What happens when someone is sentenced to death, the execution goes forward, but the person doesn’t die? This week on Pushing Up Lilies, I’m talking about Christa Pike, who was convicted of the brutal 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee. Pike was just 18 years old when the murder occurred, and she has spent roughly three decades on death row. I want to start by telling you about Colleen, what happened to her, and the evidence that ultimately led to Pike’s conviction. As a former death investigator, I look at cases like this through the physical evidence, the injuries, the witness statements, and what those findings tell us about a victim’s final moments. But there’s another side to this story that raises some serious medical questions. On September 30, 2026, Tennessee reportedly attempted to execute Pike using pentobarbital. According to the account discussed in this episode, she survived the procedure and was hospitalized in critical condition. As a nurse, I have a lot of questions about what happened inside that execution chamber. We’ll look at how lethal injection is supposed to work, what could potentially go wrong, and the medical and ethical questions that arise when an execution fails. This case is disturbing on so many levels, and while the latest developments have brought renewed attention to Christa Pike, I don’t want us to forget the young woman whose murder started this entire story. Join me as we examine the evidence, the medicine, and the unanswered questions surrounding this case. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: 00:06 Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies. I’m your host, Julie Mattson.  00:10 Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine-tingling, unusual, and terrifyingly true stories from my perspective as a forensic death investigator and a sexual assault nurse examiner.  00:24 Do I have some stories for you? Are you ready? Hey, guys. Welcome to another episode of Pushing Up Lilies. I was so excited to be on an episode of Dani After Dark last night.  00:38 If you can, check out her YouTube channel. It’s amazing. She is so sweet. She’s an amazing podcaster.  00:46 I met her at Beyond the Crime back in April, and then I had the honor of talking to her again at Crime Con, and she was sporting my merch.  00:57 She had on a Pushing Up Lilies T-shirt, and I just adore her.  01:01 So, she has been on YouTube and has been doing this a lot longer than me, so I encourage you to log on to her channel and take a listen to her.  01:12 Also, just wanna remind you that the Pushing Up Lilies second annual Murder Mystery Dinner is Saturday. Jan Bynum, who’s the mother of Kelly Ann Cox, will be here.  01:23 She’s coming up to actually speak, and so we’re gonna do a live podcast on stage, and then the audience will have an opportunity to ask questions. So gonna be so much fun.  01:33 I’ve paid actors from Murder Mystery Texas, and they will be here to put on a completely interactive show. This is at Studio One forty-one, from 5:00 to 9:00 on Saturday, October 10th.  01:47 Tickets are almost sold out, y’all. So, if you really wanna come, get online and buy your tickets. I’ve lowered the price to $80 each. And so, if you really wanna come, now’s your opportunity.  02:00 It’s gonna be catered by Our Blended Table. We are gonna have an amazing menu, and it’s gonna be so much fun. We’re gonna have some signature drinks, and everyone will get a special gift.  02:12 So, I encourage you to log on to Eventbrite or go to my website, and you’ll see a link where you can actually buy tickets. So, this week, I wanna talk about Christa Pike.  02:24 I know that everyone’s been following her botched attempt at execution. So, let’s talk a little bit about that.  02:33 There are a lot of crimes that you remember because of what happened to the victim, but there are others that you remember because of what happened to the person convicted, and this is a case like that.  02:43 This case has become both. In January of 1995, and I know a lot of people don’t know this story, 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer was brutally murdered in Knoxville, Tennessee.  02:56 Now, the woman convicted of killing her was Christa Gail Pike. At the time, Christa was only 18 years old.  03:06 Now, she was eventually sentenced to death, and for roughly three decades, she remained on Tennessee’s death row.  03:14 Now, September 30th, just a few short days ago, Tennessee tried to execute Christa Pike. The state used a drug called pentobarbital, and the drug was administered, but Pike did not die.  03:30 So according to her attorneys, a second dose was administered, and she still didn’t die. So, Christa Pike eventually left the prison where she was supposed to die in an ambulance very much alive.  03:45 Now, in the days immediately following this execution attempt, Pike was unconscious, intubated, on a ventilator. And for several days, her attorney said that she had not regained consciousness.  04:00 But now, as I record this on October 6th, there’s been a major development. Christa Pike is conscious. Her attorney says she is awake and speaking.  04:11 Now, she does remain hospitalized, and she continues to receive medical care. She remains in ICU.  04:18 But what we still don’t know is the extent of any lasting injuries or exactly what long-term prognosis will be. Now, how did we get here? What exactly did Christa Pike do to Colleen Slemmer?  04:34 Why did a jury sentence an 18-year-old woman to death? And what happened inside that execution chamber? As a nurse, that’s another question that I just keep coming back to.  04:46 If the medication was administered as intended, why didn’t she die? So as most of you know, I’m Julie Matson.  04:55 I’ve spent more than