A Love to Die for

by Patricia Springer

On January 12, 1995, in Knoxville, Tennessee, 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer went for a walk with her friend, 18-year-old Christa Pike. Suddenly, Christa turned on Colleen, accusing her of flirting with her boyfriend. Then, the words turned to shocking blows. An enraged Christa used a box knife to cut her rival's throat and a mini meat cleaver to inflict more havoc. Half-naked, Colleen crawled through her own blood begging for her life. In the middle of the hour-long assault, a satanic symbol was carved in the dying girl's chest. And when Christa was finally done, she took a piece of Colleen's skull as a macabre souvenir. What were the dark forces that drove angelic faced Christa to commit such a savage murder and become the youngest woman ever to be put on Death Row? In this shocking expose of a case that stunned the nation, Patricia Springer takes us through a horrifying crime scene and into the heart and mind of a murderess who killed for love-and would die for it, too.

Genres: True Crime, Crime, Nonfiction, Love, History

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 2000

Reviews

[Karen]

This is one of the most disturbing books I have ever read. Christa Pike killed Colleen with no remorse whatsoever...


Right after she did it she started bragging to others about it and when she was arrested she was more then eager to talk about what she did and even re'enact it!

This was def overkill and sadistic!

She did have a very crappy upbringing and I believe she has mental issues (she has to) but I still can't grasp how someone can do what she did and just carry on about their day afterwards.

[Suzanne]

I thought this book was very well written. It told you why these crimes were committed and exactly what was going on. It still had several chapters of the trial which i found very interesting.

[♥ Marlene♥]

On Sunday, November 13, 2005 I wrote:

This is another one of the true crime books which made me want to read more true crime. I read this at the start of me reading English true crime books,(2001/2002) and this was another one of those books you can't forget.Shocking story and well written.

In her latest true-crime thriller, "A Love To Die For," Dallas author Patricia Springer brings to light the chilling story of Christa Pike, the youngest woman ever sentenced to death row. Using actual court transcriptions, confessions from the parties involved and interviews with the victim's parents, prosecutors, and others involved in the gruesome case, Springer weaves a fascinating tale of the twisted, fantastic life of a very disturbed young woman, and the incredibly hideous crime she committed.

Update: re-read on April 14 2011.

Yes the story is so shocking that I now understand why I gave it such a high grade back then. This was one crime I never forgot and I must say the photos of this book are indeed shocking. You always see that on books, 8 pages of shocking pages (Ann Rule comes to mind) and what you see is photo's of people still alive and well.
Now that I've read many more TC books I can see the negatives of this book. Too much repetition for one. I also wrote a review for amazon and I did say back then what I missed was more information at the how come Christa Pike thought Colleen had something to do with her boyfriend. Wanted to know more of Colleen's time at the job campus. All in all I still think it is a good book.

[Laura]

Poorly written and quite frankly, gross. I did not finish reading this book.

[SouthWestZippy]

On January 12, 1995 Christa Pike accuses her friend Colleen Slemmer of flirting with her boyfriend while on a walk. Things turn ugly with words and then Christa Pike revealed a sinister side of herself. Christa used a meat cleaver and box knife to make sure Colleen would be silenced forever then took a piece of her skull so she could have a souvenir. Wow what a story. Good book but it lack background story of the girls. I had a hard time with wondering if there is more to this story. I think with more background story it would have helped with that unknown. The attack was vicious and escalated so fast even though she had been planning to kill her for some time. Makes you wonder if Christa Pike had other encounters or could have with others because of her aggressive behavior. Other thing about book, it does have a lot of court time in it which I normally don't like but Patricia Springer did a wonderful job of not making it mundane.

[Louise]

This is the true story of the YOUNGEST woman on death row. Excellent!

[Jade]

this book is so cool

[Barbie]

Eh ... It was good at first, but got boring with the trial. Also I felt not very well written.

[Amy Begley]

Ok. This book is out of print and impossible to find due to the sensationalism going on right now with Christa Pike’s execution, but finally able to read it through internet archives and it was totally worth it. The author was very factual and did lots of research and details of the crime and trial. This was a thorough reminder of the tragic events that occurred to Colleen and serves her memory well. I enjoyed the writing style as well. It’s a shame and a blessing the author passed away just in September 2026 so she didn’t have to witness the injustice that has occurred with the botched execution, but also didn’t get closure for the book. A post epilogue with all the appeals and such would’ve been great to read as well. This book and story will stay with me for awhile and I will still actively pursue getting a copy. Such a tragic event, justice for Colleen!

[Ashley McFadden]

So Christa’s execution is coming up and it was on the news while in Nashville, I was curious and looked this book up. I can see why this book is no longer being produced as I had to stop several times due to the graphic nature. I thought it was an interesting book and definitely tells a different story than most news outlets

[Kellz Garrett]

Colleen didn’t have a crush on Tadarrall. And the reason it took so long to kill her is because christa was weak. She didn’t have a lot of physical strength in her. I know because she beat me up once .

[Fishface]

A pretty interesting read about an incredibly heinous murder. I caught myself wishing I could ask questions of the people involved; the author didn't dig that deep into the story. I came away wondering if justice was really done here and if there's more to this story that I missed. RIP Colleen.

[Manda]

This book is very disturbing but very well written I couldn’t put it down. If you like this type of thing I def recommend it!

[Anthony Mwangi]

Awesome

[Lauren Goggin]

True crime books are my guilty pleasure from before true crime podcasts were a thing. This one is well done, the author is a good story teller, not just a reporter of facts.

[Melanie Falconer]

I am a fan of true crime and this was a decent reporting of a terrible crime. In 1995, four friends walk into the woods and only three walk out. Christa Pike accused Colleen Slemmer of trying to take her boyfriend. She becomes so enraged, she kills Colleen. The case is shocking and has hints of devil worship.

[LauraTrev1]

WOW! This book is one of those that you just love and hate! I loved the book itself but the crime was horrific! This book is about the murder of 19 year old Colleen Slemmer and her murderer the youngest woman ever to be put on death row, 18 year old Christa Pike. Christa along with her boyfriend and her friend committed this crime and his book gives you all the details. I had doubts about reading it because some reviews said it wasn't very informative as to who Christa was but I didn't think so. I really learned who each person was and I wasn't left with any questions about the crime. I liked the pictures as well, I know that sounds creepy but when reading true crime it's kind of like the "cherry on top". They are interesting to see. I had never read anything by author Patricia Springer but I will be sure to look for more books by her. I recommend it to anyone that likes reading a good true crime book!

[Eva-Marie Nevarez]

I know I read this beause I remember the story but I don't remember enough about the book to really comment on it. I can't say whether it's written well or not - the story is atrocious though. I can't imagine anyone being capable of what this female did. When she was little more than a child.

[Eliza]

It was alright.The beginning was really good but the whole trial part was kind of boring. Overall, if you are into true crime books this is a good book to read.

[Amy]

Awlful situation... But the book is good. The last few chapters were a bit slow, but all around good book!

[April]

Sad story...

[Kelly]

A story of a violent murder. Pretty good.

[Jane]

I could barely put this book down
It was a horrible brutal crime, just unbelievable The killers were assholes and they need to rot in prison
It was well written, I like this author

[Lapsed Reader]

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