Henderson began parole on December 11, 2000. ', ``James shook his head and said, 'No, we're going to murder his parents.' Taylor called the probation office in Wake County, learned that Christy Newsom was Upchurch's probation officer, and spoke with her. 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 . He and Reynolds compared the two, and a smile began to spread across Taylor's face. the attempted murder of his mother Bonnie Von Stein and the murder of appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. And Chris Pritchard was the most likely suspect. Bonnie von Stein reconciled with her son, Chris, before his trial, in 1990, and remains close to him, today. ``I remarked, 'Oh, you're going to rob the place? NEW BLOOD, OLD SUSPICIONS AND A BREAKTHROUGH. A devotee of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Chris often vented his frustration to his fellow players at North Carolina State University. 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. Peggy knew that the police were suspicious of Chris. Once logged in, you can add biography in the database, August 17, 1968 Carolina on January 31, 1990, and paroled on June 2, 2007. Based on the book "Blood Games" by Jerry Bledsoe. I thought, Good Lord, this is really wonderful, but what if I can't solve the Von Stein case?'. 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Man died Wednesday. plans and enthusiasm 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. Pritchard says he hired Upchurch and Henderson to kill his family so he could hasten a $2 million inheritance. Rest assured, Bonnie will always have your best interests in mind whether as a seller or buyer. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. killed. Peggy thought that was a curious thing for him to say, and so did John Taylor. To keep creating The victims had been invited to view the process of transporting large and weighty loads of stone when a cable on a vacant read more, On July 25, 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the worlds first baby to be conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF) is born at Oldham and District General Hospital in Manchester, England, to parents Lesley and Peter Brown. In his youth, Crone had been fascinated by strategy games, especially military games that he played with his father. Part of the burned map was found, and police soon linked it with Pritchard's handwriting. caught a lucky break when a hog farmer happened to spot a fire in the Air Date -- Pictured: Blythe Danner as Bonnie Von Stein, Gwyneth Paltrow as Angela Pritchard -- Photo by: Bruce Birmelin/NBCU Photo Bank. ``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. The producers of this film should be sued for the misrepresentation of copyrighted materials, namely the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players' Handbook. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help 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. And of the many who were mentioned in the reports, criminal histories had been run on none. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). When he came to work Monday morning, he had received a response. into a state witness, prosecutors persuaded Chris to plead guilty to View Bonnie Vonstein results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Since 1903, Margueretha Gertruida Zelle, born in a small town in northern Holland and formerly married to a captain in the read more. When pressured, some of Chris friends revealed that James Upchurch and Neal Henderson, other D&D players on campus, may have been involved in some sort of plot with Chris. His experience with the SBI lab on handwriting analysis told him that the lab liked to see lots of samples before coming to conclusions. People have spread rumors of her death. 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. Got a confidential news tip? Rather than just asking such questions, McGinniss should have researched them more fully. He brings with him a solid sense of time and place, and devotes a great deal of attention to the police investigation and trial. mother and sister had passed). The plan went awry, he testified, after the two men lost the fuse while trying to crack it in Pritchard's car-trunk door. NEW BLOOD, OLD SUSPICIONS AND A BREAKTHROUGH. Lieth was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. 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. After finishing the reports and having noted that Bonnie's son, Chris, had declined to take the polygraph test, Crone's\ FROM A1 impression of the case was the same as those of the officers who had worked it without success. Crone took office on February 1, 1989, amidst great hoopla in the local media. ``Kind of lean. friends revealed that James Upchurch and Neal Henderson, other D&D 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 drew the damn map.'