemed different. She was bubbly and friendly again, more like she had been when she first arrived at Job Corps. You know, maybe just the separation from everybody kind

of detached for a little bit was, you know, able to help her sort of come back to a more calm state. Some students even said she was being nice to Colleen. She'd wave at her and try to talk to her, acting as if all the bullying and anger Had never happened in the first place. And it seemed like all of the tension around Krista had just disappeared. And from the outside it looked like things were finally settling down. But it was only the calm before a very horrific storm. On the evening of January 12th, 1995,

Krista approached Colleen and asked if she wanted to go to Blockbuster with her to rent a movie. Colleen agreed. As they were getting ready to head out, They ran into Te'Daryl and Krista's friend Shidella Peterson. And the two of them said they wanted to tag along. Colleen did not know that this was not a coincidence at all. In fact, they had all planned to be there and had all planned to go with Krista. And not to Blockbuster. The three of them were taking Colleen to an isolated place to attack her. Which in retrospect kind of

seems like maybe The calmness, you know, sort of that she comes back with after break may or may not be authentic at all. It could have just been sort of a cover to try to lure her in. The calm before the storm. >> Exactly. Try to Try to you know, carry out this this plan that they have. So the four of them signed out of the Job Corps facility and walked out into the dark. As they walked, Krista said she wanted to smoke weed. She told the group that She had a hidden stash in a

park near the University of Tennessee Agricultural Campus. So they all headed into the wooded area. And once the trees hid them from view, Krista violently unleashed her rage on Colleen. And what happened next was pieced together from confessions, testimony, and physical evidence. Krista confronted Colleen and accused her of trying to steal Te'Daryl. Some reports claim that he and Colleen had Slept together during the holiday break. It was never clear whether that actually ever happened or whether Krista in her paranoid state simply had convinced herself that it did. Either way, Krista was ready to attack. She

started punching and slapping Colleen, yelling at her about her supposed advances towards her boyfriend. She grabbed Colleen's head and drove her knee into it again and again. Then she pushed Colleen down onto the ground and Then everything became even more out of control. She kicked Colleen over and over so much so that Colleen began coughing up blood but she was still able to talk. She begged Krista to stop and kept asking her why this was happening. At one point according to Krista later Colleen begged them to stop and promised she would walk back home to

Florida and never come back to Job Corps if they let her live. Krista said that she told Colleen to {quote} "Shut up because in her words it was harder to hurt somebody when they're talking." Colleen kept talking and it only made Krista angrier. She grabbed Colleen's head and slammed it against the ground. Somehow Colleen managed to get up and started to try to run away. Two Daryl caught up with her and tripped her. She hit her head on a rock as she fell. And while she was on the ground he and Krista took off her

top and bra. Later They claimed this was a way to control her hoping she would be too embarrassed being topless to try to run again. Sounds like a bunch of [ __ ] to me. Krista then pulled out a box cutter and a small meat cleaver that she had brought with her. They began stabbing and cutting Colleen. Krista sliced Colleen's stomach multiple times. Colleen is still fighting for her life trying to survive. She rolled over and Tried to get up but before she could Krista sliced her back with that meat cleaver. Then the torment started

all over again kicking, punching, stabbing, and slicing while Colleen begged them to stop. Colleen supposedly threatened to report them to Job Corps if they did not stop and that was when Krista became even more enraged. Krista later claimed she told Colleen this, "I'm not going to let you go back and tell on me and get me in A shitload of trouble. I'm not going to be rotting in prison because of your sorry ass." Then she took a scrunchie out of her hair and shoved it into Colleen's mouth to gag her. Then she slashed Colleen's throat

with the box cutter multiple times. Even after all of that, Colleen was still alive, still trying to fight for her life. She somehow found the strength to get up and try to run away again, but Before she could get far, Krista and Tydarel threw some rocks at her, and one of them hit her in the back of the head and sent her back to the ground. Krista then found a chunk of asphalt and then just started bashing Colleen's head with it. She stopped for a moment and asked Colleen if she knew who was hurting her.

