Colleen Slemmer would have turned 51 this year, prompting her family to celebrate her birthday last month. Her mother, May Martinez, recalls Colleen as a vibrant, generous young woman who volunteered at the Special Olympics, loved bowling, enjoyed roller skating, and showed an early interest in computers. In January 1995, while enrolled in a Job Corps program in Knoxville, Colleen was lured into the woods by classmate Christa Pike, Pike’s boyfriend, and another friend.
There, Colleen was tortured and murdered at the age of 19. Christa Pike, now the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, was scheduled for execution Wednesday night but the lethal injection halted after two doses left her conscious; she remains in critical condition under medical care. May Martinez still cherishes Colleen’s Christmas tree ornaments and childhood books, holding onto the memories of a daughter no one else seems to recall.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing