Award-winning UMass chef arrested in murder of wife at campus hotel

An award-winning chef at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has been charged with murdering his wife in a room at Hotel UMass on Wednesday night.

Jeffrey C. MacDonald, 36, pleaded not guilty Thursday morning in Eastern Hampshire District Court to charges of murder and assault and battery on a police officer.

According to a police report, MacDonald admitted to officers that he had intentionally beaten his wife, Emma MacDonald, to death inside the hotel room.

UMass-Amherst president Javier Reyes, in a statement to the campus community ahead of MacDonald's arraignment, said that both the victim and suspect were staff members at the school.

“I want to acknowledge that this is heartbreaking and deeply unsettling news for our campus," said Reyes.

MacDonald, of Wilbraham, worked at UMass Dining, the school's celebrated dining system. Last year, he was awarded Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Federation.

MacDonald is being held without bail. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for May 22.