Christa Pike's two accomplices in the murder of Colleen Slemmer faced very different outcomes: Tadaryl Shipp was sentenced to life in prison, while Shadolla Peterson pleaded guilty to being an accessory and served probation. Pike remains on death row more than three decades after the killing.
Different Fates for the Accomplices
Pike, now 50, has spent over 30 years on death row for the murder of 19-year-old Slemmer in January 1995. Two other Job Corps students were involved in the crime: Pike's boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and their friend Shadolla Peterson. While Pike received the death penalty, the two accomplices faced very different futures.
Pike was 18 when she and Shipp, who was 17, were convicted of participating in Slemmer's murder. Peterson, also 18, was implicated but pleaded guilty to being an accessory after agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors.
The Murder and Shipp's Sentence
Slemmer was murdered behind the university's agriculture campus steam plant on January 12, 1995. Pike had become jealous of Slemmer, believing she was interested in Shipp. According to court records, Pike, Shipp, Peterson and Slemmer left the Job Corps residence together that evening. The attack lasted around 30 to 45 minutes.
Although Shipp was prosecuted as an adult, his age at the time was crucial to his sentence. He was too young to receive the death penalty under US constitutional law, which prohibits capital punishment for offences committed by people under 18. A Knox County jury convicted him of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment at Tennessee's Northwest Correctional Complex, with a separate 25-year sentence for conspiracy.
Parole and Peterson's Path
Shipp, now 49, became eligible for parole, but his attempt to secure release was rejected in October 2025, with the seriousness of Slemmer's murder cited as a reason. His next parole review is scheduled for October 2031, meaning he could be released in the next five years.
Peterson was initially charged with first-degree murder but became a state witness and agreed to testify against Pike and Shipp. In return, she pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of being an accessory after the fact. She remained in jail before the plea deal and served several years of probation. Prosecutors argued there was insufficient evidence to establish that she had physically participated in the killing beyond acting as a lookout. The University of Tennessee's account says Peterson "turned informant" and was convicted as an accessory, while Pike and Shipp were convicted of murder.
Pike's Botched Execution
Pike would have been the first woman to be executed in Tennessee for 200 years if she hadn't survived two rounds of the lethal injection. She survived two doses of pentobarbital, a drug commonly used for Death Row executions in the US. Condemned inmates injected with lethal doses typically slip into deep unconsciousness in seconds before entering respiratory arrest. However, Pike was observed snoring and then whimpering in pain after uttering what witnesses assumed had been her last words.
Pike was rushed to a Nashville-area hospital as medics tried to clear the drugs from her body. Her lawyers were told she was brain dead, but Pike is now said to be 'up and walking' around. No decisions have been made as to whether a second execution will be ordered or if her sentence will be commuted to life in prison.
