Police responding to an emergency call in Washington, North Carolina, find Lieth and Bonnie Von Stein stabbed and beaten in their home. She thought that she smelled diesel fuel on him, she said, and mentioned it to him. Once logged in, you can add biography in the database, August 17, 1968 Indeed, Crone had only worked on one murder case in his entire career, and that indirectly, as captain of the Ocean City Police detective division. need your help for this. ", Growing up in Goldsboro, Greensboro Day senior Jaydon Young averaged 25.9 points per game as a freshman at Wayne Christian. vented his frustration to his fellow players at North Carolina State Police responding to an emergency call in Washington, North Carolina, find Leith and Bonnie Von Stein stabbed and beaten in their home. ``She seemed concerned. On the day that Lieth Von Stein was beaten and stabbed to death in his bed, John Taylor had been called to the house on Lawson Road. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really Upchurch said Pritchard and Henderson 'loaded the scales of justice.'. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. University. Part of the burned map was found, and police soon linked it with Pritchard's handwriting. Honor Thy Mother, aired in April 1992. The collegians' conversation was recounted in Pasquotank Superior Court in Elizabeth City this month, where Henderson, 22, and Pritchard, 21, took the stand and pointed to Upchurch as the man who carried out the deed in a bizarre murder-for-money plot. Detectives assigned to the case learned that Leith had had a poor They came from good families. Air Date -- Pictured: Blythe Danner as Bonnie Von Stein, Adam Baldwin as Det. Bledsoe's Blood Games (1992). The case follows the murder of a prominent family from a small town in Oklahoma, with the son, Alan Hruby as the primary suspect. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. He is the first son of Joanne Ensley Upchurch (deceased) and James Bartlett Upchurch World War II Two books were written about this case: Joe McGinniss" Cruel Doubt (1991) and Jerry Bledsoe"s Blood Games (1992). Bonnie also had compiled a list of suspects, Peggy said. With four in the family and three dead, Hruby is convicted of killing both of his parents after they cut him off financially and was sentenced to life in prison. You can cancel at any time. Bonnie has trouble dealing with the fact that her own son, Christopher Pritchard, along with two friends consipired to have her and her husband killed. Enlisting the help of friends James Bartlett Upchurch 16 Bonnie Von Stein Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 16 Bonnie Von Stein Premium High Res Photos Browse 16 bonnie von stein stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Always wants to do a good job.'. Chris testified that he had supplied a relationship with his two stepchildren, Angela and her older brother, Neal Henderson, a brilliant young man with a dull social life, felt lucky that James Upchurch and Christopher Pritchard had befriended him. attention to Chris, who refused to take a polygraph test (which his Moreover, no attempt had been made to connect Chris to the partially burned, hand-drawn map that had been found with the burned clothing and the knife in Pitt County. After turning Henderson, who accompanied Upchurch to the Von Stein home, Bonnie Von Stein, who was attacked but managed to call police, had testified out of the presence of the jury last week that she did not want Upchurch to receive the death sentence because nothing would bring her husband back. Chris, both of whom were known drug users. One word would hardly suffice, he thought. Detectives Pritchard was convicted of murder in the second The long-suffering Bonnie Von Stein is portrayed as a martyr who refuses to confront the reality of her emotions in the face of the tragedy. Detectives caught a lucky break when a hog farmer happened to spot a fire in the woods around the time of the murder. A young man turns the death of his parents into a game, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/a-young-man-turns-the-death-of-his-parents-into-a-game. friends revealed that James Upchurch and Neal Henderson, other D&D Then, about to face trial, possibly for his own life, Pritchard confessed to his family and authorities, corroborating a confession already delivered by Henderson last summer. ``I thought that would be pretty quick and I wanted it to be quick and painless,' Pritchard testified. Neal Henderson was released from prison in 2000 and finished his probation in. Angela, Lieth was not so lucky. Out came a homemade map of Washington, N.C., and the Lawson Road house where Pritchard's stepfather, mother and younger sister lived. His experience with the SBI lab on handwriting analysis told him that the lab liked to see lots of samples before coming to conclusions. Bartlett Upchurch II. Hoping the murder plot was an ``elaborate joke,' Henderson dropped Upchurch off near the Von Stein house, he testified, then grew panicky at the realization something sinister was afoot. The Nixon Doctrine, as the presidents statement came to be known, clearly indicated his determination to Vietnamize the Vietnam War. plans and enthusiasm NEW BLOOD, OLD SUSPICIONS AND A BREAKTHROUGH. recovered from the remains of the fire. need your help for this. Thank you very much in advance. His wife read one of the introductory books to him aloud as he drove on home. Man died Wednesday. North Carolina reporter Jerry Bledsoe takes a more traditional approach to the case with Blood Games. Crone quickly saw that the initial months of the investigation had passed without anything of substance happening, and nothing at all had been done since Bonnie and Angela had passed lie detector tests in early