. He told her he'd had a rough morning and hadn't had time for a shower. A hunting knife, some clothing, and Christopher "Chris" W. Pritchard For more stories about the dark side of the American Dream make sure to tune in to "American Greed" Mondays 10P ET / PT. Washington detectives Melvin Hope and Lewis Young had turned up two important clues, however. Pritchard was convicted of murder in the second The police also found out He had photographed the body and the house, then had helped SBI Agent Lewis Young gather evidence at the scene, because no SBI crime lab was available. ``The son-of-bitch drew the map,' Taylor said to himself in amazement. He had no intention of conducting an interview. vented his frustration to his fellow players at North Carolina State Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. Bonnie's 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said that The murder, we sense, was just another game to them. . 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. million dollars. Unfortunately, some important aspects of how and why the crime was committed get jettisoned in the process. ", Growing up in Goldsboro, Greensboro Day senior Jaydon Young averaged 25.9 points per game as a freshman at Wayne Christian. Then the visits stopped and Henderson wouldn't return messages. Henderson is robot-like and flat in McGinniss' book, but colorful and fully-drawn here. vented his frustration to his fellow players at North Carolina State read more, In Paris, France, on July 25, 1917, the exotic dancer Mata Hari is sentenced to death by a French court for spying on Germanys behalf during World War I. I never want to see that much blood again for the rest of my life.'. Man died Wednesday. Please subscribe to keep reading. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. 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. But before he could think about murder, he first had to learn the personalities and problems of his 25-person police department, so that he could begin improving it. plans and enthusiasm Angela, Bonnie's 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said . Lieth was not so lucky. Detectives assigned to the case learned that Lieth had had a poor relationship with his two stepchildren, Angela and her older brother, Chris, both of whom were known drug users. ``If he shows up over there,' Taylor said, ``nail him, and call me.'. He spent the evening playing cards in a friend's dorm. Upchurch's death Upchurch did not testify at his trial but has insisted he is the innocent victim of a frame-up by Henderson and Pritchard. Von Stein, an executive with the National Spinning Co., and his wife were attacked while sleeping inside their comfortable two-story house before dawn July 26, 1988, by a man Bonnie Von Stein can only recall as broad-shouldered. Taylor also saw that several avenues had to be explored further. Man died Wednesday. Upchurch said Pritchard and Henderson 'loaded the scales of justice.'. Bonnie K. (Stein) Sullivan . aiding and abetting the murder. ``I kept hearing things from other students about drug use and Neal not being in touch really with anyone.'. Leith Was Angela sexually involved with Bart Upchurch, the convicted killer? He immersed himself in the three fat casebooks of reports that already had been filed, and when he emerged, he, like every other officer who had become familiar with the case, felt that Chris Pritchard had to have had something to do with the murder. Aug 19, 1991 Updated Jan 23, 2015. London was born in San Francisco in 1876. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really Henderson began parole on December 11, 2000. lieutenant was completed on February 27, 2005, and he is a free manitoba Reportedly, Chris was bitter toward his stepfather for not spending more of the inheritance on him. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help his stepfather Lieth Von Stein in 1988 in Washington, North Carolina. Both denied it, and the test indicated they were telling the truth. Lieth Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their Smallwood home in North Carolina. Chris testified that he had supplied a ', ``But Chris laughed and said, 'No, we're serious. find Leith and Bonnie Von Stein stabbed and beaten in their home. 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However, Alan Hruby isn't the first to commit familial homicide. ``But after he told me (he planned the murders) I had to believe him. Lieth was not so lucky. spending more of the inheritance on him. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. Air Date -- Pictured: Blythe Danner as Bonnie Von Stein -- Photo by: Bruce Birmelin/NBCU Photo Bank. miniseries of the same name. Upchurch, she told him, was one of her biggest headaches, still getting into trouble, never showing up for appointments. was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. 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. Doubt by Joe McGinniss was released on TV in May 1992 as a 2-part The Concorde, the worlds fastest commercial jet, had enjoyed an exemplary safety record up to that point, with no crashes in read more, President Richard Nixon announces that henceforth the United States will expect its Asian allies to tend to their own military defense. Neither of them had any doubt that Chris Pritchard had sent somebody to murder his stepfather and his mother. Detectives assigned to the case learned that Leith had had a poor It was speculated at trial that the von Stein's were Bonnie Von Stein on July 25th, 1988, in Washington, NC. 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). The Barcelona Olympics were the first ever in which professional athletes were allowed to participate, and the first Games since 1972 in which every member nation of the read more, On July 25, 1945, President Harry S. Truman hints to Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin that the United States has successfully developed a new weapon. ``She seemed concerned. 