Bartlesville Woman And Son Stabbed To Death, Husband Arrested

Bartlesville Police arrested a man in the stabbing death of his wife and adult stepson Wednesday night. His teenage stepdaughter is in a Tulsa hospital.

Police identify the suspect as Steven Lee Adair, 35. He's in the Washington County jail.

Captain Jay Hastings said police got a 911 call about a possible stabbing at the home in the 500 block of Sooner Road at 11:46 p.m. Officers surrounded the home after finding the stepson, Charles Edward Lee, 23, dead in the front yard. 

They found Steven Adair in the back yard and took him into custody.

A witness and family friend, said she tried to get Steven to stop stabbing his stepson, but when she looked in his eyes, she said they were blank, emotionless, like he wasn't there.

Allen Fletcher lives across the street and described a chaotic scene.

"I heard screaming, I mean this girl was just screaming as loud as she could,” Fletcher said.

Captain Hastings said officers forced their way into the home and found a strong odor of natural gas and several burning candles.

"The gas was on and there were several candles lit in the home,” Hastings said it appeared he was trying to blow up the house.

After extinguishing the candles and turning off the gas, officers found the wife, Crystal Sue Adair, 41, in a bathroom with multiple stab wounds. She was taken to a Bartlesville hospital where she was pronounced dead. 

Captain Hastings said the 15-year-old stepdaughter was stabbed while defending her mother. He said she ran to a neighbor's home and called 911. The stepdaughter was taken to the Bartlesville hospital then flown by helicopter to a Tulsa hospital. Police said she is expected to survive her wounds. 

According to neighbors the home had been the scene of multiple domestic violence issues in the recent past, Hastings said. 

Steven Adair was booked into the Washington County jail on two complaints of first-degree murder and a complaint of aggravated assault with a weapon. 

The home is in Bartlesville's Oak Park subdivision, which suffered extensive damage from a Labor Day storm which left the neighborhood without electricity for more than a day.