Christa Pike's Botched Execution Eerie Noises After Injections ... Local Anchor's Graphic Description

Published October 1, 2026 12:52 PM PDT

Christa Pike made some horrific noises for nearly an hour during her botched execution ... and one local TV news anchor who was there is describing it for us ... and it sounds unpleasant.

Tori Gessner -- an anchor for WKRN news in Tennessee -- joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to discuss what she saw and heard during Wednesday night's execution attempt ... which she says got off to a weird start when they didn't open the curtain for nearly an hour.

Tori says it's normal for the curtain to be closed at first ... and that during this time, it's generally assumed IVs are being attached to the inmate.

However, Tori says this usually takes 10 to 15 minutes ... but this time it took about an hour. During this time, she says she could hear some moaning, whimpering, and crying.

Eventually, the curtains did open, and Tori says the gallery could see Christa lying on a gurney ... and she delivered what were supposed to be her last words.

Tori says the pentobarbital was then administered ... and Christa entered the widely reported "snoring phase" -- before the curtain closed again for a few minutes. When they reopened, Tori says more pentobarbital was administered.

However, the curtains closed again ... and the reporters could hear her "snore-squeak" for close to an hour before they were all sent home. She says it was "difficult to listen to."

Christa's lawyers laid out a similar scene ... saying during a press conference that Christa tried to help the people place her lines -- recommending they go through her shoulder and even thanking them when they established the line.

Tori also talked about another botched execution she witnessed back in May ... when the same doctor couldn't establish a line on death row inmate Tony Carruthers.

As we've reported ... Christa was rushed to a local hospital where one of her attorneys says she is critically ill but not in a coma.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has since halted all executions through the end of the year while this incident undergoes a thorough review. While the TN Supreme Court could still pick a date for Christa's follow-up execution, it seems they'll likely wait for the review to conclude.

Christa received a date for her death penalty execution decades after she was found guilty of killing Colleen Klemmer in 1995.