Christa Pike, a Tennessee woman facing execution for a Satanic ritual murder, has compared herself to Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children. Pike could become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend tortured and murdered 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer on January 12, 1995. The victim was found with a pentagram carved into her chest, fueling the Satanic panic of the 80s and 90s. Pike used a chunk of asphalt to smash Slemmer's head and kept a piece of her skull, later showing it to people at school, which led police to investigate.
Legal Battle and Supreme Court Petition
Pike became the youngest woman sentenced to death the following year. Her legal team has petitioned the US Supreme Court for a last-minute reprieve, arguing that the state is ignoring scientific and legal decisions that an 18-year-old brain is not fully developed and that 18 is too young to face execution.
Pike now claims a "kinship" with Clancy, whose trial ended in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Clancy strangled her children—Callan, eight months old, Dawson, 3, and Cora, five—and her prosecution argues she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Comparison to Lindsay Clancy
"We are both females who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues," Pike told The Times. "One thing [that] is different, however, is that times have changed a lot on awareness of women's issues since I was put on trial."
Pike said she was "pleased" Clancy was "getting the help she needs," adding: "There are so many women who don't get the help they need: me and others." Clancy's legal team argues she suffered from postpartum mental health issues, which can occur during pregnancy or after childbirth and affect psychological and behavioral issues. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates one in eight women in the US experiences some type of postpartum depression.
Clancy is due to return to court for a key hearing later today.