Colleen could not talk, but she made grunting sounds, still alive and still aware of what was happening to her. While Colleen lay there in agony, Krista picked up a small piece of her skull from the ground and put it in her pocket as a souvenir. When it seems like the cruelty might be over, they had one more act left. Krista and Tydarel each grabbed one of Colleen's legs and dragged her under a tree. Then they proceeded to carve an inverted pentagram into her chest. After about an hour of torturing Colleen, they walked away and left

her there to die. Court records later estimated that from the first blow to the final strike, the torture lasted at least 30 minutes. After it was over, Colleen succumbed to her injuries and she died from choking on her own blood from the head trauma and from massive blood loss. I mean, she had been just torn apart by these evil evil people. And what happened after that was in its own way just as disturbing. After it was over, the group left the scene. They went to a nearby gas station to clean up, and they tossed the

box cutter and some of their belongings on the way back to the Job Corps facility. But what happened next was one of the most unsettling parts of this entire case. According to multiple witnesses, Krista did not try to hide Colleen's murder. She bragged about it. That night, she went to her friend Kim's dorm and told her everything that had happened. Kim later said Krista seemed almost manic as she excitedly told her that she had killed Colleen. Krista was even dancing and singing while she went over the details. Worst of all, she showed Kim something that

she had taken from the scene. She pulled a wad of tissue out of her pocket, unwrapped it, and revealed a Small piece of Colleen's skull. Krista told Kim that if she told anyone, she would kill her, too. That same night, Krista supposedly returned the meat cleaver used in the attack to a friend she claimed she had borrowed it from. It has never been clear who that friend was, or if that person even existed. So, that part has never been fully substantiated. The next day, she could not contain herself. She kept boasting about the Killing and

showed the skull piece to more people. When one student said that they did not believe her, she pointed to blood on her shoes as proof. None of these students told anyone until after the homicide investigation was already underway. In fact, within about 36 hours of the murder, investigators had already zeroed in on Krista and her friends. I mean, this just speaks to Krista's mental state, right? Like, what on Earth? She does this brutal murder, and Then she's walking around showing people pieces of Colleen's remains, pointing to blood on her shoes, you know, just singing and

dancing about this wonderful thing that she just did. I mean, she's completely just Just manic. >> Yeah, that's a great way to describe I mean, she she even said she didn't want to go to jail for her sorry ass, but then she Does this. It's just Makes no sense whatsoever. >> sense. She is not of sound mind right now. Nope. And on January 13th, the morning after the attack, Colleen's body was discovered by an older couple who were just out for a walk. They're just walking along this path in the woods, and and they said

they came across what they thought was a dead animal at first. They They reportedly said it was possibly a dog, And then obviously once they got closer to it they quickly realized that this was a you know, brutal brutal crime scene. And when the investigators got out there to the scene it became very clear to them that a violent homicide had taken place. They found bloody drag marks, handprints in the mud, Colleen's clothes hanging from tree branches, and that chunk of asphalt soaked in blood. They said the whole scene covered Roughly 250 square feet and

it took them hours to process. So there's so much to forensically work through there, which just speaks to the the very violent and brutal nature of this crime. One report says some crime scene investigators remember seeing someone who looked like Krista watching them from a distance. One officer later testified that he believed he saw her even giggling as they worked. I mean that is some serial killer [ __ ] right There to return to the scene of the crime to watch to see what you did it and giggle. Yeah, and frankly I I I would

believe the officer. Yeah, I I wouldn't be surprised if Krista wandered back over there and was trying to secretly watch uh what they were doing. But the most shocking part of course was Colleen's body. Her head had been beaten so badly that at first investigators could not tell if they were looking at The front of her skull or the back. She was covered in so much blood that they did not even notice the pentagram carved in her chest until her body had been cleaned at the morgue. There were so many cuts and stab wounds that

the medical examiner said it was hard to even keep count. I mean this really her and to Daryl just it's just unbelievable. I mean Krista is A primary aggressor here of course, but what Oh my god. Detectives quickly came to believe that this was a very personal attack and not just a random act. So it didn't take long for them to you know, trace the the evidence back to Job Corps cuz one thing that Krista did not do was cover her tracks whatsoever. And after word spread about Colleen's murder, a woman actually called in a

tip. Her daughter was in Job Corps and Had told her that she was afraid of these students who were practicing Satanism. So, detectives went over to the center and pulled the sign-out sheet to see who had left the night that Colleen was killed, and that's where they got the first big clue. Because, of course, there was Krista, Tederel, Shidella, and of course, Colleen. And all three of them had signed back in, but Colleen never did. So, there you Go. It's like pretty clear who they need to go start looking at. So, police began interviewing students,

and almost immediately the same three names kept coming up. Krista Pike, Tederel Ship, and Shidella Peterson. Those same names were already staring back at them from the sign-out sheet from the night of the murder. And when detectives sat them down, they were not dealing with a mystery for very long, because Krista, she gave a full Confession. She even seemed eager to walk detectives through the gruesome details. She also tried to downplay it, telling them that they only meant to scare Colleen, and that things, {quote} got out of control, which I don't think any of us

believe that. She told them that she was jealous of Colleen and angry that, you know, she believed Colleen had been hitting on her boyfriend. During the attack, she said a voice in her head told her, "You've done It now. You better finish it off." She later said that this was the moment that she decided Colleen could not be allowed to leave and tell anyone about what had happened. But yet, she goes into the cell everybody like So, it's like very clear something mentally wrong there. At first, when they talked to Shidella and Tederel, they lied.

