Ex-chief says Christa Pike was 'almost giddy' describing murder as governor weighs in after botched execution
A former Tennessee police chief who investigated the murder that sent Christa Pike to death row recalled the convicted killer being "ruthless" and "almost giddy" while describing the crime to investigators, as Gov.Bill Lee signaled her death sentence is unlikely to change after she survived a failed execution.Pike, 50, survived Tennessee's attempt to execute her by lethal injection on Sept.
30 and has since returned to prison, raising questions about whether the state could attempt to put her to death again.Lee addressed Pike's fate Wednesday, saying she remains incarcerated under Tennessee law.CHRISTA PIKE IS BACK BEHIND BARS AFTER BOTCHED EXECUTION, BUT HER ULTIMATE SENTENCE FACES A NEW TEST"I suspect her sentence will be the same as it was before unless determined otherwise by the courts," Lee said.A split image shows Christa Pike at her murder trial in 1995, left, and Colleen Slemmer, the young woman she was convicted of torturing and killing, on the right.(Reuters)The governor's comments come as Pike's attorneys have called on Lee to commute her death sentence to life without parole following the failed execution.CHRISTA PIKE’S BOTCHED LETHAL INJECTION TAKES FOCUS OFF VICTIM, JEOPARDIZES EXECUTION: FORMER POLICE CHIEFPike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow participant in a federal Job Corps program in Knoxville.Former Knoxville Police Chief Phil Keith, who was involved in the investigation, recently recalled Pike's demeanor while she was being questioned about the killing in the New York Post documentary "No Mercy: Christa Pike Unraveled."FORMER KNOXVILLE POLICE CHIEF SAYS INVESTIGATORS ARE STILL HAUNTED BY COLLEEN SLEMMER'S MURDER 31 YEARS LATER"I heard somebody that was ruthless, without any remorse, almost giddy," Keith said.
"You know, she was describing what took place, like, almost the sense that she was bragging about it."Convicted killer Christa Gail Pike listens to proceedings on April 2008 in Knox C...