A former classmate of Christa Pike has claimed the convicted killer bragged about eating a piece of her victim's brain and skull for breakfast. Pike, now 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of her 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Pike committed the crime with her then boyfriend, who was spared the death penalty because he was not legally an adult at the time. He remains in prison.
Classmate's Allegation
Following reports that Pike survived two doses of lethal injection drugs on September 30, her former schoolmate Rita Morris recalled an alleged admission made by Pike. Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, Morris claimed Pike had boasted about wanting to eat a piece of her victim's brain and skull for breakfast.
"She was bragging about it and stuff," she alleged. "It was like a trophy for her. And as well as a piece of skull, she had a piece of her brain. She said she was going to eat it with her eggs in the morning."
Morris went on to say her former classmate "deserves no sympathy", insisting she remains "just as evil as she was when I knew her". She also alleged that Pike had been jealous of Colleen, mistakenly believing the teenager was attracted to her boyfriend at the time.
Survived Execution Attempt
Pike made headlines this week after surviving an execution attempt in which she was administered two doses of pentobarbital. She was taken to hospital, where she reportedly regained the ability to walk and speak. The prisoner has since been transferred back to the women's prison where she has been held for 30 years, according to her legal team.
Her lawyers said on Saturday: "She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances. She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track her recovery."
First to Survive Lethal Injection
Pike is the first person to survive after being administered lethal injection drugs during an execution attempt, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The Tennessee Department of Correction has yet to publicly explain what went wrong during the failed execution.
In the aftermath, Colleen's mother, May Martinez, called on the state to issue a "big apology". Martinez and her husband are understood to have travelled from Florida to Nashville to witness Pike's execution, holding a photograph of Colleen as they watched from the viewing gallery.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Martinez said: "Not a day goes by, or a minute goes by that I do not think about Colleen. Holidays are the worst." Colleen's family marked what would have been her 51st birthday just last month.
