When Christa Pike was 18, she and her boyfriend lured Colleen Slemmer into the woods. Pike believed Slemmer was trying to take her boyfriend, and Pike — along with her boyfriend — tortured, beat, and cut Slemmer as Slemmer begged for her life. Pike reportedly carved a pentagram into Slemmer's chest and slashed her throat before smashing Slemmer's head with a rock.

Slemmer was 19 years old.

Pike even kept a piece of Slemmer's skull and showed it to others. Both Pike and her boyfriend, who was 17, were arrested for the murder of Colleen Slemmer. The boyfriend was sentenced to life in prison, and Pike was sentenced to death.

Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed at 10 AM today. She refused her last meal yesterday.

And now an appeals court has delayed her execution.

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Here's more:

The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals paused Christa Gail Pike's execution, originally set for Wednesday morning.

Court documents show that it was a three judge panel and the answers were divided. Two judges agreed the stay of execution was necessary in order to review the case, and a third judge dissented. 

Court records obtained by 10News around 11 a.m. show that Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed documents with the Supreme Court asking that they vacate the stay of execution, which could allow the execution to proceed.

The documents note the stay of execution was "entered less than two hours" before Pike's scheduled execution and the Sixth Circuit granted a stay that Pike did not request "without determining that Pike is likely to succeed on the merits" and "without addressing the last-minute nature" of the motion.

The records also state that she is not likely to succeed on the merits because her motion is a "second and successive habeas petition in disguise that presses a claim she already unsuccessfully presented."

The state of Tennessee was prepared to execute Pike, who is now 50 years old.

Pike also had a violent record while in prison, reportedly attempting to strangle another inmate to death and coordinating an escape attempt.

The backlash to the stay of execution was swift.

It absolutely is ridiculous that Pike isn't facing justice after almost 30 years.

According to the New York Post, Pike would have been Tennessee's first female execution in at least 200 years. It's unclear how long the execution will be delayed or if Tennessee's attorney general would appeal the decision.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday had denied a request from Pike's attorneys to halt the execution and Gov. Bill Lee rejected Pike's request for clemency.