REMEMBERING COLLEEN SLEMMER — THE 19-YEAR-OLD AT THE HEART OF CHRISTA PIKE’S DECADES-LONG CASE

For more than three decades, May Martinez has carried the memory of her daughter, Colleen Slemmer.

Colleen was just 19 when her life was taken in Tennessee in January 1995.

Now, as the case of Christa Pike has once again drawn national attention following a failed execution attempt, Colleen’s family continues to insist that the young woman at the centre of the case should not be forgotten.

For May, Colleen was never simply a name in a criminal case.

She was her daughter — a young woman who loved computers, enjoyed skating and miniature golf, volunteered with children with disabilities and dreamed of building a future of her own.

COLLEEN WAS MORE THAN THE CRIME THAT TOOK HER LIFE

Colleen was born on September 20, 1975, and grew up in Orange Park, Florida.

Her mother has described her as sweet, helpful and deeply caring toward other people.

Colleen volunteered at Special Olympics events and helped children with disabilities at school.

She also helped paint her school building during one summer.

But one of her greatest passions was technology.

Colleen loved computers so much that she could take them apart and put them back together. One of her favourite T-shirts carried the words “Computer Geek.”

After her death, her family had the shirt turned into a teddy bear so they could keep a piece of Colleen close to them.

That small object became a lasting reminder of the young woman behind one of Tennessee’s most notorious capital cases.

SHE LEFT FLORIDA TO BUILD A FUTURE

After finishing high school, Colleen travelled from Florida to Tennessee to attend the Knoxville Job Corps.

Her grandfather had encouraged her to consider the programme because of its computer courses.

The Job Corps offered education, career training and life skills, and Colleen hoped her interest in computers could eventually become part of her career.

She was only 19.

Her future was still beginning.

Then, on January 12, 1995, everything changed.

THE LAST NIGHT OF COLLEEN’S LIFE

According to accounts of the case, Colleen spoke to her mother by telephone at around 6 p.m. that evening.

May later recalled that her daughter said three students were bothering her.

It was the last conversation the two would ever have.

Later that night, Colleen left the Job Corps area with Christa Pike, Pike’s boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson.

Prosecutors said Pike had become jealous because she believed Colleen was interested in Shipp.

Colleen was taken to a wooded area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus.

What happened there became the basis of a murder case that would remain in the courts for more than 30 years.

Pike was eventually convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Shipp was also convicted and received a life sentence, while Peterson cooperated with prosecutors and received probation.

A CASE THAT SHOCKED TENNESSEE

The killing attracted intense attention because of the circumstances surrounding it and the ages of those involved.

Pike was only 18 at the time.

She was convicted in 1996 and sentenced to death, becoming one of the youngest women sentenced to death in the United States.

The case also became associated with claims about satanic beliefs and other disturbing details surrounding the killing.

Over the years, Pike’s attorneys have challenged her death sentence on several grounds, including her age, history of severe childhood abuse and later-diagnosed mental-health conditions.

Pike has not maintained that she was innocent of Colleen’s killing. Her legal team has instead argued that the circumstances of her youth and background should have been given greater consideration when her punishment was decided.

THREE DECADES OF WAITING

For May Martinez, the legal proceedings never erased the loss of her daughter.

She has continued speaking publicly about Colleen over the years, repeatedly bringing attention back to the young woman whose life ended in 1995.

In September, ahead of Pike’s scheduled execution, May and her husband Raul travelled from Florida to Tennessee to witness the sentence being carried out.

They had waited more than 30 years.

May’s daughter would have turned 51 on September 20, 2026.

Instead, her family has spent decades remembering the 19-year-old she was.

A fundraising campaign helped the couple cover the cost of travelling to Tennessee for the execution, with supporters saying that after decades of carrying their loss, May and Raul should not have to worry about whether they could afford to be there.

THEN THE EXECUTION DID NOT GO AS EXPECTED

Pike’s execution was scheduled for September 30, 2026, at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

She was set to become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years.

But the execution did not end with Pike’s death.

After the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Tennessee to proceed, officials administered pentobarbital, the state’s lethal-injection drug.

The first dose did not result in death.

A second dose was administered.

Pike remained alive.

Witnesses, including May and Raul, said they saw movement during the procedure. Other witnesses reported that Pike remained breathing and eventually made snoring sounds.

After the attempt was halted, Pike was taken from the prison by ambulance and transported to a hospital.

Her attorneys later said she remained in critical condition and was receiving medical care.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee subsequently ordered an independent review of the state’s execution procedures and halted the state’s remaining scheduled executions for 2026.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said officials followed the existing protocol, but the state has not publicly explained exactly why the procedure failed.

MAY MARTINEZ WATCHED

For May, the failed execution created another painful chapter.

She had travelled hundreds of miles expecting to witness the conclusion of a case that had dominated much of her adult life.

Instead, she watched Pike survive.

Speaking to PEOPLE after the incident, May said she had kept her eyes on Pike throughout the procedure.

She told the publication that she wanted Pike to remember Colleen and what had happened to her daughter.

May later told The Associated Press that she did not feel justice had been achieved for Colleen.

The failed execution left her facing another period of uncertainty in a case that has already lasted more than three decades.

THE WOMAN BEHIND THE NAME

But even as Pike’s legal case dominates headlines, Colleen’s family continues to emphasize something simpler.

Colleen was a daughter.

A granddaughter.

A young woman who loved computers.

A volunteer who helped children.

A teenager who enjoyed skating and miniature golf.

A young woman who left Florida believing she was going to Tennessee to learn new skills and build a future.

She had a favourite T-shirt.

She had dreams.

She had a family waiting to see what she would become.

She never got the chance.

COLLEEN WOULD HAVE BEEN 51

On September 20, 2026, Colleen would have celebrated her 51st birthday.

Instead of marking another birthday with her daughter, May continues to carry memories of the 19-year-old she lost.

Her family has spent more than 30 years living with that absence.

And while Pike’s case continues to generate questions about punishment, rehabilitation, capital punishment and the circumstances surrounding her sentence, Colleen’s story remains at its centre.

The legal battle may continue.

The questions surrounding Pike’s failed execution may continue.

But for those who loved Colleen, the most important fact has never changed:

Her name was Colleen Slemmer.

She was 19 years old.

She loved computers, cared about other people and had a future she never got to live.

And more than three decades later, her mother is still making sure the world remembers her. 🤍