They were not not giving in. But, detectives pressed on, and they eventually broke down. And Tederel told Investigators that Colleen's murder had in fact been a sacrifice to the devil. After the interviews, all three were arrested in connection with Colleen's murder. Krista and Tederel were charged with first-degree murder, and Shidella was ultimately charged as an accessory. When officers took Krista into custody, they found that she had still had that piece of Colleen's skull in her jacket pocket. With the confessions and the physical Evidence, the case quickly moved through the courts. So, they didn't make it

very difficult for the detectives to solve this one because I mean she's literally has the victim's remains in her pocket. >> Exactly. She gave it up immediately. She confessed to half the student population it seems like. >> Yeah. Like it's ridiculous. If there's one bill I can't stand paying, it's my wireless bill because my wireless plan is just getting off the Chain expensive and I just don't feel like the value is there anymore. So, when my contract is up, I'm going to be switching my family to Mint Mobile. Because Mint Mobile is here to stop

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seeking the death penalty. By that point, Shridola had made a deal with the state and agreed to testify against her. The jury heard every awful thing that had been done to Colleen. One of the most striking moments came when Christa's mom took the stand. She told the jury that she had been a bad mother who let her young daughter smoke pot and have a live-in boyfriend at just 14. She also said, "I should be the one In her seat. I should be punished for her crime." Honestly, she should be part of it. She should be

You know, she should be. >> If the system worked that way. And also just to be like, "Oh, I let her smoke pot." And that's why Yeah, come on. You don't think it It wasn't It wasn't the pot smoking. It was the years, sorry, decades of abuse that you put your daughter through with your shitty partners. The jury also heard testimony about Christa practicing Satanism and about Ted Darrell's claim that Colleen's killing was a sacrifice to the devil. Christa's lawyers tried to push back on that, telling the jury, "She is not a devil worshiper. There

is absolutely nothing to it. It's just speculation." Her defense team argued that Christa should be convicted of reckless homicide instead of first-degree murder. They called clinical psychologist Eric Ingum, Who testified, "Her fear of losing ship, of having him taken by the victim, was so threatening, so overwhelming to her, that it caused this huge reaction. She saw Colleen Slemmer as a direct threat to her ability to maintain her relationship with her boyfriend." Whether or not Satanism played any real part in the murder is still debated. But by the end of the week-long trial, the jury had

made up its mind. They deliberated for about 2 hours before Finding Christa guilty. A few weeks later, the same jury returned to decide her sentence. Which let's talk about that for a minute. The Cuz what's interesting is that this is in the Bible Belt. And detectives, you know, are quoted as saying that they believe that a demon was possessing Christa. Like they truly bought into, you know, the satanic panic. They bought into that this was a satanic ritual killing. And that, you know, because they had the tattoos, because he had the little altar in his

room, that that's that's what happened here. Uh it's it's interesting to me cuz they failed to mention that maybe this was some type of mental health issue, um per usual, but yeah, it's like it I mean, to me it seems like, you know, I feel like the Satanism sometimes comes hand in hand with some Of the mental health stuff, too, you know. Not obviously not in all cases, but in this particular case, I think, you know, you're dealing with two individuals, Toderal and Christa, who are mentally disturbed and, you know, they're also just, you know,

wild teenagers and they're outcasts, they're and they're outcasts, and so they're gravitating towards sort of this this Darkness because, you know, some of the uh you know, some sects of devil-worshipping, Satanism, whatever you want to call it, you know, there's power in that. There's, you know, power that can be granted by doing these these dark sacrifices, these ritual sacrifices. You know, through Satan, through Lucifer, uh you may become more powerful and powerful over others, and maybe they thought by doing this, if this was in fact ritual killing, that This would somehow fix their their problems.

But, in my humble opinion, I don't think this really had anything to do with Satanism. Maybe for Toderal, or maybe they maybe they thought that he was like, well, she she already killed her, so I might as well try to throw that in there just for uh for good luck, you know, on his part, since it seems like he was more into it than Christa was. I don't think this was About Satanism at all for Christa. Toderal, I think maybe he did the pentagram cuz he was like, well, we already went this far, so I

might as well just do it. >> Yeah, 100%. I I agree with you. I don't think Christa really had any She just wants to belong. She just wants like connection. And I think that's the majority of people who get into Satanism, especially teenagers, you know. It's not The majority of kids they don't see it as a way to you know, gain power by by worshipping the devil. They see it as a counterculture that they can find belonging in because they aren't find belonging in whatever culture they're trying to be in. Right. Right. That's all it

