Is Christa Pike’s mother still alive? No. Carissa Hansen, Christa Pike’s mother, died on November 19, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a published memorial notice. She was born on December 7, 1951, and was 73 years old when she died.
The new information changes the answer that has circulated in older online coverage. Earlier court records and news reports documented Hansen as Pike’s mother and described her involvement in the case, but those records were created years before her death.
A Nashville memorial notice now provides a specific date of death for Carissa Hansen. The notice is brief and does not disclose a cause of death or provide a detailed account of her family life.
Carissa Hansen died before the latest Christa Pike developments
Carissa Hansen’s death occurred on November 19, 2025.
That date is significant because much of the recent public interest in Christa Pike has emerged in 2026, particularly around Pike’s scheduled execution and the legal proceedings surrounding it.
Hansen therefore was not alive during the latest developments surrounding her daughter’s death sentence.
The memorial notice identifies Hansen by name and records her dates of birth and death. It also identifies Nashville as the location of her death.
The available notice does not provide a cause of death.
It also does not list detailed information about her surviving relatives, funeral arrangements, or personal history.
Those details should not be filled in with assumptions.
Who was Carissa Hansen?
Carissa Hansen was Christa Pike’s mother.
Her name appears throughout the historical court record involving Pike. Court documents identify Hansen as Pike’s mother and describe testimony she provided during proceedings connected with her daughter’s conviction and death sentence.
Hansen was also identified as a licensed practical nurse.
Her testimony became relevant because Pike’s childhood and family environment were later examined during challenges to her death sentence.
The court record contains testimony about Pike spending much of her childhood with her paternal grandmother. Hansen also testified about Pike’s life after her grandmother died in 1988.
Those records provide important historical information about the relationship between mother and daughter.
However, they should now be read alongside the later memorial record confirming Hansen’s death in 2025.
When did Christa Pike’s mother die?
Carissa Hansen died on November 19, 2025.
The memorial notice places her death in Nashville, Tennessee.
She was born on December 7, 1951.
Because her birthday would have occurred only a few weeks after her death, she was 73 at the time of her passing.
The memorial notice does not publicly identify a cause of death.
There is also no reliable information in the notice indicating that her death was connected to Christa Pike’s criminal case.
The available information supports only the basic facts surrounding Hansen’s death.
How old was Carissa Hansen when she died?
Carissa Hansen was 73 years old when she died.
Her birth date was December 7, 1951.
She died on November 19, 2025, shortly before her 74th birthday.
Her age also fits the historical timeline surrounding Christa Pike. Pike was born in 1976, meaning Hansen was approximately 24 years old when her daughter was born.
The dates provide a consistent timeline between Hansen’s documented identity as Pike’s mother and the later memorial notice.
Where did Carissa Hansen die?
The memorial record states that Carissa Hansen died in Nashville, Tennessee.
The notice does not provide additional details about her residence, medical circumstances, or the events surrounding her death.
It also does not establish how long she had lived in Nashville.
Earlier reporting connected Hansen with Texas during proceedings involving Pike. That information came from an earlier period of her life and should not be confused with the later Nashville death location.
A death location does not necessarily establish a person’s long-term residence.
Therefore, the confirmed information is limited to the fact that the memorial notice places Hansen’s death in Nashville.
What did Carissa Hansen say during Christa Pike’s case?
Hansen’s testimony became part of the historical record during Pike’s criminal proceedings.
She described aspects of Pike’s childhood and acknowledged that Pike had spent substantial time with her paternal grandmother.
The grandmother was an important caregiver in Pike’s early life.
After the grandmother died in 1988, Pike’s living arrangements changed. Court testimony described Pike spending much more time with her mother afterward.
Hansen also testified about several difficult circumstances involving Pike’s teenage years.
Those statements later appeared in appellate and post-conviction records.
Because the testimony was given many years ago, it remains useful for understanding the historical case. It does not provide information about Hansen’s final years or her health before her death.
Why was Hansen important to the legal history?
Pike’s childhood became a major issue in later legal challenges.
Her attorneys argued that evidence about abuse, neglect, family instability, mental health and other childhood circumstances deserved greater consideration during the proceedings that resulted in her death sentence.
Hansen’s testimony was among the evidence concerning Pike’s upbringing.
The courts reviewed that material in later proceedings.
Federal and state records repeatedly referenced Hansen’s testimony when discussing Pike’s background.
This makes Hansen an important historical figure in the documentation of Pike’s case, even though she was not the defendant.