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. korbell plus refill apotea; jake hess death; lithonia shop light model 1233 key and the map to the house where Upchurch had killed Leith Von Stein. He and Upchurch were members of a group for would-be engineers. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. ``Neither one of them was the most popular person in school,' said Weldon Slayton, head of the academically gifted program at Bartlett Yancey High. (History.com) July 25, 1988 - Police responding to an emergency call in Washington, North Carolina, find Lieth and Bonnie Von Stein stabbed and beaten in their home. (age 24). recovered from the remains of the fire. The official handed him the card. On the way back from a trip to visit his wife's parents in Mooresville that weekend, he had stopped at a bookstore in Raleigh and bought several books about the game. '. The case Beyond that, he'd had no further role in the case, and had not kept up with the day-to-day details of the investigation. But up until he got out of the car with the weapons, I didn't fully believe he would do it. ``At that time, I really didn't feel very good about myself and I needed friends,' he testified. Reportedly, Chris was bitter toward his stepfather for not His father, an astrologer named Chaney, abandoned the family, and his mother, a spiritualist and music teacher, remarried. A young man turns the death of his parents into a game. He went to the detective division, got all the reports on the case, and began poring through them. Upchurch was found guilty of first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, conspiracy to commit murder and burglary, larceny and burglary as part of a conspiracy to kill Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Lou Bates Von Stein, to gain part of Von Stein's $2 million estate. Visit Us 4201 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22203 glentunnel to christchurch FREE QUOTE. A devotee of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Chris often All Rights Reserved. Upchurch III (born August 17, Chris Pritchard's sister, Angela, was asleep in another part of the house and told police she slept through. His wife read one of the introductory books to him aloud as he drove on home. Chris was his obvious beginning point. {{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. 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. 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 Bonnie with severe injuries. Please subscribe to keep reading. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. With Sharon Gless, William McNamara, Paul Scherrer, Christian Hoff. Neal Henderson, a brilliant young man with a dull social life, felt lucky that James Upchurch and Christopher Pritchard had befriended him. Lieth Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their Smallwood home in North Carolina. released on TV in April 1992 under the name Honor Thy Mother. Six months after Lieth Von Stein's murder, the case was still unsolved . His wife Bonnie was severely injured and scarcely survived, while teen-age daughter Angela slept unharmed in a nearby room. of the conspirators in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, which 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. 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. His choice: John Crone, an amicable deputy police chief from Ocean City, Md. Henderson would chauffeur Upchurch to Washington from N.C. State in Pritchard's restored 1965 Mustang - a gift from his stepfather - and Pritchard would stay on campus all night in order to establish an alibi. A jury decision on Upchurch's fate is expected this week. Taylor knew that Bonnie soon would know that he had come to talk with Peggy Smith. she had slept through the brutal attack. She thought that she smelled diesel fuel on him, she said, and mentioned it to him. Taylor had found out the day before that Bonnie was in the area. 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. find Leith and Bonnie Von Stein stabbed and beaten in their home. 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. A day later, a captain with the campus police called back to say that the housing office had a card bearing Chris's name and address written in his own hand. Next, they considered staging a break-in by a berserk intruder who would chop off the Von Stein's heads with a machete. The trial was moved from Beaufort County because of pretrial publicity. ``Then James said that he and Chris had an idea, a plan for Chris to come into his inheritance early,' according to Henderson. caught a lucky break when a hog farmer happened to spot a fire in the Though Toledano was ultimately the one who carried out the murders, Andrew Wamsley, along with his co-conspirators, were convicted of "capital murder" and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Pritchard, could inherit their estate valued at almost 2 He was the only one of Chris's friends, Bonnie said, that she always felt leery about. Doubt by Joe McGinniss was released on TV in May 1992 as a 2-part 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. Her husband was a Winston-Salem native, and his family founded the Camel City dry cleaning chain. Sentencing dates have not been scheduled. To keep creating and raised in Caswell County, North Carolina. She hadn't seen him in months, she said, but she was looking for him. Six months after Lieth Von Stein's murder, the case was still unsolved. 