BEFORE SHE BECAME A NAME IN THE HEADLINES, COLLEEN SLEMMER HAD DREAMS
BEFORE SHE BECAME A NAME IN THE HEADLINES, COLLEEN SLEMMER HAD DREAMS
She was only 19, but Colleen Slemmer already had a world of dreams — computers, children, roller skating and a future she was determined to build.
For more than three decades, Colleen Slemmer’s name has remained tied to one of Tennessee’s most notorious criminal cases.
But to her mother, May Martinez, Colleen was never simply a name in a headline.
She was her daughter.
A young woman who loved computers. A girl who enjoyed roller skating. Someone who volunteered to help children and took part in Special Olympics events.
And above all, she was someone who still had so much life ahead of her.
A GIRL WHO LOVED TO HELP PEOPLE
Colleen was born on September 20, 1975, and grew up in Orange Park, Florida.
Her mother remembers her as sweet, easygoing and naturally drawn to helping others.
That caring side became part of who Colleen was from an early age.
She helped at school, including working with children with disabilities during lunchtime. She also volunteered at Special Olympics events and once helped paint her school building.
For May, those memories matter because they show the person Colleen was before tragedy changed the course of her family’s life forever.
THEN THERE WAS HER LOVE OF COMPUTERS
Colleen also had a passion that seemed to point toward her future.
Computers.
She loved taking computers apart and putting them back together with her stepfather.
Her family even remembered her wearing a favorite T-shirt that proudly described her as a “computer geek.”
After Colleen’s death, the shirt became something much more meaningful.
Her family had it turned into a teddy bear so they could keep a piece of her close.
It was a small object carrying an enormous memory.
A reminder of the teenager who had once been excited about what technology might offer her.
SHE LEFT HOME TO BUILD A FUTURE
After high school, Colleen enrolled at the Job Corps center in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she pursued computer training.
Her grandfather had encouraged her to consider the program, and Colleen saw it as an opportunity to learn skills that could eventually become a career.
At just 19, she had left her Florida home and begun building an independent life for herself.
Her mother later recalled how difficult it was to watch her daughter leave, but Colleen was determined to follow her ambitions.
She wasn’t simply waiting for the future.
She was trying to create it.
THE LAST CALL
On January 12, 1995, Colleen spoke with her mother by phone.
The call was interrupted by poor reception.
May tried calling her daughter back later that evening, but Colleen had already left.
It was the last time they spoke.
The following day, Colleen was found dead on the University of Tennessee campus.
She was 19.
The case would go on to become national news, and the people involved would remain connected to one of Tennessee’s most closely followed death-penalty cases.
But for May, the most important part of the story has always remained the same.
Colleen was supposed to have a future.
MORE THAN A CRIME STORY
Over the years, Colleen’s death has been repeatedly revisited through documentaries, news reports and true-crime coverage.
Yet those accounts can sometimes make it easy to forget the young woman who existed before the tragedy.
She wasn’t born a headline.
She wasn’t defined by the circumstances surrounding her death.
She was a daughter.
A student.
A volunteer.
A computer enthusiast.
A young woman who loved roller skating and wanted to find her place in the world.
And that is how her family wants her remembered.
A MOTHER WHO NEVER STOPPED REMEMBERING
More than 30 years later, May still carries Colleen’s memory with her.
In recent interviews, she has spoken about how she thinks about her daughter constantly.
Colleen’s birthday was recently marked by another painful reminder of the years that have passed: she would have turned 51.
But time has not erased the details.
The computer-loving girl.
The volunteer who helped children.
The teenager who trusted people.
The daughter who called home.
Those memories remain.
COLLEEN HAD A LIFE BEFORE THE HEADLINES
The circumstances of Colleen’s death became one of the most widely discussed parts of her story.
But they should never be the only part.
Behind every headline was a 19-year-old woman who had plans.
She had interests.
She had people who loved her.
She had a mother waiting for her to come home.
And she had no idea how much of her future would never get the chance to unfold.
More than three decades later, May Martinez is still making sure the world remembers that girl.
Not simply as a victim in a notorious case.
But as Colleen.
A young woman who loved computers, cared about children, enjoyed roller skating — and dreamed of becoming something more.
Her story ended far too soon.
Her memory did not.
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