is. If you've been cast out of quote unquote society, yeah. Where else do you go? >> Exactly. There's this, you know, counterculture that exists, so. Exactly. Exactly. But it took them less than 2 hours to sentence her to death, making her one of the youngest women in United States history to receive that sentence and only the second woman in Tennessee to face the death penalty in the modern era. This is how rare this is. That's insane. It's wild. It's insane. And so, let's take a look at this clip of Christa uh being delivered her sentencing

cuz she's uh Yeah, all of a sudden she's a different person it seems like and as you'll see she doesn't like the news being handed down. It is therefore ordered that you shall be put to death by electrocution [laughter] in the manner prescribed by law. And that you shall be transferred to the custody of the warden at the Tennessee Prison for Women. And further, that on the 12th day of January, 1997 your body shall be subjected to shock by sufficient current of electricity. May God have mercy on your soul. Mr. Bates, do you have anything

to talk to your client Can I please have a hug from my mom before I die? Mr. Bates, do you have anything to talk TO YOUR CLIENT >> [laughter] >> PLEASE LET ME HUG MY MOM. PLEASE HOLD HER. I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU. I love you, too. When the sentence was read, Christa started sobbing and asked the judge if she could hug her mother. The judge did not allow that in the courtroom, but the two of them were given a chance to say goodbye before Christa was taken to prison. Which I Think her reaction

also just speaks to the fact that Chris is not a real devil worshiper. She's not a real a real one because a real one wouldn't would have probably laughed in the face of the judge being delivered a death sentence. Like That'd be a you know happy occasion for a real devil worshiper. >> Yeah, I got to go be with my master or whatever. >> Yeah, exactly. Like oh, I'm finally going to where I've been trying to get to this whole time and instead she's wanting to hug her mom. She's realizing like oh my god that

my they're going to take my life from me. You're not going to rot in prison for the rest of your life. >> Yeah, yeah. No, it's it's I got I feel bad because she's you know she's crying because her life is over, But what she did to get there is just so horrendous that it's you're just facing the consequences of your own actions. Like this this was completely preventable. All you had to do was not commit this heinous act. Which I don't think she spent two seconds thinking about. >> No. No. I do think this

was a shock to her. I think she was shocked to find out like I could be I could be electrocuted. I could be put in the electric chair for This crime and I don't think she that ever crossed her mind when she was plotting this or carrying this out. I I I don't know what she thought. And And again, this is is this this 18-year-old mindsets mentally ill or what you know, what's going on here? Colleen's family said that they were satisfied with the outcome. Her stepfather told reporters, "I would like to see her fry.

I'm sorry, but that's the way I feel. She tortured her for an Hour. Her death will probably take like 15 seconds." Colleen's mother agreed saying, "I don't think the taxpayers should pay for her education when she committed murder." But Christa was not the only one who would face consequences and there are still people who question whether what happened to each of them was truly fair. Yeah, this is this is pretty interesting cuz obviously they threw everything at Christa and and rightfully so. And she You know she's receives the death sentence. But Tedarrell Ship, he was

17 at the time of the crime and he wasn't eligible for the death sentence because of that. So he ended up being sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. And at the time of this recording he's currently incarcerated at Northwest Correctional Complex in Tennessee and his next parole hearing is set for October 2031. Shadolla Peters then testified against him to avoid a long prison term and she had pled guilty to accessory after the fact and received 6 years of probation which I was like really? That's insane. I was like interesting how she

received no jail time. Just 6 years of probation. Yeah. To be an accessory to this type of murder I was shocked that they went She had so much time to step in. Right. Right. And Maybe yeah and maybe Yeah. I'm curious what the the prosecutors sort of reasoning for not trying to put her in prison for. Maybe it was just difficult based on the evidence. I'm not sure but her But I think it was mainly because she her testimony was critical to the conviction. >> a deal. Exactly. And and I think ultimately that's that's why

she sort of Got off but cuz her testimony really raised a lot of questions about who was responsible for what. Shadolla told prosecutors that Tedarrell was the one directing Christa and telling her exactly what to do during the attack. And Tedarrell denied being the ringleader but he did admit that he took part in stabbing Colleen and carving the pentagram into her chest. Shadolla's deal did not sit well with Many people especially Colleen's family. Shadolla has claimed she was only acting as a lookout during the murder but many believe she played a much more active role

and may have even taken part in stabbing and cutting Colleen herself. That's crazy to me. If that in fact happened then yeah. I mean she definitely deserves a harsher sentence than 6 years probation. I mean personally I think she deserves a harsher sentence regardless of whether Or not she took part in the actual murder. Being involved in that. Right. Being a lookout for them. Exactly. You you deserve some prison time at the very least. Some people feel the deal was unfair and that she got off too lightly for what she did while others believe Krista

