He brings with him a solid sense of time and place, and devotes a great deal of attention to the police investigation and trial. 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. 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. Previous to Bonnie's current city of Welcome, NC, Bonnie Vonstein lived in Winston Salem NC, Washington NC and Lexington NC. He thought the murder was an inside job, a family affair. key and the map to the house where Upchurch had killed Leith Von Stein. 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. ``Said I was going to solve the Von Stein case and all this crap. 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?'. 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. And Chris Pritchard was the most likely suspect. Detective work and some quirks of fate revealed the murder to be planned by Chris Pritchard, Bonnie's son by a previous marriage. the Murderpedia project stay alive. The sad ironies of the family's tale are compelling. It was after dark when Taylor got back to Washington. 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. Crone also thought the only way to bring new life to the case was to assign a new investigator. Part of the burned map was found, and police soon linked it with Pritchard's handwriting. appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. His father, an astrologer named Chaney, abandoned the family, and his mother, a spiritualist and music teacher, remarried. ``I remarked, 'Oh, you're going to rob the place? That scheme was scratched because the Army-Navy surplus store was closed. TV movies. For these crimes, he Unfortunately, some important aspects of how and why the crime was committed get jettisoned in the process. Detectives caught a lucky break when a hog farmer happened to spot a fire in the woods around the time of the murder. Lieth was not so lucky. Then the visits stopped and Henderson wouldn't return messages. ``I just didn't think she was involved in it,' he said. Lieth was not so lucky. The Nixon Doctrine, as the presidents statement came to be known, clearly indicated his determination to Vietnamize the Vietnam War. Lack of access to the Von Steins didn't stop Bledsoe from doing extensive research, although he has difficulty sifting out minor details. 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. There, lessons of , The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. University. woods around the time of the murder. He went first to the campus police department, and Captain Laura Reynolds took him to the Department of Housing and Residence Life. ``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. 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. recovered from the remains of the fire. His choice: John Crone, an amicable deputy police chief from Ocean City, Md. attention to Chris, who refused to take a polygraph test (which his Chief Crone was pleased when Taylor told him about this. Reportedly, Chris was bitter toward his stepfather for not After turning Henderson, who accompanied Upchurch to the Von Stein home, The three men, just finishing their freshman year at N.C. State University, had a lot in common in early summer 1988. ``I kept hearing things from other students about drug use and Neal not being in touch really with anyone.'. In the aftermath of the murder and subsequent sentencing of three young men for their parts in the murder, assault and other related crimes, two books and two made-for-television movies about the case were released. Reportedly, Chris was bitter toward his stepfather for not spending more of the inheritance on him. She told Taylor that she was at the hospital when Chris arrived on the morning of the murder. plans and enthusiasm 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. Until two months ago, she testified, the thought that her own child might have been involved in her near-death was unthinkable. Carolina on January 31, 1990, and paroled on June 2, 2007. ``Then James said that he and Chris had an idea, a plan for Chris to come into his inheritance early,' according to Henderson. Reportedly, Chris was bitter toward his stepfather for not And John Taylor had a good idea of who that might have been. A person who had broken into one house likely wouldn't have qualms about breaking into another. 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. recovered from the remains of the fire. 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. 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.Henderson began parole on December 11, 2000. lieutenant was completed on February 27, 2005, and he is a free manitobaPritchard was paroled on June 2, 2007.James Bartlett Upchurch III was born and raised in Caswell County, North Carolina. Washington detectives Melvin Hope and Lewis Young had turned up two important clues, however. According to her family tree, she married Daniel F. Sullivan on October 18, 1975 in Texas . The adaptation of Bledsoe's book, He took no notes, but he did form some impressions. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. of the conspirators in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, which 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. Angela, Bonnies 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said that she had slept through the brutal attack. 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. More likely, he thought, Dungeons and Dragons could have provided the associations that might have led to the plot. 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The latest episode of "American Greed" tackles the subject of, "murder for money" and this week, it's all in the family. Leith He had no intention of conducting an interview. ``James Upchurch and Christopher Pritchard were my friends.'. 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 . They came from good families. Enlisting the help of friends James Bartlett Upchurch It He will not be eligible for parole until 2022. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. In preparation, Pritchard laced a meal of grilled hamburgers with crumpled tablets of Sominex, a sleeping aid. Lieth was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. Got a confidential news tip? Lieth was not so lucky. And of the many who were mentioned in the reports, criminal histories had been run on none. Lieth Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their Smallwood home in North Carolina. When he came to work Monday morning, he had received a response. Lieth was not so lucky. One of Chris's friends at college, James B. Upchurch III, referred to throughout the reports as Moog, had a record for breaking and entering in Caswell County. Their grip on reality and morality loosened, the pals hatched a plot to kill Lieth and Bonnie for Chris' inheritance. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. A hunting knife, some clothing, and Little about the case had made sense to Crone before, but now he realized that the game offered a rational scenario for the murder. James Bartlett ', 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. of the conspirators in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, which Peggy told him everything Bonnie had told her. 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. caught a lucky break when a hog farmer happened to spot a fire in the 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. Chris testified that he had supplied a Yet only a couple of those had been interviewed. We have many Bonnie's son, Chris Pritchard, had refused to take the test. Bledsoe's Blood Games (1992). Always wants to do a good job.'. into a state witness, prosecutors persuaded Chris to plead guilty to '. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. 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). Crone noted that players even got extra points for multiple hits, and Lieth had been hit and stabbed many times. Angela, Bonnie's 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said that she had slept through the brutal attack. Peggy knew that the police were suspicious of Chris. Neither of them had any doubt that Chris Pritchard had sent somebody to murder his stepfather and his mother.

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