Transcript of 911 call of Christa Pike’s botched execution released

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – What happened the night Christa Pike’s attempted execution failed? Authorities have released the transcript of the 911 call made that night from the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, providing new details about what happened.

The Metro Nashville Emergency Communications Center (DEC) released the transcript Monday – just over a week after the botched execution.

The Nashville Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) first received notification of the incident at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution via a 911 call at 8:40 p.m. CT on September 30, 2026.

DEC said that following a review by Metro Legal, it was determined that the original audio 911 call was exempt from public disclosure under Tennessee Code § 10-7-504(h).

“While recognizing this exemption, DEC made a good faith effort to provide additional information by preparing a written account of the initial call based on a review of the audio recording,” a DEC spokesperson said.

The written account has been published below:

What happened the night of Christa Pike’s attempted execution?

The failed attempt came after a day of back-and-forth between courts over whether the proceedings would continue.

Pike was scheduled to be executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution on the morning of September 30, but shortly before, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ordered that her execution be stayed.

The break was given because the court believed she should be allowed to challenge the legality of her sentence. Pike’s lawyers then asked the U.S. Supreme Court to maintain the pause while a federal appeals court considered a new legal challenge.

That evening, the Supreme Court ruled, by a vote of 6 to 3, that the execution would be allowed. She would have been the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. She is the only woman on death row in the state.

But things went wrong when they tried to administer the two doses of pentobarbital.

“The vein in my arm looks like it’s about to burst,” witnesses heard Pike say as she underwent a lethal injection.

The state administered two doses of pentobarbital believed to be fatal. But witnesses and his lawyers say they did not have the desired effect. Instead, a witness said, “Heavy snoring is the best description we can give you for the noises she was making.” »

Shortly after, WSMV observed ambulances arriving at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and leaving shortly after, followed by police.

Pike was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Lawyers later confirmed she was unconscious and on a ventilator. It was revealed that on October 5, her lawyers and medical team believed she was brain dead and would be taken off life support within days.

But she regained consciousness the next morning.

“I don’t have an explanation for what happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning, but what we do know is that Christa has a long road to recovery,” said one of her lawyers, Randy Spivey.

Pike’s attorneys announced Saturday that she had been released from the hospital and returned to the Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center where she has been housed for more than 30 years.

Why is Christa Pike on death row?

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.

The case revealed that Pike, who was 18 at the time, worked with Tadaryl Shipp, 17, and Shadolla Peterson, 18, to plan and carry out the murder, known as the “Jobs Corps Murder.” Both Pike and Slemmer were members of the Jobs Corps at the time of the murder, which took place on the campus of the University of Tennessee.

Phil Keith, who was Knoxville police chief during the 1995 murder, described it as “an incredibly grotesque crime scene, one of the most brutal I have ever seen.”

According to Keith, Pike tortured Slemmer for nearly an hour with a box cutter, “carving a pentagram into his chest before crushing his skull with a piece of asphalt.”

Pike’s lawyers argued that his education was not adequately considered in his case. According to his defense, Pike was the victim of child abuse and multiple rapes, details they say were withheld from the jury during his trial.

Tennessee previously claimed Pike was lying about his childhood, but has since admitted to the abuse in open court.

For Keith, education is no excuse.

“If everyone who leads an abusive lifestyle killed someone, there would be a lot more murders in this country,” he said. “It’s not about how she reformed, or that those days are over. Her values ​​or morals were long established, and somewhere along the way they were distorted.”

While Keith said Pike never showed remorse for the crime, Pike’s friend Misty Armstrong said otherwise.

According to Armstrong, Pike spent much of his time in prison trying to help other inmates.

“It took her years of therapy to get there, but she did it,” she said. “She changed and became a completely different person.”