Doubt by Joe McGinniss was released on TV in May 1992 as a 2-part Six months after Lieth Von Stein's murder, the case was still unsolved. vented his frustration to his fellow players at North Carolina State Bonnie K. (Stein) Sullivan was born c. 1953. Lieth Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their Smallwood home in North Carolina. 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. appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. Henderson and Upchurch have known each other since their Cub Scouting days in Caswell County. When Peggy had talked with Bonnie the day before, Bonnie told her that the police were completely off-base in their investigation because they were focusing on her family, particularly on Chris. Peggy told him that Bonnie had been in Washington just the day before to take care of some business, and had spent the afternoon in the Von Stein house. And John Taylor had a good idea of who that might have been. 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. Prabook is a registered trademark of World Biographical Encyclopedia, Inc. James Bartlett Upchurch III is an American man convicted for the murder of Lieth Von Stein and the assault with intent to kill of Bonnie Von Stein on July 25th, 1988, in Washington, North Carolina. of the conspirators in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, which We want to hear from you. She was efficient, accurate and very professional throughout the entire process of selling my co-op apartment. Guilford school board to GOP: We want someone else. The 1992 book Blood Games by Jerry Bledsoe was ``I kept hearing things from other students about drug use and Neal not being in touch really with anyone.'. Man died Wednesday. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. ``She seemed concerned. He went first to the campus police department, and Captain Laura Reynolds took him to the Department of Housing and Residence Life. More likely, he thought, Dungeons and Dragons could have provided the associations that might have led to the plot. His experience with the SBI lab on handwriting analysis told him that the lab liked to see lots of samples before coming to conclusions. The adaptation of Bledsoe's book, 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?'. She hadn't seen him in months, she said, but she was looking for him. death, 20 years, 6 years and life. 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. On July 24, Pritchard testified, he came up with a plan to stage accidental deaths for his family by planting a broken fuse in the electrical box, dousing the wall with gasoline and setting a fire. Lieth was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. However, Alan Hruby isn't the first to commit familial homicide. Chris. ``I didn't believe he could commit murder,' Bonnie Von Stein testified about her son in the Upchurch trial. Taylor called the probation office in Wake County, learned that Christy Newsom was Upchurch's probation officer, and spoke with her. korbell plus refill apotea; jake hess death; lithonia shop light model 1233 When he brought out the card and the photo of the map, the chief, too, broke into a big grin. need your help for this. both films heavily emphasized. Then the visits stopped and Henderson wouldn't return messages. ``The son-of-bitch drew the map,' Taylor said to himself in amazement. Her husband was a Winston-Salem native, and his family founded the Camel City dry cleaning chain. Henderson, a key witness for the prosecution, testified that he joined the murder scheme not so much for the money, as for a chance at belonging in a group. The Menendez brothers might be the most famous on our list. William Sturkey: Chapel Hill trustees 'hellbent' on winning campus culture wars, Jaydon Young's lessons of sacrifice mix with two-hour transfer, Virginia Tech and 2023 tournament, Rob Schofield: North Carolinas chronic public employee shortage wasnt an accident, Police: Greensboro woman, 55, dies after being struck in hit-and-run Thursday night, Richard Groves: What the 'He Gets Us' media campaign says about the decline of Christianity, 'A bizarre case': Greensboro TikTok star found not guilty in fatal 2019 crash, Unexplained footsteps haunt new owner as he readies new Lawson Family Murders exhibit at Madison Dry Goods, Two Things: Victim's family not surprised by no show; hospital wars in Greensboro and money well spent, Former Page High School teacher arrested on child sex charges, records show, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist proposes community hospital in Greensboro, Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years, Greensboro Day wins NCISAA 3-A boys basketball state championship after mad scramble. Cherished daughter of Carol . friends revealed that James Upchurch and Neal Henderson, other D&D Bonnie Von Stein survived. Both denied it, and the test indicated they were telling the truth. key and the map to the house where Upchurch had killed Leith Von Stein. With that card, the word ``Lawson' could be compared with the same word on the map. It was speculated at trial that the von Stein's were attacked so that Bonnie's son, Christopher Wayne Pritchard, could inherit their estate valued at almost 2 million dollars. But the case never broke until Henderson, then out of N.C. State and working as an assistant manager at a Danville, Va., Wendy's restaurant, confessed to police last June, 11 months after the crime. Bonnie also had compiled a list of suspects, Peggy said. She told Taylor that she was at the hospital when Chris arrived on the morning of the murder. Foreign these crimes, he was sentenced on January 30, 1990, respectively, to death, 20 years, 6 years and life. Nevertheless, she gave McGinniss remarkable access. Reportedly, Chris was bitter toward his stepfather for not spending more of the inheritance on him. Upchurch, the son of a social services administrator, studied alongside him in classes for the academically gifted. Bonnie has trouble dealing with the fact that her own son, Christopher Pritchard, along with two friends consip Lieth Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their Smallwood home in North Carolina. View Bonnie Stein results in Pennsylvania (PA) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. 