Satanist killer asked ‘is this normal?’ while surviving ‘worst botched execution in modern era’ that could have given her brain damage | Daily Mail Online

The convicted killer was alive and snoring after surviving what has been described as the. Satanist killer asked 'is this normal?' while surviving 'worst botched execution in modern era' that could have given her brain damage | Daily Mail Online UK Home US EditionSelect EditionUKUSAUIEYou're viewing the US editionYou can switch to the UK, AU or IE homepage at any time using this menu.OkayLoginHome US Showbiz TV Sports US Politics Royals News Crime Desk Lifestyle Money U.K. Buyline Games Home US Showbiz TV Sports US Politics Royals News Crime Desk Lifestyle Money U.K.

Buyline Games Copy Link Email Facebook X WhatsApp LinkedIn Reddit Messenger Snapchat Flipboard Pinterest Advertisement By SABRINA PENTY, FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 05:27 EDT, 1 October 2026 | Updated: 09:28 EDT, 1 October 2026 Satanist death row inmate Christa Pike was heard asking if a burning sensation in her arm was 'normal' during a botched execution that experts say may have left her with brain damage. The convicted killer was alive and snoring after surviving what activists described as 'the worst… botched execution in the modern era' having received two doses of pentobarbital at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Wednesday. Members of the press who were present detailed how, at one point, Pike described a burning spot in her arm that felt like it was going to burst and asked if it was normal.

Experts are trying to determine how Pike, 50, survived two

Experts are trying to determine how Pike, 50, survived two doses of lethal injections. According to Dr Joel Zivot, a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine who has been retained as a medical expert by Pike's legal team, it is likely that the lethal drug did not enter her bloodstream in a high enough dose to stop her breathing. 'It's very possible that as a consequence of the delay of the beginning of resuscitation she will have a brain injury,' Dr Zivot told the BBC.

Witnesses in the execution chamber said curtains separating Pike from the viewing room were closed at 7.46pm and opened again at 7.49pm, and described how she was audibly gasping and moaning as she kicked her bedsheet. 'Her mouth fell open a few times, and she began to loudly snore. She gasped a few times,' a witness said.

Key details

Pike (pictured in court in 2007) was still 'alive and snoring' after she received both syringes of lethal injection drugs on Wednesday night She was convicted at the age of 18 in March 1996 for brutally stabbing and beating Knoxville Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer (pictured) to death Emergency responders were seen rushing to Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after the botched execution Pike was still awake and snoring more than 40 minutes after the last dose, which was administered at 8.06pm. Witnesses were told to leave the premises at around 8.53pm. Journalists in the execution chamber noted that 'nothing we saw was normal', and described the process as 'abnormally long'.

An Associated Press reporter said Pike 'appeared noticeably awake as the execution began', while other witnesses said that at one point, Pike began to sing with her spiritual adviser. After being strapped to the execution gurney, Pike was heard saying: 'I'm going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life. And that is with love.' Robin Maher, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center said: 'This event is the worst we've seen and unlike any other botched execution in the modern era.' Pike's attorneys had previously argued at an August hearing in Knoxville that her thrombocytosis could increase clotting and pain during the execution process.

They also contended at the time that her veins are difficult to access, which could prolong the process and extend Pike's suffering. Her lawyers said in a statement on Wednesday: 'Tonight, the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution. 'We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy.' The 'satanist' was convicted in 1996 of the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, whom she killed in a fit of jealous rage, and was sentenced to death.

They also contended at the time that her veins are

The crime shocked the city of Knoxville and drew widespread national attention, in part because a pentagram – a star-shaped emblem linked to Satanism – was carved into Ms Slemmer's chest, and a portion of her skull was taken as a souvenir of the carnage. 'Christa is being treated at a nearby hospital,' her lawyers said. 'We have not been informed as to her condition.' It was the second time this year that Tennessee has been unable to carry out an execution.

Pike's attorneys had previously argued that her thrombocytosis could increase clotting and pain during the execution process In May, state officials called off the lethal injection of Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and killing three people in 1994, after executioners tried and failed for over an hour to place an IV to administer pentobarbital. Pike had been scheduled to be executed for the brutal 1995 murder of Ms Slemmer and would have been the first woman executed in the state of Tennessee in more than 200 years. But the procedure was delayed for hours after the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an order staying Pike's execution 'until further order of this court'.

The US Supreme Court overturned the order just before 6pm local time, clearing the way for Pike's execution. Following the botched execution, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said in a statement that he has ordered a 'comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred' and that the remaining scheduled execution will not take place this year. 'Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State's most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective,' he said.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement that they 'followed every step of the State's lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General's Office'.

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