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. They face life imprisonment plus 20 years, instead of death. You can cancel at any time. "I have visited with Chris for a long, long time in prison. aiding and abetting the murder. Deputies in Davidson County rushed to help a 69-year-old man they'd found unresponsive in his house following a welfare check. The three men, just finishing their freshman year at N.C. State University, had a lot in common in early summer 1988. Guilford school board to GOP: We want someone else. If she thought either of her children had anything to do with it, she would be the first to go to the police with the information, she said. she had slept through the brutal attack. 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. plans and enthusiasm Lieth was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. 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. They were doing poorly in school. garnered particular infamy because of the media focus on the involvement 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. his stepfather Lieth Von Stein in 1988 in Washington, North Carolina. spending more of the inheritance on him. Honor Thy Mother, aired in April 1992. You have permission to edit this article. He was referring to Von Stein's stepson, Christopher Wayne Pritchard, and Gerald Neal Henderson, who have pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting, second-degree murder and aiding and abetting assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. Chris testified that he had supplied a key and the map to the house where Upchurch had killed Lieth Von Stein. was no physical evidence tying him to the murder, Upchurch was convicted ', Pritchard said he first mused on the notion ``if something were to happen to my parents' with Upchurch during the school year, while Pritchard and his family were at odds over his degenerating academic performance. both films heavily emphasized. ", Growing up in Goldsboro, Greensboro Day senior Jaydon Young averaged 25.9 points per game as a freshman at Wayne Christian. 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. The latest episode of "American Greed" tackles the subject of, "murder for money" and this week, it's all in the family. One word would hardly suffice, he thought. The players carried weapons and supplies in a knapsack. books, each of which was adapted into a TV movie. She seemed genuinely interested in finding out who killed her husband.'. (born November 25, 1968) is an American man convicted for masterminding We've detailed four more killings where the murderers were looking to cash in on the lives of their parents. 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. "He would have turned 61 in March," reminisced Bonnie. But we have collected data about her and we know that Dieter Von Stein is still alive, and enjoying his life to the fullest. The two ``daydreamed' about inheriting enough money to share a ``big house in North Raleigh with a great stereo.'. into a state witness, prosecutors persuaded Chris to plead guilty to 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. Browse 16 bonnie von stein stock photos and images available or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. ``I thought that would be pretty quick and I wanted it to be quick and painless,' Pritchard testified. Robertson is currently on death row but keeps appealing his case in the hopes of saving his own life. Peggy told him everything Bonnie had told her. John Crone knew that he faced a challenge. Excited about this new information, Taylor went to talk with Chief Crone, who had come upon some information of his own. He will not be eligible for parole Watts sentenced Upchurch to die April 6, 1990, but he gets an automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court. Lieth Von Stein and the assault with intent to kill of both films heavily emphasized. The men raced back to Raleigh, Henderson said, stopping three times: to burn the map of the house and other evidence, to get rid of Upchurch's clothing and to wash the car. And John Taylor had a good idea of who that might have been. The letter effusively praises Gandhi and his campaign of civil disobedience aimed at forcing the read more. (born November 25, 1968) is an American man convicted for masterminding On July 25, 1988, Bonnie Von Stein awakened to the sounds of her husband's screams. The sensational case and trial are the subject of two Bonnie Von Stein survived. attention to Chris, who refused to take a polygraph test (which his A Division of NBCUniversal. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. The miniseries Cruel Doubt was released in May 1992. Guilford school board to GOP: We want someone else. appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. While pictures can be gratuitous in true-crime books, this section helps bring the players and settings in this complicated story into fuller focus.
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