Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien, who founded the Miss Trans America pageant, is dead at 42. The North Adams, MA resident was murdered by her husband, Mark S. Steele-Knudslien, on Friday the 5th.
Although Steele-Knudslien’s murder was not motivated by her transness, her death serves as a reminder to transgender men and women everywhere that domestic violence is a real threat. Last year, Kashmere Redd, a 28-year-old trans man living in New York, was stabbed to death by his partner, Doris Carrasquillo. Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien’s death resulted from a dispute between herself and her husband, resulting in blows with a hammer and a final stabbing in the back.
More details will surface as the case develops. For now, Mark S. Steele-Knudslien is being held without bail in the Berkshire County House of Correction.
