The 1992 book Blood Games by Jerry Bledsoe was 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. 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. We have many We have many The Von Steins met while working at Integon Corp. as programmers. Pritchard, could inherit their estate valued at almost 2 ", Growing up in Goldsboro, Greensboro Day senior Jaydon Young averaged 25.9 points per game as a freshman at Wayne Christian. 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. Detectives assigned to the case learned that Leith had had a poor was no physical evidence tying him to the murder, Upchurch was convicted recovered from the remains of the fire. Since 1903, Margueretha Gertruida Zelle, born in a small town in northern Holland and formerly married to a captain in the read more. Jerry Bledsoe. The miniseries Cruel Doubt was Investigators were immediately distrustful of the crime scene, which According to her family tree, she married Daniel F. Sullivan on October 18, 1975 in Texas . books, each of which was adapted into a TV movie. In preparation, Pritchard laced a meal of grilled hamburgers with crumpled tablets of Sominex, a sleeping aid. 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. He drove straight to the chief's house. Please subscribe to keep reading. (born November 25, 1968) is an American man convicted for masterminding Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes. 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. mother and sister had passed). Detectives caught a lucky break when a hog farmer happened to spot a fire in the woods around the time of the murder. There even was a young woman named Elena asleep in another room in the castle, and Crone couldn't help but think how close the names Elena and Angela were. friends revealed that James Upchurch and Neal Henderson, other D&D Next, they considered staging a break-in by a berserk intruder who would chop off the Von Stein's heads with a machete. 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). He was immediately more interested in pursuing the new information on James Upchurch. 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. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. sisters, Carrie and Alexandra. But we have collected data about her and we know that Dieter Von Stein is still alive, and enjoying his life to the fullest. ``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. Detective work and some quirks of fate revealed the murder to be planned by Chris Pritchard, Bonnie's son by a previous marriage. ``James Upchurch and Christopher Pritchard were my friends.'. He called the Caswell County Sheriff's Department and talked with a detective who told him about the break-ins in which Upchurch had been involved in high school. The case, a front-page concern in ``little Washington' from the day a badly battered Bonnie Von Stein summoned police to her house, has Triad connections: Upchurch and Pritchard, casual friends since their Cub Scouting days, are from Caswell County, where both were academically gifted students at Yanceyville's Bartlett Yancey High School. Henderson began parole on December 11, 2000. lieutenant was completed on February 27, 2005, and he is a free manitoba Lieth was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life,. Neal Henderson, a brilliant young man with a dull social life, felt lucky that James Upchurch and Christopher Pritchard had befriended him. intent to kill or do serious injury. Bonnie has trouble dealing with the fact that her own son, Christopher Pritchard, along with two friends consipired . Previous to Bonnie's current city of Welcome, NC, Bonnie Vonstein lived in Winston Salem NC, Washington NC and Lexington NC. 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. When pressured, some of Chris' Sentencing dates have not been scheduled. korbell plus refill apotea; jake hess death; lithonia shop light model 1233 Taylor took the card back to Capt. The case I thought, Good Lord, this is really wonderful, but what if I can't solve the Von Stein case?'. 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. There, lessons of , The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. ``Lawson' on the card looked identical to ``Lawson' on the map. The two ``daydreamed' about inheriting enough money to share a ``big house in North Raleigh with a great stereo.'. Man died Wednesday. His father, an astrologer named Chaney, abandoned the family, and his mother, a spiritualist and music teacher, remarried. Despite his misgivings, Taylor went to talk with District Attorney Mitchell Norton about getting a subpoena for the card, primarily to appease the chief, and Mitchell issued it. until 2022. 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. players on campus, may have been involved in some sort of plot with ``She seemed concerned. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really Taylor called the probation office in Wake County, learned that Christy Newsom was Upchurch's probation officer, and spoke with her. 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. The case Angela, Though Jimmy Robertson's case didn't make national headlines, his story is well-known in the small town of Rock Hill, South Carolina. 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. attacked so that Bonnie's son, Christopher Wayne As the investigation dragged on into 1989, police turned their need your help for this. 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. There, lessons of , The much-faster-than-expected economic recovery thats followed the easing of the coronavirus pandemic has produced several encouraging develo. was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. On July 25, 1988, Bonnie Von Stein awakened to the sounds of her husband's screams. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. 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. Bledsoe's Blood Games (1992). The police also found out 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. The only person surprised by the assignment was the one chosen. 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. 