was the mastermind and deserved the harshest punishment. And after the trial something surfaced that gave a chilling look into Krista's mindset. And after her conviction Krista wrote a letter to Destair. And it gives a very chilling glimpse into what was going on in her head at the time. So let me read you what she wrote. It says, "Hey love, I just want you to know how much I love you. I have 10 months left to live. Imagine that. I'd spend every moment with you if I could. Baby, I want you to tell them you lied

in your statement and go along with Mine. Do you have a copy of mine? If not, I'll get you one, okay? I love you big bunches, baby, and no matter what they do to me, they can't change what's in my heart. Please write me. I miss you so much. You see what I get for trying to be nice to the hoe? I went ahead and bashed her brains out so she'd die quickly instead of letting her bleed to death and suffer more and they [ __ ] fry me. Ain't that some [ __ ] Please

write me And tell me what your feelings are. Also tell your lawyer if he wants me to testify for you, I will. Love you for the rest of my life, little devil." There's so much wrong with that. >> Yeah. I mean There's so >> Tells you everything you need to know about her, honestly. Even though she promised in the letter that she would testify for him, she Ultimately refused. When she was brought into the courtroom, she invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent because she planned to appeal her conviction. The letter was later read

in court during Krista's appeals. Some people see it as the writing of a cold-blooded killer who felt no remorse. Her defenders see something else, a traumatized young woman still trying to please the person she saw as her partner After years of abuse and instability. But either way, this was a major piece of the story that the original jury never fully heard. That's insane. And I I think it can be both. Yeah, I do too. >> Yeah. I think there's a there's a kind of a a gray area to this. It's a combination. >> Yeah. It's

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quince.com/lightsout Much of Krista's past abuse was not fully explored at the trial and that has become one of the biggest debates surrounding this case. The jury heard what she did to Colleen, but they did not truly hear what had been done to her. The abuse, trauma, and mental health issues that shaped her life were not a real part of her defense. The full extent of Krista's childhood only came out later when she started Meeting with psychologists in prison. One of the psychologists interviewed her multiple times. At a post-conviction hearing, he testified that he had diagnosed

her with bipolar disorder, dissociation, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Even more disturbing, while her defense team did talk to her family members about the abuse Krista suffered, her father insisted that her behavioral problems were not the result of beating Her, but of his not hitting her enough. Wow. [snorts] Yeah. None of this was fully used when she first went to trial, but her lawyers have leaned on it in the appeals that followed as a reason she should not be executed. Many of her supporters now argue that resentencing is the only just outcome and that killing someone

with that much unprocessed trauma is its own kind of cruelty. Which, to play devil's advocate, I can Kind of see where people are coming from, right? Like if you look at it objectively, Yeah. a horribly traumatized person, she was extremely young. I mean, we've all done really stupid things 17 18 years old. >> Right. And this this is just extremely violent, extremely brutal. But one one could make the argument like Does she deserve to die for this when there are people who have done equally just as horrific crimes >> If not worse. if not worse

who are not receiving the death sentence. You know, obviously the death sentence the death penalty is not a thing in in a lot of states these days. And uh so there's a lot you know, there's mass murderers that are you know, going to live out their days because there's no death sentence. But because it happened to be Uh down there in the south you know, that was something that they uh they had access to and I think ultimately and I you know, I've said this a number of times in the show. I ultimately look to

the victims' families and and their perspectives and like what is going to bring you the most peace? What like They're the one ultimately in my mind, you know, should decide uh the fate of of somebody who's taken their loved one From them. And the fact that she's very very adamant about as we'll hear here in a minute about her being executed and that she's always agreed with this death penalty outcome. Um I tend to to side with them. Although I do see the other you know, the other side's argument of like is it really justice

if we kill her? Yeah, that's completely fair. I think in a situation like this it's very hard to Find true justice and you can only Yeah, what is it what even is true justice at the end of the day? I think I mean, she's already been locked up for decades now. >> Exactly. Um and so what is what what would it change if she's killed or she stays there at this point? Yeah. In the entire United States, there are only a few dozen women on death row at any given time compared to hundreds of Men.

