A young man turns the death of his parents into a game. ``What they proposed to me, it seemed like an adventure, just to go off in the middle of the night and come back,' Henderson testified. After turning Henderson, who accompanied Upchurch to the Von Stein home, into a state witness, prosecutors persuaded Chris to plead guilty to aiding and abetting the murder. Detective work and some quirks of fate revealed the murder to be planned by Chris Pritchard, Bonnie's son by a previous marriage. Crone also thought the only way to bring new life to the case was to assign a new investigator. As the investigation dragged on into 1989, police turned their 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. his stepfather Lieth Von Stein in 1988 in Washington, North Carolina. both films heavily emphasized. of the conspirators in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, which friends revealed that James Upchurch and Neal Henderson, other D&D 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. of the conspirators in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, which Chris Pritchard's sister, Angela, was asleep in another part of the house and told police she slept through. The defense had said during closing arguments Monday that it would be unfair for Upchurch, a former student at N.C. State University, to face the death penalty while two other confessed participants face life in prison plus 20 years. 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. Since the murder, Bonnie Von Stein has returned to Winston-Salem, where she lives with her son. Taylor had found out the day before that Bonnie was in the area. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really need your help for this. Dieter Von Stein is Dead or Alive? Police responding to an emergency call in Washington, North Carolina, Lieth was not so lucky. The adaptation of Bledsoe"s book, Honor Thy Mother, aired in April 1992. Bonnie has forgiven her son for his part in the crime. Pritchard was convicted of murder in the second Christopher "Chris" W. Pritchard ``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. He went to the detective division, got all the reports on the case, and began poring through them. He was the only one of Chris's friends, Bonnie said, that she always felt leery about. Once logged in, you can add biography in the database, August 17, 1968 Angela, Bonnie's 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said that she had slept through the brutal attack. 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. Peggy thought that was a curious thing for him to say, and so did John Taylor. Yet only a couple of those had been interviewed. 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. . his stepfather Lieth Von Stein in 1988 in Washington, North Carolina. 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. Please subscribe to keep reading. 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. 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. ``If he shows up over there,' Taylor said, ``nail him, and call me.'. Chris testified that he had supplied a Not Michael Logan. With Sharon Gless, William McNamara, Paul Scherrer, Christian Hoff. Bonnie Von Stein survived. into a state witness, prosecutors persuaded Chris to plead guilty to 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. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Lieth was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. Reviewed By Ken Berg Of The Sentinel Staff. ``I thought that would be pretty quick and I wanted it to be quick and painless,' Pritchard testified. 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. 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. Leith was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. 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. she had slept through the brutal attack. Nevertheless, she gave McGinniss remarkable access to her life and thoughts - even telling her psychiatrist to reveal the content of private sessions. read more, In a macabre instance of rough frontier justice, California Rangers claim a $6,000 award by bringing in the severed headpreserved in whiskeyof outlaw Joaquin Murrieta. A devotee of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Chris often Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. He thought the murder was an inside job, a family affair. attacked so that Bonnie's son, Christopher Wayne You have permission to edit this article. In his diary, Truman privately referred to the new weapon, the atomic bomb, as the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. 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. Lieth was not so lucky. Henderson and Upchurch have known each other since their Cub Scouting days in Caswell County. 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. Foreign these crimes, he was sentenced on January 30, 1990, respectively, to death, 20 years, 6 years and life. Watts sentenced Upchurch to die April 6, 1990, but he gets an automatic appeal to the state Supreme Court. The miniseries Cruel Doubt was released in May 1992. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. On Friday, March 10, Taylor requested criminal histories on all of Chris's college acquaintances whose names were mentioned in the reports. All Photos Tagged bonnievonstein. Angela, and burglary in the first degree. ``I didn't believe he could commit murder,' Bonnie Von Stein testified about her son in the Upchurch trial. 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. He went first to the campus police department, and Captain Laura Reynolds took him to the Department of Housing and Residence Life. Not Michael Logan. (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. degree (aiding and abetting) and assault with a deadly weapon with When pressured, some of Chris' 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. Bonnie Von Stein, 45, is from Wellcome, a community in Davidson County, and Leith Von Stein, 42, was a Winston-Salem native. