Miss Trans America Founder: Murderer sentenced to life, possible parole in 25

By: The Rainbow Times

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.—Many members of the LGBTQ community throughout New England knew of Christa Leigh SteeleKnudslein. Others knew her just as Christa Hilfers or just Christa. Yet, many more recognized her because of her dedication to giving a platform to the trans community in the region through the Miss Trans New England and Miss Trans America pageants and as a founding member of New England Trans Pride.

In 2018, Christa died at the hands of her husband. Two years later, he has been sen- tenced to life in prison with possible parole after 25 years served, according to multiple news reports.

“I send my heartfelt condolences to those who loved Christa dearly and the entire transgender community who looked up to her as a leader,” said Berkshire District Attorney Andrea Harrington to MassLive as she thanked the Adams and North Adams police and state police detectives for their work in investigating the case.

An opponent of mass incarceration, Lorelei Erisis, a trans activist, writer for this publication, and the first crowned win- ner of the Miss Trans New England Pag- eant, shared how this sentencing has affected her personally, making her “sickto-the-core.”

“I truly believe our system of mass incar- ceration is not just broken, but actively abu- sive and damaging to those many who get caught up in it,” said Erisis. “And further, I strongly believe the whole system needs radical reformation.

“And yet, I'm glad this vile murderer is there. A part of me hopes he suffers. And being glad about that makes me sick. Wanting another human being to suffer, even one who has committed such a violently heinous act goes directly against everything I believe, everything that makes me, me.”

According to press releases issued by the Berkshire County District Attorney’s (DA) Office, Christa, 42, died of multiple blows to the head and a stab wound to the torso. Information made available on the DA’s website states that she was found at her Veazie Street home in North Adams, Massachusetts on the evening of Friday, January 5 and her husband, Mark S. Steele-Knudslien, then 47, was arrested for murder after his admission to police, reported The Rainbow Times (https://bit.ly/31nARor). He was held without bail at the Berkshire County House of Correction.

“[Steele-Knudslien] had turned himself in shortly after (https://bit.ly/2GO7Zfh) Christa Leigh’s death,” LGBTQ Nation wrote. “Walking into the Adams police and admitting he ‘did something bad.’ He claimed in his initial, 29-minute interview (https://bit.ly/2SdeaPn) with them that after being ‘belittled’ by Christa Leigh, he had ‘snapped,’ hit her ‘numerous times’ with a hammer, and then stabbed her in the back. He then wrapped her body in a tarp, left her in their basement, showered, and went to buy alcohol.”

Although initially pleading not guilty at an arraignment hearing on January 8, 2018, he eventually changed his plea to guilty, ac- cording to LGBTQ Nation (https://bit.ly/2GO7Zfh).

“When we think about this crime [and] what the killer said to the authorities (he admitted he killed her and struck her head with numerous blows from a hammer—and that he just ‘snapped’) this is the typical pattern of how trans women are murdered,” said Ben Power Alwin, Curator of the Sexual Minorities Archives and Executive Director of the Sexual Minorities Educational Foundation, Inc. “Their perpetrators com- pletely destroy trans bodies—in this case, the murderer crushed Christa's skull and lodged a knife into her heart. There cer- tainly was hatred of trans women and their bodies that added to the manner in which the killing happened. ‘Just snapping’ is very close to arguing ‘trans panic,’ which has no place in civil society.”

Erisis also blames society for her murder. “It was clearly awful that Christa was murdered,” she said. “It was especially awful how she was murdered. Just—so brutal. And this awfulness just expands out in concentric circles of awfulness. The pervasive societal transphobia that would drive a man who was prepared to marry a very-out trans woman, to eventually murder that same trans woman in such a brutal fashion is awful itself. That's not to take responsibility for the act out of his bloody hands but rather to lay part of that responsibility at the feet of our society itself.”

Read the rest of this story at: TheRainbowTimesMass.com