Women make up only a tiny fraction of people sentenced to die and an even smaller fraction of those actually executed. Krista Pike is currently the only woman on death row in Tennessee. If her sentence is carried out, she will be the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years. >> Isn't that crazy? Insane. And the only person in Tennessee's Modern era to be executed for a crime committed at age 18, 19, or 20. So there's those two things and part of me thinks that you know, as we get closer to her execution

date in September, I I have a feeling that it may there you know, they may push it. They may actually delay it or I think there's still possibility she might be resentenced, but I don't know. We'll see. We'll see, but In many ways, Krista is an anomaly. It is extremely rare for women to be sentenced to death. They make up around 2% of the death row population and roughly 1 to 3% of those actually executed depending on the years you look at. Here's actually a clip of Krista complaining about prison and prison life. She doesn't

like prison, you know, she's she's uh yeah, this this clip is pretty interesting which is like for somebody who's facing execution, you Think the last thing you'd be doing is publicly complaining about the conditions. >> Right. About your experience. 23 hours a day and for going on almost 12 years, that's a long time. I'm only out of my room 1 hour a day and that's just in another cage. It's like a dog cage, a kennel. So I'm either in a box or in a kennel and you know, that's pretty much it. Over the years, her

case moved through the courts again and again. She and her lawyers have pursued and for the most part exhausted her direct appeals and post-conviction challenges. They have also continued to fight the state's efforts to execute her, but that does not mean Christa has been a model prisoner. Even behind bars, the violence did not completely stop. In 2001, she was involved in a violent attack on another inmate, Patricia Jones. A prison Fire led to Patricia being placed in a holding cage with Christa and her friend Natasha Cornett, which set off a confrontation. When a fight broke

out, Christa stepped in and went after Patricia, choking her with a lace from a boot or shoe. She then flipped Patricia over, sat on her, and kept strangling her until the officers finally intervened. Ultimately, Patricia survived the assault. When investigators questioned Christa About it, she told them, "I don't want to say that I intended to kill her, but I would say that I didn't care if she died. I wouldn't lose any sleep over it if she did. And that right there is one of the main reasons why I think that the death penalty and her

not being resentenced is arguably justice because even after decades in prison, she has still not shown remorse for what she's done. And she doesn't show remorse for her violence at all. Yeah, and she's showing she's still a violent person. You You have the opportunity to go see the to get therapy and go see a psychologist in in prison. It may not be the best, but you have the opportunity to try and improve, and it's just kind of proving that she's not even willing to try and improve herself. No, that she that she is thriving off

of this violent personality that that she's created for herself and and be and it's given her the sense of power and Control. Exactly. And she loves that. >> Exactly. And I think it stems from probably she felt very powerless in her youth, and now that's all she wants. Later, in a recorded phone call with her mother, she was even more blunt. She said, "She was passed out on the ground, Mama, twitching, foaming at the mouth. Her eyeballs were bugged out so far her eyelids were flipped up. See, now I know the difference between premeditated Murder

and what happened with Colleen cuz see, I premeditated the hell out of this. Sure did. If I'd have had 30 more seconds, I'd we'd have had a little chalk line out there in our wreck pen and the [ __ ] would be gone somewhere. Again, just Just her the way that she describes killing too and she seems like so to obsess over the details of it and like clearly pays attention to her victims uh you know Attempt to survive and you know bugging out eyes and it's just it's it's it's sick, man. >> It's so

casual. She's talking about it like she missed a goal in a soccer game. It's disgusting. Krista was convicted of attempted first-degree murder for that attack and received a 25-year sentence on top of her death sentence. Years later in 2012, an alleged escape plot was uncovered. Authorities said Krista had convinced a man on the outside, Donald Cahoot from New Jersey and a Tennessee correctional officer, Justin Heflin, to help her escape. Investigators learned of the plan, gathered evidence, and stopped it before it could happen. Both men were arrested and charged in connection with the escape plot. Can

try to escape accountability, just does not seem to care. It and also just shows what a manipulative person she is, Too. She's manipulating these these prison guards and random men and I'm sure there's people that write to her and it's just she's a yeah, she's a menace, man. She she has no regard for for anybody other than herself. It's always about Krista. Yep. And decades later, the case is still not over because as we've been talking about, Krista is scheduled to be executed by the state on September 30th, 2026 this year. And the clock is

ticking for Krista Pike, the only woman on death row in Tennessee, but her fight is still not over. Here's a clip of Krista claiming she doesn't deserve to die. I did something horrible that is unacceptable and I realize that, but I don't deserve to die for the actions of three individuals. In January 2026, so just a few months Ago, she filed a new lawsuit to try to stop the state from executing her. In that suit, she argues that the drug Tennessee plans to use, pentobarbital, has a history of causing prolonged and painful deaths, and that

the state's lethal injection protocol is unsafe and lacks proper safeguards. State officials insist her fears are unfounded and point out that under the law, she is supposed to propose a workable alternative method of execution, which they say she has not Done. Christa, however, claims she is not mentally competent to make such a choice. Her filings point to serious physical and psychological conditions and warn that her execution could turn into something far more disturbing than the state intends. The other execution method is the electric chair, and Christa claims that option goes against her religion as she's

