Black Husband Stabs White Wife and Stepson to Death

Tulsa World
September 6, 2014

Two people were killed and a teenage girl was stabbed during an apparent domestic dispute that led to the arrest of a man who has been accused of double murder.

Steven Adair, 35, is accused of stabbing his wife and stepson to death and also is accused of stabbing his stepdaughter during an incident late Wednesday, according to police. Authorities said Adair intended to blow up the home where the killings happened.

Charles Lee, 23, and Crystal Adair, 41, were killed and a 15-year-old girl was flown to Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, according to Bartlesville police. She was reportedly stabbed while attempting to defend her mother. They are the first two killings of the year in Bartlesville, police said.

Lee, Steven Adair’s stepson, had stab wounds and was found dead lying in the front yard of a home in the 500 block of North Sooner Road in Bartlesville, police said. Crystal Adair, 41, the suspect’s wife, also had been stabbed. She was transported from the home to Jane Phillips Hospital, where she later died, police said.

Officers arrested Steven Adair as he stood inside the home’s backyard, police said. He has been booked into the Washington County jail on two complaints of first-degree murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Special Judge John Gerkin, during a Thursday afternoon appearance in Washington County District Court, ordered Adair held in jail without bond.

Adair appeared before the judge via video monitor from the Washington County jail. Assistant District Attorney Will Drake asked the court to schedule a Friday probable cause hearing.

About 11:46 p.m. Wednesday, police were called to the home in the Oak Park neighborhood to investigate a stabbing.

Bartlesville Police Captain Jay Hastings said it appeared that Steven Adair had intended to blow up the home as a gas line had been intentionally disconnected from a stove in the kitchen. Inside, officers could smell a strong odor of natural gas and were forced to blow out candles, set up around the residence, to prevent an explosion, police said.

“It’s rare that we have homicides in Bartlesville,” Hastings said. “Our officers respond to domestic violence calls every day. We just don’t see them involving a weapon.”

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation is assisting Bartlesville police with the investigation. Police are interviewing Adair and the teenage girl to determine what led to the incident.

According to online court records, Steven and Crystal Adair were married in September 2011.

Bartlesville Public Schools spokesman Chris Tanea said counselors are available at schools “for any students who may need assistance.”

Residents described the Oak Park neighborhood, which sustained damage during heavy storms Monday night, as a quiet one, where everyone knew each other by name.

“I heard the girl screaming like crazy that someone was stabbing her mother,” said Allen Fletcher, who said he has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years. “I knew something was wrong.”

Jo Muniger, who said she worked with Steven Adair at a Bartlesville country club, said she didn’t see or hear any commotion coming from the home just a few feet from her driveway.

“It’s just terrible,” she said. “They seemed like a happy family. Everybody liked Steven. He didn’t have any enemies.”

Linda Swift explained with tears in her eyes that she was shocked to learn that such a horrible crime happened so close to her home.

“I could not believe it,” she said. “I never heard any fights.”