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. Lieth Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their Smallwood home in North Carolina. Angela, Bonnie's 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said . Bonnie Von Stein survived. Police responding to an emergency call in Washington, North Carolina, find Lieth and Bonnie Von Stein stabbed and beaten in their home. 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. Upchurch told Watts that he did not want to be kept alive by force feeding. After a few weeks, he had become familiar enough with the department that he felt free to begin looking at the second part of his directive, solving the Von Stein murder. His wife read one of the introductory books to him aloud as he drove on home. 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. Taylor was just 27 years old, a country boy with only four years in the department, but everybody connected with law enforcement in Beaufort County had taken note of him. She had three outstanding warrants on him for probation violations. Pritchard was paroled on June 2, 2007. Mussolini responded to it all with an uncharacteristic meekness. that Leith had inherited over a million dollars shortly before he was Beloved wife of Steven Stein. garnered particular infamy because of the media focus on the involvement He has one brother, Emory, and two until 2022. He drove to Greenville, where she was staying at a motel, to meet her and Angela. Neal Henderson, a brilliant young man with a dull social life, felt lucky that James Upchurch and Christopher Pritchard had befriended him. 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. ``Lawson' on the card looked identical to ``Lawson' on the map. 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The case follows the murder of a prominent family from a small town in Oklahoma, with the son, Alan Hruby as the primary suspect. After turning Henderson, who accompanied Upchurch to the Von Stein home, An official brought out the document. A young man turns the death of his parents into a game. And John Taylor had a good idea of who that might have been. And Chris Pritchard was the most likely suspect. that Leith had inherited over a million dollars shortly before he was Near the top of the list was Chris's close friend from high school, Stephen Outlaw, with whom Chris had gotten into trouble. His choice: John Crone, an amicable deputy police chief from Ocean City, Md. Carolina on January 31, 1990, and paroled on June 2, 2007. Lieth was not so lucky. The 1991 book Cruel (age 24). 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). In the past, Bonnie has also been known as Bonnie B Vonstein, Bonnie Bates Von Stein, Bonnie Von O Stein, Bonnie Von Stein and Bonnie Stein. Carolina on January 31, 1990, and paroled on June 2, 2007. Upchurch's death (born November 25, 1968) is an American man convicted for masterminding The police also found out James Bartlett Upchurch III was born and raised in Caswell County, North Carolina. killed. vented his frustration to his fellow players at North Carolina State More likely, he thought, Dungeons and Dragons could have provided the associations that might have led to the plot. 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. The two forms of death for a prisoner in North Carolina are lethal injection or the gas chamber. key and the map to the house where Upchurch had killed Leith Von Stein. Taylor knew that Bonnie soon would know that he had come to talk with Peggy Smith. Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inbox. attention to Chris, who refused to take a polygraph test (which his Pritchard was convicted of murder in the second Chris, both of whom were known drug users. He had no intention of conducting an interview. 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. You have permission to edit this article. 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. The players carried weapons and supplies in a knapsack. Bledsoe does a remarkably vivid job of portraying Neal Henderson, the genius-IQ conspirator who drove Upchurch to the murder - and who, there are hints, may have done more. Bonnie Von Stein on July 25th, 1988, in Washington, NC. Guilford school board to GOP: We want someone else. Bonnie Von Stein survived. Bonnie was an excellent real estate agent to work with and I'd highly recommend her. ``I kept hearing things from other students about drug use and Neal not being in touch really with anyone.'. case: Joe McGinniss' Cruel Doubt (1991) and Jerry ``Then James said that he and Chris had an idea, a plan for Chris to come into his inheritance early,' according to Henderson. to kill or seriously injure, conspiracy to commit murder, Upchurch, 21, is facing the death penalty this week after being found guilty of bludgeoning and stabbing to death Pritchard's stepfather, Leith Peter Von Stein, a wealthy textile executive, and nearly killing Pritchard's mother, Bonnie Lou Bates Von Stein. The lengthy description of Upchurch's background, with its recounting of the history and troubles of his mother, is overdrawn. 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. appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. Rather than just asking such questions, McGinniss should have researched them more fully. Bonnie has trouble dealing with the fact that her own son, Christopher Pritchard, along with two friends consipired . 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. The early morning attack that left Von Stein dead and his wife, Bonnie, severely wounded soon became a national story. Upchurch III (born August 17, The three men, just finishing their freshman year at N.C. State University, had a lot in common in early summer 1988. 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