a Buddhist now. Do we believe What on earth? Cuz she read a book? Like, I don't know. My god. Cuz according to her, which I think this is just manipulation at its finest here, according to her as a Buddhist, she cannot participate in her own death by choosing the manner of death. As of now, the lawsuit is still moving through the courts, and no one knows yet whether it will delay or change her fate on September 30th, including the manner of her execution. And again, this could just be sort of a strategic move, maybe with

help from her attorneys to try to one last-ditch effort. It seems pretty like pretty desperate to me. >> does seem desperate, man. Oh, I'm a Buddhist, so yeah, and then oh, your lethal injection method is, you know, un- uh cruel and unjust, and so now you got to pick something else. Oh, well, the only other way you can kill me is with Something that's against my religion, so it kind of seems like I'm going to put you between a rock and a hard place and force you to like violate my rights, basically, if you want

to execute me. But, yeah, it'll be interesting to see what happens. I'll I'll definitely be keeping my eye on this case. >> Oh, yeah. But she celebrated her 50th birthday on March 10th, 2026, and no one can say for sure if it will be her last. But through all this, the trials, the appeals, the headlines, it is important to not lose sight of the person at the center of it, Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old who came to Job Corps to try to build a better future for herself. Her mother, May Martinez, spent decades speaking for her

and has been very clear that she wants Christa to be executed. When the media focused heavily on her daughter's killer, May called them out, Telling a local newspaper, "What happened to the victim? The victim received nothing. There was no knowledge of who she was or even that she was a human being who enjoyed her life, and that's terrible." And that's what's really unfortunate with these types of murders and, you know, killers like Christa Pike, is that they often overtake the headlines from from the actual person whose life should be celebrated, Colleen. And And that's extremely

sad and traumatizing for her family, and can't imagine the pain and just suffering that that May has had to deal with over the years. But uh here's a clip of Colleen's mother, May, reacting to the execution date being set. I mean, this has been a long, long road for her. I would like Tennessee to hear my plea and finally end this after 30 years. I really would. Once it's completely done And everything is over with, it will be a close. For Christa to keep on having appeals and keep going back and forth to court and

everything, it's hard. It really is. And as if Colleen's family had not already been through enough, May is still waiting to receive every piece of her daughter's remains. What just This blew my mind. The prosecution kept Colleen's skull and other pieces of bone as evidence, and Her remains were returned to the family without anyone telling them that parts were still being held. They only found out later from another source after they had already buried her. So, imagine that. You You think you're getting all of your loved one's remains back. You're going to you know, bury

her with some dignity and respect and and then comes to find out that they lied to you and that they actually still have remains of your daughter that Uh still in their possession as evidence. Like I mean They can't fully rest. >> Yeah, it's Over the years the state eventually sent the skull and other remaining fragments back to the family cuz they end up using the skull during the trial. They actually brought out her Colleen's actual skull and pass it around to the jury to look at cuz they were trying which is crazy. I've never

I have not seen this before, but it was clearly to point out the chunk of skull that was missing that that Krista took. Even now they still have not received the small piece that Krista kept as a souvenir. It is still being treated as evidence and under court orders has to be held until all of Krista's appeals are resolved. Essentially until the case is truly over. Which I think that's another motivator for just executing Krista from uh Colleen's family's part is like they just want this to be over >> their daughter back. And they want

their yeah, exactly to get it back. >> back. No more appeals can be done and that's the issue with the death penalty is that the amount of appeals that can go on. >> And especially since it's the piece that was taken from her by her killer. >> Right. It's just It's a [ __ ] up Situation. >> Colleen's mom May had the pieces that were returned cremated and they sit in a box in her home. She has said that she will not bury them with the rest of Colleen's body until that last skull fragment is

returned as well. May has not hidden how she feels. She told reporters, "Execute her or give her life and give me the rest of Colleen back so I can live. I will continue to fight no matter what. I will fight to my Last breath to get everything back and get what Colleen deserves." Even after all these years the pain has not gone away. For Colleen's family it never really ends. And that is one of the many things that makes this case so hard to sit with. It's just like the time from the time that this

happened to the time we're at now. I mean, and you know dragging it out. It's just it's a lot I mean, imagine put yourself it's Like that is a long time to to be dealing with this and to you know, not have you know, your entire loved one's remains back is just insane and to not have this case resolved is so difficult to deal with. And ultimately this case is just extremely uncomfortable. It's not just because of the sheer level of violence. It forces you to sit with two things at once. You have a horrific