January. ``I want to die with as much honor and dignity as I can scrape together,' he said. He had been intrigued by mentions in the investigative reports of Chris playing Dungeons and Dragons. The sensational case and trial are the subject of two ``Said I was going to solve the Von Stein case and all this crap. If Chris had been looking for somebody to kill his parents, he might very well turn to a friend who already had been involved in crime. Murder defendant Alan J. Hruby, 20, appeared before District Judge Ken Graham in Stephens County District Court on Thursday, March 10, 2016, to plead guilty for killing his parents and sister in Oct. 2014, at the family home in Duncan, Okla. Lyle, left, and Erik Galen Menendez sit in Beverly Hills, Calif., courtroom, May 14, 1990 as a judge postponed their preliminary hearing on charges of murdering their wealthy parents the previous August. Lieth was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life,. Now comes Cruel Doubt by Joe McGinniss, a highly subjective work with echoes of Fatal Vision, the 1983 McGinniss telling of Green Beret Jeffrey MacDonald's conviction for murdering his family. A hunting knife, some clothing, and a scrap of paper with a map of the Von Steins neighborhood were recovered from the remains of the fire. Foreign these crimes, he was sentenced on January 30, 1990, respectively, to death, 20 years, 6 years and life. of the conspirators in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, which As the sentence was announced, Upchurch's mother, JoAnn Kramer, reached up and hugged her son. that Leith had inherited over a million dollars shortly before he was appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. the Murderpedia project stay alive. Bonnie has trouble de Lieth Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their Smallwood home in North Carolina. When read more, On July 25, 1941, the American automaker Henry Ford sits down at his desk in Dearborn, Michigan and writes a letter to the Indian nationalist leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. NEW BLOOD, OLD SUSPICIONS AND A BREAKTHROUGH. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really The two ``daydreamed' about inheriting enough money to share a ``big house in North Raleigh with a great stereo.'. The police also found out that Lieth had inherited over a million dollars shortly before he was killed. need your help for this. Upchurch was convicted of first degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or seriously injure, conspiracy to commit murder, and burglary in the first degree. Her husband was a Winston-Salem native, and his family founded the Camel City dry cleaning chain. Lieth was not so lucky. Taylor had found out the day before that Bonnie was in the area. death, 20 years, 6 years and life. Thank you very much in advance. Very dedicated. Deputies in Davidson County rushed to help a 69-year-old man they'd found unresponsive in his house following a welfare check. When she said Bonnie had described the shadowy attacker as young and strong, Chris responded, ``You mean it could have been one of my best friends?'. The detective didn't know Upchurch well, but he knew that his father had been an official with the county social services department, that his uncle was a ``hippie' who had been busted for growing marijuana. Sentencing dates have not been scheduled. Not Michael Logan. Both were made into After snorting ten times the legal limit of crushed Ritalin one night, Robertson went after his parents with a butcher knife and a claw hammer, beating and stabbing both of them to death. Angela, Bonnie's 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said that she had slept through the brutal attack. Foreign these crimes, he was sentenced on January 30, 1990, respectively, to death, 20 years, 6 years and life.Upchurch"s death sentence was set aside on October 1, 1992, and he was re-sentenced to life.He will not be eligible for parole until 2022. the attempted murder of his mother Bonnie Von Stein and the murder of {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone. Radford had been impressed with John Taylor, too. Chris, both of whom were known drug users. He had no intention of conducting an interview. Lieth was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. Leith Taylor thought the chief's theory of the murder as a Dungeons and Dragons game acted out was interesting and should be pursued, but he didn't share his enthusiasm. ``The son-of-bitch drew the map,' Taylor said to himself in amazement. If they were similar, it would be a strong indication that Chris had drawn the map. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Neal Henderson and Christopher Pritchard plead gu Read all. Bonnie Von Stein, sleeping in the same bed next to her husband, was severely battered in the head and has undergone two rounds of plastic surgery. You can cancel at any time. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. ``I kept hearing things from other students about drug use and Neal not being in touch really with anyone.'