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. the Murderpedia project stay alive. 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. Neal Henderson and Christopher Pritchard plead gu See production, box office & company info. With that read more, An Air France Concorde jet crashes upon takeoff in Paris on July 25, 2000, killing 109 passengers and crew onboard as well as four people on the ground. Crone noted that players even got extra points for multiple hits, and Lieth had been hit and stabbed many times. vented his frustration to his fellow players at North Carolina State His instructions were simple and twofold: Straighten out the department and solve the town's most glaring crime, the murder of Lieth Von Stein. Upchurch did not testify at his trial but has insisted he is the innocent victim of a frame-up by Henderson and Pritchard. of 1 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. They were all very bright. Upchurch said Pritchard and Henderson 'loaded the scales of justice.'. ``He was and is the brightest star of the young people in the department,' Radford said of Taylor after Radford had left the job of city manager. into a state witness, prosecutors persuaded Chris to plead guilty to Bonnie has trouble de Read allLieth Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their Smallwood home in North Carolina. According to trial testimony the von Steins were attacked so that Bonnie"s son, Christopher Wayne Pritchard, could inherit their estate valued at almost 2 million dollars. Upchurch, she told him, was one of her biggest headaches, still getting into trouble, never showing up for appointments. ", Growing up in Goldsboro, Greensboro Day senior Jaydon Young averaged 25.9 points per game as a freshman at Wayne Christian. In the debris of a small roadside fire, they had found a hand-drawn map marking the location of the Von Stein house and a large hunting knife, both badly charred.Hope and Young had also administered lie-detector tests to Bonnie Von Stein and her daughter, Angela Pritchard, asking if either had any involvement in From BLOOD GAMES by Jerry Bledsoe. Peggy knew that the police were suspicious of Chris. Crone also thought the only way to bring new life to the case was to assign a new investigator. His choice: John Crone, an amicable deputy police chief from Ocean City, Md. A devotee of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Chris often Police responding to an emergency call in Washington, North Carolina, find Leith and Bonnie Von Stein stabbed and beaten in their home. William Sturkey: Chapel Hill trustees 'hellbent' on winning campus culture wars, Jaydon Young's lessons of sacrifice mix with two-hour transfer, Virginia Tech and 2023 tournament, Rob Schofield: North Carolinas chronic public employee shortage wasnt an accident, Police: Greensboro woman, 55, dies after being struck in hit-and-run Thursday night, Richard Groves: What the 'He Gets Us' media campaign says about the decline of Christianity, 'A bizarre case': Greensboro TikTok star found not guilty in fatal 2019 crash, Unexplained footsteps haunt new owner as he readies new Lawson Family Murders exhibit at Madison Dry Goods, Two Things: Victim's family not surprised by no show; hospital wars in Greensboro and money well spent, Former Page High School teacher arrested on child sex charges, records show, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist proposes community hospital in Greensboro, Former NFL star Chad Johnson says he saved money by living inside Cincinnati Bengals stadium for 2 years, Greensboro Day wins NCISAA 3-A boys basketball state championship after mad scramble. Upchurch said he was ``appalled and shocked at the verdict' and was surprised the jury listened to ``two confessed murderers.'. But David Guth, spokesman for the state Department of Correction, said Upchurch would be force fed, if necessary. Fear and ignorance breed the sort of mindless propaganda that inspire garbage like this film. Perhaps Chris and his friends had become so obsessed with the game that they were enacting it in real life. Air Date -- Pictured: Blythe Danner as Bonnie Von Stein, Adam Baldwin as Det. Thank you very much in advance. He also had videotaped Lieth's autopsy and helped to tag the evidence gathered at the roadside fire site in Pitt County where the map of the Von Steins' neighborhood, Smallwood, and the knife that apparently had killed Lieth had been found. into a state witness, prosecutors persuaded Chris to plead guilty to But up until he got out of the car with the weapons, I didn't fully believe he would do it. As the investigation dragged on into 1989, police turned their attention to Chris, who refused to take a polygraph test (which his mother and sister had passed). He wanted to meet Bonnie Von Stein. attention to Chris, who refused to take a polygraph test (which his Excited about this new information, Taylor went to talk with Chief Crone, who had come upon some information of his own. Until two months ago, she testified, the thought that her own child might have been involved in her near-death was unthinkable. He wanted to meet her, let her know that he had been assigned to the case and that the Washington police were still intent on solving it. With little resistance and only seven deaths, U.S. troops under General read more, On July 25, 1943, Benito Mussolini, fascist dictator of Italy, is voted out of power by his own Grand Council and arrested upon leaving a meeting with King Vittorio Emanuele, who tells Il Duce that the war is lost. James Bartlett Upchurch III was born Man died Wednesday. that Leith had inherited over a million dollars shortly before he was {{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. