The only woman on Tennessee's death row has been scheduled for execution more than 30 years after she brutally killed a teenage romantic rival and showed off a piece of the victim's skull to schoolmates.

The Tennessee Supreme Court scheduled the execution of 49-year-old Christa Gail Pike on Sept. 30, 2026. Pike was just 18 years old when she and two others lured 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer to the woods in Knoxville on Jan. 12, 1995, and carried out the attack that made national headlines for its brutality.

When a groundskeeper found Slemmer's body the next day, the teen had been beaten, stabbed, and bludgeoned, and had a pentagram carved into her chest, court records say.

If Pike's execution is carried out, she would become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years and just the 19th woman executed in modern U.S. history.

"That is a very, very small number," said Robin Maher, executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based Death Penalty Information Center, a nonprofit that tracks the use of the death penalty in the U.S. without taking a position on it.

"Only 18 women have been executed since 1976," Maher added. "It's extremely rare."

Pike's execution date has been set amid a rise in executions in 2025 and an expansion of the execution methods used. So far this year, states have executed 34 inmates − a figure that hasn't been seen in a decade − and another nine are scheduled to be put to death.

Here's what to know the case, and women on death row in the U.S.

What was Christa Gail Pike convicted of?
Christa Gail Pike and Colleen Slemmer were both students at the Knoxville Job Corps, a career-training program, when Pike began dating a 17-year-old boy in the program and later came to fear that Slemmer was trying to steal him, prosecutors told jurors at trial.

Pike, a friend and the boyfriend lured Slemmer away from the Job Corps center and into the woods before the attack, largely carried out by Pike over an hour-long period on Jan. 12, 1995, according to court records.

What was Christa Gail Pike convicted of?
Christa Gail Pike and Colleen Slemmer were both students at the Knoxville Job Corps, a career-training program, when Pike began dating a 17-year-old boy in the program and later came to fear that Slemmer was trying to steal him, prosecutors told jurors at trial.

Pike, a friend and the boyfriend lured Slemmer away from the Job Corps center and into the woods before the attack, largely carried out by Pike over an hour-long period on Jan. 12, 1995, according to court records.

Pike said she had "thrown a large piece of asphalt at the victim’s head," believed to be a fatal blow, and kept a skull fragment, later showing it off to fellow students, court records say.

Pike was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Pike's boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison and will become eligible for parole in November, according to inmate records. Pike's friend, Shadolla Peterson − who prosecutors say kept watch during the attack − testified against Pike and was sentenced to probation.

What does Christa Gail Pike say about the crime?
In a letter she wrote to The Tennessean − part of the USA TODAY Network − Pike said she takes responsibility for the murder and that she has "changed drastically" since she was a teenager.

"Think back to the worst mistake you made as a reckless teenager. Well, mine happened to be huge, unforgettable and ruined countless lives," she wrote. "I was a mentally ill 18 yr. old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I'd done. Even more to accept how many lives I effected (sic). I took the life of someone's child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think that someone as loving and compassionate as myself had the ability to commit such a crime."

Pike spent 27 years in what her attorneys say was effectively solitary confinement as the only woman on Tennessee's death row before she won the ability to interact with other inmates during meals, classes, and religious services.

Her attorneys argue that had Pike been tried today, she never would have gotten the death penalty given her young age and mental health struggles at the time of the crime. They believe she deserves life in prison without the possibility of parole instead of the death penalty.

"Christa’s childhood was fraught with years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect," her legal team said in a statement to USA TODAY. "With time and treatment for bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, which were not diagnosed until years later, Christa has become a thoughtful woman with deep remorse for her crime."

To learn more about Pike, including background about her childhood, visit here.

Clemmer's mother, May Martinez, has been steadfast in her support of the death penalty for Pike.