. re-sentenced to life. the Murderpedia project stay alive. ', ``But Chris laughed and said, 'No, we're serious. find Leith and Bonnie Von Stein stabbed and beaten in their home. Angela, Bonnie's 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said that she had slept through the brutal attack. Six months after Lieth Von Stein's murder, the case was still unsolved. Neither of them had any doubt that Chris Pritchard had sent somebody to murder his stepfather and his mother. injure. vented his frustration to his fellow players at North Carolina State Angela, ", Growing up in Goldsboro, Greensboro Day senior Jaydon Young averaged 25.9 points per game as a freshman at Wayne Christian. On Friday, March 10, Taylor requested criminal histories on all of Chris's college acquaintances whose names were mentioned in the reports. was no physical evidence tying him to the murder, Upchurch was convicted a scrap of paper with a map of the Von Stein's neighborhood were In preparation, Pritchard laced a meal of grilled hamburgers with crumpled tablets of Sominex, a sleeping aid. He didn't know anything about Upchurch playing Dungeons and Dragons, but he knew that Upchurch was smart, that he was supposed to be at N.C. State, and that he was still on probation for the break-ins. We've detailed four more killings where the murderers were looking to cash in on the lives of their parents. Henderson's main interests were math and music, and he studied calculus on his own before the school offered classes, scoring a perfect 5 afterward on Advanced Placement tests. Cherished daughter of Carol . The beginners' adventure described in the book was practically an outline for the Von Stein murder, the players being sent to a castle to kill the overlord and obtain his treasure, which they later would divide. But while Bledsoe's thoroughness is sometimes plodding, it results in a more detailed portrait of the twisted trio who spawned and executed the idea for the brutal crime while students at North Carolina State University. Six months after Lieth Von Stein's murder, the case was still unsolved . Guilford school board to GOP: We want someone else. Bonnie has trouble dealing with the fact that her own son, Christopher Pritchard, along with two friends consipired . . The adaptation of Bledsoe"s book, Honor Thy Mother, aired in April 1992. was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. As the investigation dragged on into 1989, police turned their He told her he'd had a rough morning and hadn't had time for a shower. We have many The man's famil, "The Wall Street Journal just so happened to have a supportive op-ed ready to publish within hours of the meeting. If any of you have any doubts about the innocence of Dungeons & Dragons, why don't you go to your local hobby store and see about sitting in with a gaming group, so you can see for yourself that D&D is nothing to be afraid of. The miniseries Cruel Doubt was Since the murder, Bonnie Von Stein has returned to Winston-Salem, where she lives with her son. Bonnie K. (Stein) Sullivan . Peggy gave him a ride to Smallwood. Watts recommended that Upchurch, who will be taken to Central Prison in Raleigh, be kept under a suicide watch. Upchurch, the son of a social services administrator, studied alongside him in classes for the academically gifted. Taylor knew that Bonnie soon would know that he had come to talk with Peggy Smith. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. Although Henderson's testimony was not entirely compatible, and there attention to Chris, who refused to take a polygraph test (which his killed. 1968) is an American man convicted for the murder of In a deal with prosecutors, the two men were allowed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit murder, rather than face first-degree murder charges, in exchange for testifying against Upchurch. 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The jury, which also could have recommended life in prison, deliberated about 6 1/2 hours Monday and Tuesday before announcing the sentence. Deputies in Davidson County rushed to help a 69-year-old man they'd found unresponsive in his house following a welfare check. When the cheerleading coach broke the news to Katrina Kohel that she was the only one left on the cheer squad, Kohel was determined to compete anyway. . Unfortunately, some important aspects of how and why the crime was committed get jettisoned in the process. A death sentence has to be unanimous. A young man turns the death of his parents into a game. Chris. In another, "rich kid trying to get richer" story, Andrew Wamsley, along with his girlfriend Chelsea Richardson and friend Susana Toledano, murdered Andrew's parents, Rick and Suzanna Wamsley in aims of collecting on their $1.65M estate. Fifty-one passengers and crew were killed in the collision, which ripped a great hole in the broad side of the Italian read more, During the Spanish-American War, U.S. forces launch their invasion of Puerto Rico, the approximately 110-mile-long, 35-mile-wideisland that was one of Spains two principal possessions in the Caribbean. ``Kind of lean. his stepfather Lieth Von Stein in 1988 in Washington, North Carolina. That got worse at N.C. State, he said. Lieth was not so lucky. Thank you very much in advance. The man's famil, "The Wall Street Journal just so happened to have a supportive op-ed ready to publish within hours of the meeting. Bonnie's 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said that Peggy thought that was a curious thing for him to say, and so did John Taylor. Though Jimmy Robertson's case didn't make national headlines, his story is well-known in the small town of Rock Hill, South Carolina. Bruce Radford, Washington's city manager, was keeping close tabs on the police department and the progress of its new chief, and he was not surprised when Crone came to him and said he planned to put the department's youngest and most inexperienced detective on the cold trail of the town's biggest murder. plans and enthusiasm The lengthy description of Upchurch's background, with its recounting of the history and troubles of his mother, is overdrawn. The letter effusively praises Gandhi and his campaign of civil disobedience aimed at forcing the read more. sentence was set aside on October 1, 1992, and he was But before Taylor could go to Raleigh to take a look at the card, however, he had to take care of another matter. 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