Her death in 2025 means that she is now part of the historical record rather than a living participant in the current legal developments.
What happened to Christa Pike’s grandmother?
Christa Pike’s paternal grandmother played a major role in her childhood.
According to court records, Pike spent much of her early childhood with her grandmother.
The grandmother died in 1988, when Pike was 12 years old.
Her death was later discussed extensively because it marked an important change in Pike’s childhood.
Pike had reportedly developed a strong attachment to her grandmother.
After the grandmother’s death, Pike spent more time with her mother and other family members.
This history became relevant during later litigation because Pike’s attorneys presented evidence about the difficult experiences she encountered while growing up.
The grandmother’s death should not be confused with the death of Pike’s mother.
The two events occurred decades apart.
Did Carissa Hansen live to see the 2026 execution developments?
No.
Hansen died on November 19, 2025.
The major execution developments involving Christa Pike occurred in 2026, months after Hansen’s death.
That means Hansen was not alive to witness the latest proceedings surrounding Pike.
Pike’s scheduled execution generated extensive national attention in September 2026.
The proceedings included legal challenges, questions about Pike’s childhood and abuse history, and ultimately an unsuccessful lethal-injection attempt.
None of those developments occurred while Hansen was alive.
What happened during the latest execution attempt involving Christa Pike?
The latest developments in Pike’s case occurred on September 30, 2026.
Tennessee attempted to execute Pike by lethal injection.
The procedure did not result in her death.
Reports following the attempt stated that Pike survived the administration of two lethal injections and was subsequently taken for medical care.
The failed execution became a major national story.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee subsequently announced a suspension of executions in the state for the remainder of the year while the procedure underwent review.
These developments are relevant to current interest in Pike, but they occurred nearly a year after Hansen’s death.
Did Carissa Hansen comment on the latest execution attempt?
No.
Carissa Hansen died in November 2025, months before the September 2026 execution attempt.
Therefore, she could not have made a public statement about the failed procedure.
Any online post claiming that Hansen personally reacted to the September 2026 execution attempt would require careful verification.
The available memorial record establishes that she had already died.
Why did older articles say Hansen was alive?
Older articles and court documents naturally recorded Hansen as living because they were produced while she was alive.
Some of the most frequently cited material comes from Pike’s original trial and later appeals.
Other reports were published years later during post-conviction litigation.
For example, reporting connected with Pike’s federal case identified Hansen as living in Texas during that period.
That information was accurate when reported.
It simply predates her death.
This is an important distinction when researching long-running criminal cases.
A person can appear repeatedly in old articles even after their death because those articles remain online and continue to appear in search results.
Why did confusion develop about her current status?
The confusion largely comes from the age of the available information.
Christa Pike has remained in the public eye for decades.
Her mother, however, was not a regular public figure.
Consequently, most references to Hansen appeared in articles about Pike’s childhood, trial, appeals or death sentence.
When a person is mentioned only as part of another person’s story, updates about that person’s own life may receive little coverage.
That appears to have happened with Hansen.
For years, searches could return court records showing her testimony and older reports identifying her as alive.
The newly confirmed memorial record provides the later information needed to close that gap.
What does the memorial notice confirm?
The memorial notice is concise but provides several important facts.
It identifies the deceased as Carissa Hansen.
It gives her birth date as December 7, 1951.
It gives her death date as November 19, 2025.
It identifies Nashville, Tennessee, as the location of her death.
The notice does not provide a cause of death.
It also does not provide a detailed family biography.
Those limits are important.
The confirmed facts should be separated from information that remains unavailable.
Was Carissa Hansen’s cause of death disclosed?
No publicly available information in the memorial notice provides a cause of death.
There is no basis for attributing her death to a particular illness, accident or medical condition.
Therefore, the cause should be described as not publicly disclosed.
This is especially important because online articles sometimes add unsupported explanations when an obituary provides only basic information.
There is no need to do that here.
The confirmed date and location are sufficient to answer the question about whether Hansen is still alive.
Did Hansen have a role in Pike’s defense?
Hansen was not Pike’s attorney or a member of her legal team.
Her role was that of a family member and witness.
She provided testimony concerning Pike’s childhood and family circumstances.
That testimony became part of the evidence examined by courts during Pike’s legal proceedings.
Later legal challenges continued to reference the information presented about Pike’s upbringing.
Hansen’s testimony therefore remains relevant to the historical record even though she died in 2025.
What does her death mean for current coverage of Christa Pike?
Hansen’s death adds an important factual detail to current reporting about Pike’s family.
