Police: Man fatally stabbed foster mother, set house on fire

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A 19-year-old Wasilla man has been accused of killing his foster mother by stabbing her in the neck with a steak knife.

Kenneth Adams was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, and arson. Online court records didn't list an attorney for him ahead of a Tuesday afternoon arraignment.

According to an affidavit from the Alaska State Troopers, Mollie Ragonesi, 66, smelled smoke early Monday morning coming from Kenneth Adams' bedroom, CBS affiliate KTVA reported.

Authorities say Adams set fire to the lower part of the furnace in a possible suicide attempt.

When Ragonesi tried to investigate, he allegedly blocked her from entering the room. She called for another man in the house, Daniel Ramsey, to bring a fire extinguisher.

The affidavit says Ramsey forced his way into the bedroom, where he and the man struggled. Ramsey was stabbed several times with the steak knife, and Ragonesi was stabbed at least once in the neck.

She left the bedroom and called 911 about 5:18 a.m. The affidavit says she was difficult to understand, and then the line went dead. She apparently collapsed at this point.

Dispatchers called back, and a man who answered the phone said Ragonesi had been stabbed by the "foster kid," according to the affidavit.

Ramsey was able to break off the blade of the knife, and a third man in the house, James Springer, pulled the teen off Ramsey.

Ramsey went to the kitchen and collapsed on the floor near Ragonesi. She was pronounced dead at the scene, and he was taken to an Anchorage hospital. He was reported to be in stable condition Monday evening.

There was thick smoke in the home when troopers and Wasilla police responded.

Adams is currently being held on $500,000 bail.