Christa Gail Pike was born on March 10, 1976, in Beckley, West Virginia. She was the daughter of Carissa Hansen and Emil Glenn Pike. Her parents had a very troubled relationship. They were married for two years, got divorced after Hansen was found to be cheating, and then remarried for two more years after Hansen attempted suicide. They often neglected Christa. An aunt once noted that as an infant, she would crawl through piles of dog waste around the house. Hansen seemed more interested in partying than caring for her child, even when Christa suffered from serious health problems like severe seizures.

Christa's paternal grandmother played a significant role in her early life, frequently caring for her. Christa believed that her grandmother was the only person who truly loved her. When her grandmother passed away in 1988, Christa was deeply affected and made her first suicide attempt at the age of 12. However, she received little support for her struggles.

As a teenager, Christa faced an unstable home life marked by conflict and violence. One of her mother's boyfriends punched her, leading to criminal charges that were later settled. While living with her father's new family, a troubling incident occurred where one of her young half-sisters accused Christa of molestation, prompting her father to send her away. Throughout her life, Christa claimed that she had been sexually assaulted or molested multiple times, but her friends and family doubted these claims, labeling her as a pathological liar.

Despite being bright in her early school years, Christa's academic performance declined due to her unstable living situations. She frequently changed schools, which hindered her learning. In tenth grade, she was sent to a juvenile facility for a year. There, she became aware of the Job Corps, a government program designed to provide vocational training and career skills to underprivileged youth.

In the fall of 1994, Christa attended a Job Corps center in Knoxville, Tennessee. It was there that she began a relationship with a younger man named Tadaryl Shipp. Together, they became interested in the occult and devil worship.

Christa Pike became involved in a murder case due to her jealousy towards her classmate, Colleen Slemmer. On January 12, 1995, Christa, along with her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and friend Shadolla Peterson, planned to lure Colleen to a remote location. They led Colleen to an abandoned steam plant near the University of Tennessee campus under the pretense of wanting to make peace.

Once they arrived at the secluded site, the situation took a violent turn. Christa and Tadaryl attacked Colleen while Shadolla acted as a lookout. For about thirty minutes, Colleen was beaten, taunted, and slashed. At one point, a pentagram was carved into her chest. The attack ended when Christa struck Colleen’s skull with a large piece of asphalt, resulting in her death. After the murder, Christa kept a piece of Colleen's skull as a trophy.

Following the crime, the group returned to their dormitory. They were arrested within thirty-six hours when police discovered the piece of skull in Christa's jacket. During questioning, Christa admitted to the murder but claimed that they only intended to scare Colleen and that things spiraled out of control.

Christa Pike was put on trial for the murder. The evidence against her and her own confession led to a quick conviction. On March 22, 1996, she was found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy. She was sentenced to death and received a 25-year sentence for the conspiracy charge. Her co-conspirator, Tadaryl Shipp, received a life sentence, and Shadolla Peterson received probation for her cooperation with authorities.

After her conviction, Christa attempted to appeal her sentence multiple times. In June 2001 and 2002, she even requested to drop her appeals and sought execution. A scheduled execution date was set for August 19, 2002, but Christa later changed her mind. Over the years, her appeals continued through various courts, but in March 2016 and August 2019, her pleas for a commutation of her sentence were denied.

In August 2001, while in prison, Christa attempted to strangle another inmate. This led to another conviction for attempted murder in 2004. In March 2012, she was involved in a plot to escape prison with the help of an outside accomplice and a corrupt corrections officer. However, the plan was uncovered before it could be executed, and the parties involved were arrested.

On August 27, 2020, the Tennessee Attorney General requested a date for Christa's execution. Numerous legal maneuvers followed, with her attorneys citing her age and mental health as reasons to spare her from execution. In December 2022, a ruling regarding juvenile offenders led to renewed attempts to overturn her sentence. However, in October 2023, a judge denied her request, stating that the ruling did not apply to her case.

As of March 10, 2024, no new execution date has been set for Christa Pike. If she is executed, she would be the first woman to face this fate in Tennessee in nearly 200 years.