Show Notes
In 1995, 18-year-old Job Corps student Christa Pike carried out one of the most savage murders in Tennessee history, luring 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer into the Knoxville woods before stabbing her, carving a pentagram into her chest, and smashing her skull with an asphalt paving brick—keeping a fragment of Colleen's bone as a trophy to dance with at her dorm. Pike became the youngest woman sentenced to death in modern U.S. history, but tonight, justice remains stalled after an execution attempt went catastrophically wrong. Executioners spent over an hour sticking Pike with at least ten needles without establishing venous access due to severely collapsed veins. Now, Pike's defense attorneys have taken the unprecedented step of filing legal challenges demanding the hangman's noose or a surgical central line, while citing new cognitive damage and past trauma to block a second execution. Nancy Grace and her panel of medical, legal, and investigative experts—joined by Colleen's close friend Rita Morris—break down the botched lethal injection, the gruesome reality of alternate execution methods, and the ongoing anguish of Colleen’s mother, May Martinez, as Tennessee Governor Bill Lee refuses to act. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Rita Morris - Friend of Colleen Slemmer Marie Pereira (Los Angeles, CA) - Criminal Defense Attorney, Domestic Violence Expert (Domestic violence expert certified advocate, batterers prevention), Registered Nurse
Dr. Bethany Marshall (Beverly Hills, CA) - Psychoanalyst, Watch Dr. Marshall on hit shows "Paris in Love" on Peacock and "The Valley, Persian Style" on Bravo. You can also catch her on Netflix and Hulu as well. Host of "On the Couch with Dr. Bethany Marshall" podcast, Instagram, Facebook & TikTok: @drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive Dr William Morrone (Michigan) - Medical Examiner, Toxicologist, Pathologist, opioid treatment expert, Author: “American Narcan” Keith Sharon (Nashville, TN) - Reporter, "The Tennessean", Host of the “Murder on Music Row” podcast, Social Media: @kssharontn Dave Mack (AL) - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Crime Stories with Nancy Grace
Convicted child predator Thomas Kendall Jr. faces new scrutiny after authorities discover a contraband cell phone containing thousands of abusive images inside his Florida prison cell. In California, Cedric von Ferdinand stands accused of fatally poisoning his cancer-stricken foster mother with fentanyl before burying her remains and stealing over half a million dollars in assets. Meanwhile in Alabama, forty-seven-year-old Thomas Henry Steele faces capital murder charges for allegedly decapitating his aunt and grandmother with a chainsaw inside their Mobile home. Sydney Silvagni reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In January 2023, Massachusetts mother and labor-and-delivery nurse Lindsay Clancy allegedly strangled her three young children—5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan—inside their Duxbury home before attempting suicide by jumping from a second-story window. Following a deadlocked criminal jury and mistrial, Clancy has now filed a massive civil malpractice lawsuit against the medical professionals, hospitals, and emergency responders who treated her, claiming overmedication and postpartum psychosis caused her actions. Nancy Grace and her panel of forensic, legal, and psychiatric experts scrutinize the startling new civil filings, exposing how Clancy’s own legal claims contain explicit, written admissions that detail the planning, timing, and execution of the murders—damning confessions that could reshape the prosecution’s case ahead of an anticipated retrial. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Josh Kolsrud (Phoenix, AZ) - Criminal Defense Attorney and Former Assistant U.S. Attorney, Founder of Kolsrud Law Offices, New Book: The Criminal Lawyer's Guide to Immigration Law, Facebook and YouTube @KolsrudLawOffices Dr. Bethany Marshall (Beverly Hills, CA) - Psychoanalyst, Watch Dr. Marshall on hit shows "Paris in Love" on Peacock and "The Valley, Persian Style" on Bravo. You can also catch her on Netflix and Hulu as well. Host of "The Dr. Bethany Marshall Podcast", Instagram, Facebook & TikTok: @drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive Robert Fried (Long Island, NY) - Certified Forensics Analyst, EVP of Forensics and Chief Investigative Officer @ Page One, IncAuthor of 5 books including: "Forensics Data Collections 2.0" book series, Linkedln: Robert B Fried Dr. Jessica Dwyer (Dallas, TX) - Director and Chief Medical Examiner, Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences (SWIFS), Social Media: @jessbdwyer Dave Mack (AL) - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories' See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The Archdiocese of New York agrees to a historic, eight-hundred-million-dollar settlement with thirteen hundred survivors of clergy sexual abuse following years of intense litigation under the Child Victims Act. In California, an alleged drunken driver faces gross vehicular manslaughter charges after plowing his vehicle into a crowd of cyclists during a nighttime Halloween ride in Montclair, leaving two dead and two others injured. Meanwhile in Florida, Tallahassee police arrest a fifteen-year-old boy on attempted murder charges after a chaotic mass shooting near Florida A&M University's football stadium leaves twelve people wounded. Sydney Silvagni reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Meghan Markle’s estranged father, Thomas Markle Sr., is at the center of an international investigation after his son, Thomas Markle Jr., reported discovering thousands of illicit child sexual abuse photos, videos, and dark-web records at his father's former residence in Cebu, Philippines. This explosive development follows the revelation of a 2018 handwritten letter sent to British authorities by Markle Sr.’s ex-wife, Roslyn Loveless, detailing long-standing allegations of abuse. As Philippine authorities and the FBI review boxes of seized photographic negatives, storage drives, and devices, Markle Sr. continues to maintain his innocence, insisting he never possessed the contraband and suggesting a family setup. Nancy Grace and her expert panel of legal, cybersecurity, and psychological analysts examine the chain of custody, evaluate the digital forensics required to authenticate decades-old files, and probe why international law enforcement failed to act sooner. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Nick Gounaris (Dayton, OH) - Trial Attorney, Gounaris Abboud Law, Co-Host of "Legal Chaos Podcast"
A Massachusetts judge has summarily dismissed attempts by Lindsay Clancy’s defense team to investigate and question the lone holdout juror who forced a mistrial in her triple murder case. On the George Washington Bridge, a retired NYPD detective has been arrested and charged with murder following a suspected road rage shooting that killed a Con Edison worker and father of two. In Florida, a 47-year-old man is jailed without bond after allegedly slashing an elderly shopper's neck with a box cutter at a Publix because the victim looked like he was from the 1960s. Sydney Silvagni reports. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.