Future articles discussing Pike’s mother should no longer describe Hansen as currently living.
They should instead identify her as deceased and give the confirmed date of death when relevant.
This distinction is particularly important because renewed attention around Pike can cause older information to circulate again.
Readers searching for Pike’s family background may encounter articles written years before Hansen’s death.
The newer memorial information provides a more complete timeline.
Timeline of Carissa Hansen’s connection to Christa Pike
| Year | Confirmed development |
|---|---|
| 1951 | Carissa Hansen was born on December 7. |
| 1976 | Christa Pike was born to Carissa Hansen and Emil Glenn Pike. |
| 1988 | Pike’s paternal grandmother died when Pike was 12. |
| 1995 | Pike committed the crime that resulted in her death sentence. |
| 1996 | Pike received a death sentence, and Hansen was present in court. |
| Later proceedings | Hansen provided testimony about Pike’s childhood and family circumstances. |
| 2016 | Court-related reporting continued to identify Hansen as Pike’s mother. |
| Nov. 19, 2025 | Carissa Hansen died in Nashville, Tennessee. |
| Sept. 30, 2026 | Tennessee attempted to execute Christa Pike, months after Hansen’s death. |
| Oct. 1, 2026 | Hansen remains deceased; current reporting about Pike continues without her participation. |
What is the confirmed answer today?
The answer is now clear.
Christa Pike’s mother, Carissa Hansen, is not still alive.
A memorial notice confirms that Hansen died on November 19, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 73.
This information supersedes older material that simply described Hansen as living during earlier stages of Pike’s case.
Her historical involvement remains documented through court records, but her life ended before the latest developments surrounding Pike’s death sentence.
Why the distinction matters for readers
The question may appear simple, but the answer requires separating old court records from later biographical information.
For many years, the publicly available record focused almost entirely on Hansen’s role in Pike’s childhood and legal case.
That created a long gap between the last widely reported information about Hansen and the date of her death.
The memorial notice now supplies that missing information.
It also makes clear that Hansen was already deceased before the latest execution proceedings involving Pike.
Readers looking for current information about Pike’s family should therefore use November 19, 2025, as the confirmed end date for Hansen’s life.
Frequently asked questions
Is Christa Pike’s mother still alive?
No. Christa Pike’s mother, Carissa Hansen, died on November 19, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee.
When did Carissa Hansen die?
Carissa Hansen died on November 19, 2025.
How old was Carissa Hansen when she died?
She was 73 years old.
When was Carissa Hansen born?
She was born on December 7, 1951.
Where did Carissa Hansen die?
The published memorial notice states that she died in Nashville, Tennessee.
What was Carissa Hansen’s cause of death?
Her cause of death has not been publicly disclosed in the available memorial notice.
Was Carissa Hansen really Christa Pike’s mother?
Yes. Tennessee court records identify Carissa Hansen as Christa Pike’s mother.
Did Carissa Hansen testify in Christa Pike’s case?
Yes. Hansen testified about Pike’s childhood and family circumstances during legal proceedings.
Was Carissa Hansen alive during Christa Pike’s original trial?
Yes. Historical court records and contemporaneous reporting establish that Hansen was alive and present during proceedings involving her daughter.
Was Carissa Hansen alive during the 2026 execution attempt?
No. She died on November 19, 2025, before Tennessee’s September 30, 2026 execution attempt involving Pike.
Did Carissa Hansen comment on the 2026 execution attempt?
No. She had already died before those events occurred.
Why do some older articles appear to show that Carissa Hansen was alive?
Those articles were written while Hansen was alive or relied on court records from earlier years. Their publication does not mean the information remained current after her death.
Was Carissa Hansen’s death connected to Christa Pike’s case?
There is no verified information establishing a connection between Hansen’s death and Pike’s criminal or legal case.
Is there a confirmed date of death for Carissa Hansen?
Yes. The published memorial notice gives November 19, 2025, as her date of death.
What is the latest confirmed information about Christa Pike’s mother?
The latest confirmed information is that Carissa Hansen died in Nashville on November 19, 2025, at age 73. Her memorial notice does not publicly disclose the cause of death.
Carissa Hansen’s death provides a confirmed answer to a question that remained unclear in older online coverage. She died in 2025, while the latest developments in Christa Pike’s case occurred in 2026, meaning Hansen was no longer alive when those events unfolded.
Have you come across another verified update about Christa Pike’s family? Share it in the comments and keep following the latest confirmed developments.