Former Police Chief Haunted by 'Satanic' Murder 31 Years Later as Killer's Execution Fails

Former Knoxville Police Chief Phil Keith stated he is still haunted by the "satanic" murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a crime that occurred over three decades ago. The case continues to impact investigators, Keith told Fox News Digital.

Slemmer was murdered in 1995 by Christa Pike, then 18, and two classmates from the Knoxville Job Corps Center. They lured Slemmer to a park under the pretense of going to a music store and obtaining marijuana. What followed was an hour-long torture, mutilation, and murder. Keith, who served as the city's chief of police from 1988 to 2004, described the crime scene as horrific.

Pike kept a fragment of Slemmer's skull as a trophy, and her boyfriend at the time carved pentagrams into Slemmer's chest and face. An expert at Pike's trial described the attack as having "satanic elements" and involving "collective aggression," according to court records. The groundskeeper who discovered Slemmer's remains initially mistook the body for an animal carcass until he noticed her clothing amidst the blood.

Pike was scheduled for execution by lethal injection on Wednesday. The U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay of execution, but the Supreme Court subsequently lifted it, allowing the procedure to proceed. After the administration of two doses of lethal injection, Pike reportedly remained alive. Her attorneys stated on Friday that she was unconscious, on a ventilator, and in critical condition at an undisclosed hospital, receiving "lifesaving care" for severe effects from the pentobarbital, including injuries to her arms.

Keith expressed a wish for the availability of modern post-trauma counseling services for law enforcement officers at the time of the murder, noting that such resources were not available then. "We didn't have therapy services or counseling or anything at that time, and we, I wish we had, because these images will never be erased," he said.

One of Pike's attorneys, Randy Spivey, commented on Thursday that Slemmer's mother had been on Pike's mind prior to the planned execution, acknowledging the immense suffering for all involved families.