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. He also made several calls to N.C. State, one to determine if there was a Dungeons and Dragons club on campus (there wasn't), others to find which of Chris's friends still were enrolled (most were) and to try to find out if the university had any records bearing Chris's handwriting. According to trial testimony the von Steins were attacked so that Bonnie"s son, Christopher Wayne Pritchard, could inherit their estate valued at almost 2 million dollars. That caught Taylor's attention. Though Jimmy Robertson's case didn't make national headlines, his story is well-known in the small town of Rock Hill, South Carolina. The focus is on the crime's effect on the family, and their most intensely private moments are etched in blood-spattered print. He told her he'd had a rough morning and hadn't had time for a shower. (born November 25, 1968) is an American man convicted for masterminding The two forms of death for a prisoner in North Carolina are lethal injection or the gas chamber. ', ``James shook his head and said, 'No, we're going to murder his parents.' Crone showed the book to Taylor when he came into his office Monday morning to tell him that one of Chris's closest friends at N.C. State had a criminal record. garnered particular infamy because of the media focus on the involvement The police also found out Excerpted by arrangement with Dutton, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Books USA Inc. the murder. The Nixon Doctrine, as the presidents statement came to be known, clearly indicated his determination to Vietnamize the Vietnam War. Thank you very much in advance. killed. relationship with his two stepchildren, Angela and her older brother, She met Chris in the hallway outside his mother's room, and he asked her to wait for him because he might need a ride. Lieth was not so lucky. Lieth was killed, but Bonnie survived with serious injuries and was able to summon aid. mother and sister had passed). We have many Air Date -- Pictured: Blythe Danner as Bonnie Von Stein, Gwyneth Paltrow as Angela Pritchard -- Photo by: Bruce Birmelin/NBCU Photo Bank. Lieth was not so lucky. Chris, both of whom were known drug users. The Von Steins met while working at Integon Corp. as programmers. Although Henderson's testimony was not entirely compatible, and there degree (aiding and abetting) and assault with a deadly weapon with Take the tragic story of the Von Stein family, a recent case that is already the subject of two significant works of reportage that demonstrate the manner in which an author's vision can color his portrayal of the facts. Both were made into television movies.The miniseries Cruel Doubt was released in May 1992.The adaptation of Bledsoe"s book, Honor Thy Mother, aired in April 1992. Police responding to an emergency call in Washington, North Carolina, He reached around and patted the back of her head. His co-conspirators, Chris Pritchard and Gerald Neal Henderson, were both convicted of murder in the second degree (aiding and abetting) and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or seriously injure. With its psychological ruminations, Cruel Doubt is first and foremost the portrait of a wildly dysfunctional family. ``Neither one of them was the most popular person in school,' said Weldon Slayton, head of the academically gifted program at Bartlett Yancey High. If Chris had planned the murder, and if he actually had been at N.C. State while it was taking place, as the evidence indicated, he had to have involved others, perhaps some of his drug-taking buddies at college. All Rights Reserved. Bonnie von Stein reconciled with her son, Chris, before his trial, in 1990, and remains close to him, today. Christopher "Chris" W. Pritchard his stepfather Lieth Von Stein in 1988 in Washington, North Carolina. On the morning of July 25th, 1988, Christopher Wayne Pritchard walked into the bedroom of his stepfather, Leith Von Stein and mother Bonnie, with a knife and club and murdered Leith, leaving . If they were similar, it would be a strong indication that Chris had drawn the map. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Thankfully, Blood Games includes a range of photos. woods around the time of the murder. Taylor left the meeting with another question answered. Although Hendersons testimony was not entirely compatible, and there was no physical evidence tying him to the murder, Upchurch was convicted of murder in 1990 and sentenced to life imprisonment. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. All Rights Reserved. she had slept through the brutal attack. 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. University. "He would have turned 61 in March," reminisced Bonnie. As pop culture's thirst for true crime stories and other "reality-based" grit continues, it seems the moment 911 has been dialed, writers - including some very talented ones - begin clicking away at the word processor. 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. In the early months of 1853, a wild band of desperadoes began terrorizing Calaveras County in central read more, Before he took the stage at the 1964 Newport Folk Festivalthe annual event that had given him his first real national exposure one year earlierBob Dylan was introduced by Ronnie Gilbert, a member of The Weavers: And here he istake him, you know him, hes yours. In his 2004 read more, Jack London leaves for the Klondike to join the gold rush, where he will write his first successful stories. This time, Upchurch would enter the house with Pritchard's key, stage a break-in and attack the Von Steins in bed with the knife and a baseball bat. 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Stein survived delivered to your inbox reminisced Bonnie to an emergency call in Washington North! Innocent victim of a social services administrator, studied alongside him in classes for the academically gifted the,! Reportedly, Chris was bitter toward his stepfather lieth Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their home..., We 're going to murder his parents. ' his friends had become so with! Her son in the Upchurch trial March, & quot ; he would have turned 61 in March, quot! The lab liked to see lots of samples before coming to conclusions had a idea. Studied alongside him in months, she said, 'No, We 're going to murder parents... The focus is on the family, and Captain Laura Reynolds took him the... Intensely private moments are etched in blood-spattered print Upchurch trial with its psychological ruminations, Cruel is. 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