North Adams Man Pleads Not Guilty

This hits close to home for folks who live on Veazie Street.

A North Adams man pleaded not guilty yesterday in Northern Berkshire District Court of murdering his 42-year-old wife, Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien.

IBerkshires.com reports that 47 year old Mark Steele-Knudslien stands accused of beating and stabbing his wife to death on Friday evening at their 107 Veazie Street residence. Steele-Knudslien was ordered held at the Berkshire County House of Correction without the right to bail and he will be back in court for a pre-trial hearing on February 7th.

According to police reports, Mark Steele-Knudslien admitted to police that he had hit Christa numerous times in the head with a hammer and stabbed her in the back with a large, stainless-steel kitchen knife

During a recorded 29-minute interview, Steele-Knudslien told police that he and his wife had gotten into an argument the day before and that she often belittled him and called him names. On Friday, he "snapped," according to the report, and attacked her at about 5 p.m. on Friday in their living room.

After killing her, according to the report, he tried to clean up, took a shower and went out to buy alcohol. It's not clear why he approached the Adams Police but neither of the Steele-Knudsliens appear to be local to the area and they had lived more recently in Adams.

The murder marks the first in North Adams since 2013.