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. Bonnie has trouble dealing with the fact that her own son, Christopher Pritchard, along with two friends consip Read allLieth 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 that she had slept through the brutal attack. Bonnie Von Stein is from Wellcome in Davidson County. Mussolini responded to it all with an uncharacteristic meekness. the Murderpedia project stay alive. of murder in 1990 and sentenced to death. 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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. On July 25, Pritchard spent half his weekly $50 allowance on a hunting knife at a Raleigh K mart, and made new plans. ``Said I was going to solve the Von Stein case and all this crap. Upchurch said Pritchard and Henderson 'loaded the scales of justice.'. Bonnie Von Stein survived. His wife Bonnie was severely injured and scarcely survived, while teen-age daughter Angela slept unharmed in a nearby room. degree (aiding and abetting) and assault with a deadly weapon with (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). The police also found out that Lieth had inherited over a million dollars shortly before he was killed. ``Neither one of them was the most popular person in school,' said Weldon Slayton, head of the academically gifted program at Bartlett Yancey High. Investigators were immediately distrustful of the crime scene, which appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. miniseries of the same name. 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. woods around the time of the murder. ', ``James shook his head and said, 'No, we're going to murder his parents.' Both attended Bartlett Yancey High School. 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. He is the to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really Neal Henderson and Christopher Pritchard plead gu Read all. He knew nothing about the game, and neither did anybody\ else in the department. 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. He was sentenced to life in North Lieth was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. Lieth was not so lucky. The police also found out 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. Got a confidential news tip? released on TV in April 1992 under the name Honor Thy Mother. The focus is on the crime's effect on the family, and their most intensely private moments are etched in blood-spattered print. Although Henderson's testimony was not entirely compatible, and there Pritchard and Henderson are free on bond pending their sentencings. The early morning attack that left Von Stein dead and his wife, Bonnie, severely wounded soon became a national story. Chief Crone was pleased when Taylor told him about this. 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. Chris. new content, we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help One word would hardly suffice, he thought. ``The son-of-bitch drew the map,' Taylor said to himself in amazement. woods around the time of the murder. He had gone to talk with Bonnie's close friend and across-the-street neighbor, Peggy Smith, primarily to see if she could remember anything more about Chris's actions following the murder. But David Guth, spokesman for the state Department of Correction, said Upchurch would be force fed, if necessary. appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. {{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. 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. Please subscribe to keep reading. 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. key and the map to the house where Upchurch had killed Leith Von Stein. 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. 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. Updated: June 20, 2015 . Taylor handed him the subpoena. The sensational case and trial are the subject of two Chris was his obvious beginning point. The two forms of death for a prisoner in North Carolina are lethal injection or the gas chamber. He spent the evening playing cards in a friend's dorm. Taylor also saw that several avenues had to be explored further. killed. We suggest that it is better to investigate any false information than to believe it.One should not give too much importance to anyone's nonsense. She seemed genuinely interested in finding out who killed her husband.'. Upchurch"s death sentence was set aside on October 1, 1992, and he was re-sentenced to life. Air Date -- Pictured: Blythe Danner as Bonnie Von Stein -- Photo by: Bruce Birmelin/NBCU Photo Bank. Bonnie Von Stein on July 25th, 1988, in Washington, NC. 69-year-old suffers stroke in his home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. Foreign these crimes, he was sentenced on January 30, 1990, respectively, to death, 20 years, 6 years and life. In his youth, Crone had been fascinated by strategy games, especially military games that he played with his father. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. in the second degree (aiding and abetting) and assault Leith was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. The murder, we sense, was just another game to them. A devotee of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Chris often ``He drew the damn map.'. 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. Bonnie K. (Stein) Sullivan . 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. degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent He was sentenced to life in North Though the brother's defense included accusations of child abuse, their second trial (after the first ended in a mistrial) left the two brothers with a life sentence in prison without the option for parole. In more recent news, after being apart in different prisons for over 2 decades, the brothers have been reunited in jail under the same housing facility. Robertson is currently on death row but keeps appealing his case in the hopes of saving his own life. degree (aiding and abetting) and assault with a deadly weapon with Bonnie's son, Chris Pritchard, had refused to take the test. 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. 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