crime and a Killer whose life was definitely shattered long before the crime had happened. But one doesn't excuse the other. Because it's it's her life Krista's life does not give her an excuse to do what she did. There was absolutely no reason for her to do what she did. No, I believe that she was a victim in her life up until the moment that she attacked Colleen. Right. Up until that moment she is a victim of her life who deserves who deserves help and deserves to go on and better her life. But after that moment

where she took all that pain and transferred into somebody else and especially such a horrific way, she's no longer a victim. She is now a perpetrator of the pain that she had felt her entire life. It's hurt people hurt people. >> Yeah. It's a tale as old as time and It's just it's sad. The cycle continues is what it it's just the cycle goes on and she had opportunities to get out of it and she didn't. She chose to do what she did over the dumbest reason which we still don't even fully know what Krista's

reason was. It just seems like she snapped and you know, all of this anger and rage Came out and I think it was absolutely shepherded by to Daryl. I think he's a he's a major factor here and he absolutely amped her up because I think I don't know that Krista would have gone out by herself and done this or had even been able to pull off the attack that she did without Todaro's help. I think he absolutely was a major factor here and I do think that for him because he was wrapped up in in

his you Know version of Satanism and devil worshipping that he you know he's 17, he's dumb, he's in he's in the dark and he thinks that this is somehow going to do something for him because he's just that disillusioned that with with reality and with what what he's practicing and you know all these things and so I think it's a it's sort of a perfect storm. You have somebody who's Horribly mentally ill, somebody who's has a violent history, who has you know trauma beyond what many of us can comprehend and then she comes in and

she meets somebody who gives her that safety, that security, that sort of you know that person that's giving her the care and love that she's always wanted or thought she wanted and then a threat approaches Even though she wasn't a threat but she just perceived it and it was enough to just set off the bomb and and then we ended up where we're at. So at the end of the day I think I I I think there's a really good chance that she will finally be executed unless something happens with this latest lawsuit which I

don't see that happening. I mean it's been What are they going to I mean how many More years can they possibly Yeah, we're talking multiple decades now. That would just be torture to Colleen's family at this point and I think I think the state knows that how difficult this has been and and unfortunately they have to just wait out this appeals process and I think they finally finally have gotten to the end of that. So I think Um, yeah, I think this will be the end for Krista Pike come September 30th. Uh, we shall see.

I think I think that uh this is a this is the only outcome that can happen at this point. I think life in prison doesn't even make that much sense. >> No. And uh yeah. And regardless of whether or not she is executed this year, I hope that this year is the end of the case. And that Hope May can find A peace by the end of this year. Some someone's a piece. I mean, I know she's she's you know, getting up there in age and I know her health is is not in a great

place. And so, I think I just hope for her sake that this case gets resolved one way or another before um before her life is is over because I think that that's all she's wanted. And I hope the state honors that and follows through. Yeah. I don't think there's any reason to keep Krista alive any longer. I mean, if you're going to put her on death row, then follow through with it, you know. >> I I personally, I do agree. I think this is a a an acceptable case of Yeah, it's just >> And again,

like this I think someone will point, well, she was 18, all the trauma and stuff. But I Think suppl- you know, she happened to do this crime in a place where this was uh on on the table. And that's something maybe she should have thought about before she went out and committed this this heinous murder. But I mean, it does it does bring up bigger philosophical questions of like, you know, what actually makes killers and nature versus nurture and you know, all These different things. And and there's a reason why a lot of states have

done away with that penalty because of the especially when young people like this do something horrific, you know, it's it's a tough tough place to be. I I recognize that yeah for sure. And uh you know, I don't I don't know exactly what the right answer is. It's a very non-complex solution to a very complex problem. Totally. So much nuance to it. >> Yeah. But we're going to go on and wrap up today's episode there. Let us know your thoughts. What do you think uh being executed is is the right move when it comes to

Krista Pike, or do you believe she should be resentenced and granted life in prison without possibility of parole or possibility of parole? I'm curious. I mean, it's really interesting that Tydell seemed to get I mean, he's going to be up for parole in 2031, which isn't All that long from now. Which is crazy. >> He should have been tried as an adult, man. Like, I You're 17, you know that doing that is There's no difference between 17 and 18. Like, you should have been charged as an adult. >> Yeah, it's it's When I I think

when you compare it to Tydell and especially Shedolla, it's like I get why people would think like, "Man, Krista's is They went hard." >> They did. So, yeah. Let us know your thoughts on this one. Um but, we're going to go on and wrap up today's episode there. Thank you, Danny, for joining me. Appreciate you. >> Of course. Of course. Uh really Yeah, it's nice to be able to discuss this with somebody else and uh yeah, really sad, but we'll see you guys next week with Another one. Till then, lights out, everybody. >> [music]