Christa Pike Witness Details Horrors of Tennessee Killer's Botched Execution: 'We Could All Hear Her Breathing'

Christa Pike's execution went horribly wrong after the Tennessee Department of Correction struggled to administer the lethal injection.

A witness who watched the execution says Pike continued speaking, breathing and eventually snoring after the drugs were administered.

Catherine Sweeney, a reporter with Nashville Public Radio, was among the media witnesses who arrived at the prison on September 30 for Pike’s execution.

The proceedings were already delayed after a federal court temporarily stayed the execution, leaving the witnesses waiting for roughly nine hours.

Once inside the witness area, another problem quickly became apparent.

The curtain blocking their view of the death chamber remained closed for 45 minutes as officials attempted to establish IV access — far longer than the typical 10 to 15 minutes.

Pike's attorneys had previously warned that her small veins and platelet disorder could make lethal injection difficult.

When the curtain finally opened, Pike was still able to speak with her spiritual adviser, Mikey Noechel.

She told him, "I just want to say that I'm going to leave this world the way I've spent most of my life, and that is with love."

Pike later complained that her arm was burning.

A signal indicating that the drugs had supposedly been administered appeared at 7:41 p.m., but Pike was still quietly talking three minutes later.

The witness said her "jaw dropped" because it was obvious something had gone wrong.

Officials attempted a second round of pentobarbital, but Pike eventually began snoring.

The curtain closed again, leaving witnesses unable to see what was happening while her breathing could still be heard through the loudspeaker.

The situation became increasingly tense as the witnesses waited without an explanation.

Sweeney asked corrections officials, "Do they do a third round? Are you going to resuscitate her?" There was no answer.

Another reporter questioned why the curtain remained closed when the doctor had not certified Pike's death.

"We could all hear her breathing," the witness recalled.

At 8:53 p.m., the prison warden finally instructed, "Media witnesses, please exit the area."

Emergency vehicles arrived as the witnesses attended a required news conference, and Pike was taken away by ambulance.

Her attorneys later said she remained in critical condition and alleged the execution team may not have realized that the IV lines were improperly placed or that her veins had "blown."

They claimed pentobarbital may have entered her body outside the veins.

According to the attorneys, Pike arrived at the hospital with both arms "swollen, burned, and blistered."

They said, "She is intubated, on a ventilator, and remains unconscious."