Christa Pike was 18 when she participated in the brutal murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She was 20 when she was sentenced to death. Now, at 50, Christa Pike is scheduled to be executed on September 30, 2026. The murder of Colleen Slemmer was extraordinarily cruel. She was lured into the woods, tortured and killed by a group that included Pike and her boyfriend. Pike later bragged about the killing and kept a piece of Slemmer's skull. But this episode of The Secret Passage asks a harder question: What happened to Christa Pike before she became capable of doing something so horrific? Dana and Jacky examine Pike's childhood of severe abuse, neglect, sexual violence and instability—and what developmental trauma can do to attachment, emotional regulation and a child's understanding of love, violence and relationships. Jacky explains, adverse childhood experiences don't make someone a murderer, and millions of trauma survivors never become violent. However, understanding the development of violent behavior is different from excusing it. They also confront the uncomfortable disparity at the center of the case: Pike was 18 when the murder occurred; her boyfriend and co-defendant was 17. Pike received death. He received life. Thirty years later, another question emerges: If a person changes profoundly in prison, who exactly are we executing—the 18-year-old who committed the crime or the 50-year-old she became? And where does that leave Colleen Slemmer, whose opportunity to grow, change and have a future was taken from her forever? This is not an episode about excusing Christa Pike. It's about whether we can hold two uncomfortable truths at the same time: What happened to Colleen Slemmer was horrific. What happened to Christa Pike before the murder matters too. Can someone deserve both our condemnation and our empathy? Could you sentence the 18-year-old Christa Pike to death knowing everything you know about her childhood—and knowing who she would become 30 years later? Send this episode to someone you want to debate it with. Instagram: The Secret Passage Podcast on Instagram TikTok: The Secret Passage Podcast on TikTok YouTube: The Secret Passage Podcast on YouTube JOIN US ON PATREON The conversation doesn't end here... Join The Secret Passage Patreon community for: ✔️ Early access ✔️ Bonus episodes ✔️ Behind-the-scenes content Join The Secret Passage on Patreon FURTHER READING & RESOURCES Tennessee Department of Correction — Christa Pike Execution Information Official information regarding Pike's scheduled September 30, 2026 execution. Tennessee Department of Correction: Christa Pike Execution Advisory Tennessee Supreme Court — State v. Christa Gail Pike The court record detailing the murder of Colleen Slemmer, Pike's conviction, aggravating and mitigating evidence, and the court's review of her death sentence. Read the Tennessee Supreme Court case materials Christa Pike's Clemency Petition & Current Clemency Case Pike's attorneys are asking Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life without parole. The petition focuses heavily on her age at the time of the crime, extensive childhood trauma, mental-health history and development during incarceration. Death Penalty Information Center: Christa Pike's Clemency Request Adolescent Brain Development & Capital Punishment For listeners interested in our discussion about whether the legal line at 18 reflects what neuroscience tells us about development, this academic review specifically examines capital punishment for people who committed crimes at ages 18–20. Neuroscience and Death as a Penalty for Late Adolescents Tennessee Death Row Facts Current information from Tennessee regarding its death-row population. Pike is currently Tennessee's only female death-row prisoner. Tennessee Death Row Facts Christa Pike, Christa Gail Pike, Colleen Slemmer, Christa Pike execution, Christa Pike death row, Christa Pike case, Christa Pike clemency, Tennessee death row, Tennessee death penalty, September 30 execution, capital punishment, death penalty, women on death row, female death row inmates, juvenile brain development, adolescent brain development, developmental trauma, childhood trauma, adverse childhood experiences, ACEs, trauma psychology, criminal psychology, forensic psychology, rehabilitation, punishment and rehabilitation, clemency, life without parole, Job Corps murder, Knoxville Tennessee murder, Tadaryl Shipp, Shadolla Peterson, true crime, true crime podcast, true crime psychology, psychology podcast, The Secret Passage, The Secret Passage Podcast,