“IT’S NEVER ABOUT THE VICTIMS” — COLLEEN SLEMMER’S MOTHER SPEAKS OUT AS CHRISTA PIKE’S EXECUTION DRAWS CLOSER

With just days remaining before Tennessee is scheduled to execute Christa Pike, the mother of Pike’s victim is speaking out about a pain she says has never truly left her.

May Martinez, the mother of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, is preparing to make an more than eight-hour drive from Florida to Nashville to witness Pike’s scheduled lethal injection on September 30, 2026.

For Martinez, the journey is not about celebrating an execution.

It is about making sure her daughter is remembered.

“It is never about the victims. It is like Colleen never existed.”

Her comments were reported by WBIR and other outlets as the execution date approaches.

A MOTHER WHO SAYS HER DAUGHTER HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN

Colleen Slemmer was a 19-year-old Job Corps student in Knoxville, Tennessee, when she was killed in January 1995.

More than three decades later, Martinez says the public conversation surrounding the case has increasingly focused on Pike — her death sentence, legal challenges and the circumstances surrounding her impending execution.

But Martinez wants people to remember the young woman Colleen was before she became the victim of a notorious murder.

She remembers her daughter as energetic, caring and curious.

Colleen loved computers, roller skating and spending time with her family. She also volunteered with children and participated in Special Olympics activities, according to Martinez.

“She was a nerd. But a good nerd,” Martinez said in an interview reported by WBIR.

THE JOURNEY TO NASHVILLE

Martinez is preparing to travel from Florida to Tennessee for the execution.

The journey will take more than eight hours by car.

She has said she is willing to make significant financial sacrifices to be there, even saying she would consider going without paying her mortgage for a month if necessary.

For Martinez, being present carries deep personal meaning after 31 years of waiting.

She has also said that witnessing the execution is not about revenge or celebration, but about fulfilling what she sees as a promise to her daughter.

A Jacksonville-based victims advocacy organization has been helping raise money to cover some of the costs of her trip.

“SOMEBODY’S GOTTA TALK”

Martinez has described herself as Colleen’s voice.

Her daughter can no longer tell her own story, she says, leaving Martinez determined to keep speaking about the young woman she remembers.

“She’s not with me. Every day, every hour, every minute, she’s gone,” Martinez said.

The mother has also spoken about how the years following Colleen’s death have affected her family.

In recent interviews, Martinez recalled leaving the area because too many familiar places carried memories of her daughter.

“The school, the skating rink, the movies, it’s just all there,” she told the Nashville Banner.

PIKE HAS SPENT DECADES ON DEATH ROW

Christa Pike was 18 when she was convicted of the 1995 murder of Slemmer.

She was sentenced to death in 1996 and has spent nearly three decades on Tennessee’s death row.

Pike’s case has attracted renewed attention as her execution date approaches. Her attorneys have pursued legal and clemency challenges, including arguments concerning her history of childhood abuse and her medical and psychological circumstances.

A recent hearing examined whether Pike’s medical and psychological conditions could make her particularly vulnerable to suffering during an execution.

Unless a court or Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee intervenes, the state is scheduled to carry out the execution on September 30 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

MARTINEZ SAYS SHE WILL HOLD UP COLLEEN’S PHOTO

If given the opportunity to speak to Pike before the execution, Martinez says she does not believe there is much left to say.

Instead, she plans to hold up a photograph of Colleen.

“I’ll hold Colleen’s picture up to remind her of what she did.”

Martinez said she does not believe statements of remorse attributed to Pike have brought the closure she has wanted.

After so many years, she said, words would not change what happened.

For Martinez, Colleen’s photograph represents something more important — the person her daughter was before the murder.

REMEMBERING COLLEEN

As the execution date approaches, Martinez hopes the public will look beyond the death-row inmate and remember the 19-year-old at the center of the case.

Colleen was more than the victim in a high-profile murder.

She was a daughter, a family member, a student and a young woman with interests, friendships and plans for her future.

Martinez says that is the part of the story she does not want lost.

After 31 years, she is still speaking for her daughter.

And as she prepares to drive hundreds of miles to Nashville, she says the most important thing is not what happens to Pike — but making sure Colleen Slemmer is remembered.