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. Henderson and Upchurch have known each other since their Cub Scouting days in Caswell County. 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. 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. Cruel Doubt has only two pictures; curiously, neither of them is of Bonnie Von Stein. 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). They used drugs. Taylor knew that Bonnie soon would know that he had come to talk with Peggy Smith. A death sentence has to be unanimous. Please subscribe to keep reading. Not Michael Logan. 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. Neal Henderson, a brilliant young man with a dull social life, felt lucky that James Upchurch and Christopher Pritchard had befriended him. His wife read one of the introductory books to him aloud as he drove on home. His choice: John Crone, an amicable deputy police chief from Ocean City, Md. Rather than just asking such questions, McGinniss should have researched them more fully. Now Taylor was even more intrigued. SON WANTED INHERITANCE STUDENTS ACT OUT FANTASY GAME SCENARIO IN REAL-LIFE MURDER. 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. Taylor also saw that several avenues had to be explored further. to keep expanding and making Murderpedia a better site, but we really 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. Stein in hopes of winning a US$2 million inheritance. ``He drew the damn map.'. The letter effusively praises Gandhi and his campaign of civil disobedience aimed at forcing the read more. his stepfather Lieth Von Stein in 1988 in Washington, North Carolina. After turning Henderson, who accompanied Upchurch to the Von Stein home, 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. Carolina on January 31, 1990, and paroled on June 2, 2007. The police also found out ``Then James said that he and Chris had an idea, a plan for Chris to come into his inheritance early,' according to Henderson. Angela, Bonnies 18-year-old daughter, was found in the next room; she said that she had slept through the brutal attack. 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. You have permission to edit this article. Not Michael Logan. The producers of this film should be sued for the misrepresentation of copyrighted materials, namely the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players' Handbook. And they shared a fascination with Dungeons and Dragons, a fantasy game steeped in mind-play and mystery.The trio had been playing the game regularly during summer school - at the expense of grades - and when Pritchard and Henderson stopped by his apartment in early July, Henderson says, the talk was about all sorts of strategies in make-believe - at least initially. Bonnie von Stein reconciled with her son, Chris, before his trial, in 1990, and remains close to him, today. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. 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. . NEW BLOOD, OLD SUSPICIONS AND A BREAKTHROUGH. degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent Foreign these crimes, he was sentenced on January 30, 1990, respectively, to death, 20 years, 6 years and life. He was the only one of Chris's friends, Bonnie said, that she always felt leery about. London was born in San Francisco in 1876. 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. ', Henderson says he replied: ``Isn't that a little extreme? 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. He and Upchurch were members of a group for would-be engineers. 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 Sharon Gless, William McNamara, Paul Scherrer, Christian Hoff. 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. 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. in the second degree (aiding and abetting) and assault The focus is on the crime's effect on the family, and their most intensely private moments are etched in blood-spattered print. million dollars. appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. Thank you very much in advance. {{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. Honor Thy Mother, aired in April 1992. Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. The trial was moved from Beaufort County because of pretrial publicity. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). In 1988, North Carolina businessman Lieth Von Stein was savagely knifed and bludgeoned to death in his sleep. released on TV in April 1992 under the name Honor Thy Mother. Bonnie also had compiled a list of suspects, Peggy said. woods around the time of the murder. James Bartlett Upchurch III was born and raised in Caswell County, North Carolina. Both attended Bartlett Yancey High School. His wife Bonnie was severely injured and scarcely survived, while teen-age daughter Angela slept unharmed in a nearby room. Clearly, the case had been left to languish until his arrival. plans and enthusiasm 1968) is an American man convicted for the murder of Deputies in Davidson County rushed to help a 69-year-old man they'd found unresponsive in his house following a welfare check. 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. When pressured, some of Chris' As the sentence was announced, Upchurch's mother, JoAnn Kramer, reached up and hugged her son. They came from good families. We have many ``The son-of-bitch drew the map,' Taylor said to himself in amazement. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). The more she read the more excited Crone became. 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. The 1992 book Blood Games by Jerry Bledsoe was But we have collected data about her and we know that Dieter Von Stein is still alive, and enjoying his life to the fullest. of murder in 1990 and sentenced to death. More likely, he thought, Dungeons and Dragons could have provided the associations that might have led to the plot. A jury decision on Upchurch's fate is expected this week. We want to hear from you. 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. she had slept through the brutal attack. Once logged in, you can add biography in the database, August 17, 1968 Mussolini responded to it all with an uncharacteristic meekness. Here, let us show you.' ``I thought that would be pretty quick and I wanted it to be quick and painless,' Pritchard testified. books, each of which was adapted into a TV movie. With that card, the word ``Lawson' could be compared with the same word on the map. 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. Lieth Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Von Stein are attacked while sleeping in their Smallwood home in North Carolina. . Peggy gave him a ride to Smallwood. 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Was Angela sexually involved with Bart Upchurch, the convicted killer? After turning Henderson, who accompanied Upchurch to the Von Stein home, 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. A hunting knife, some clothing, and 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. James Bartlett Upchurch III was born A devotee of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Chris often In his diary, Truman privately referred to the new weapon, the atomic bomb, as the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. 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. death, 20 years, 6 years and life. Bonnie Von Stein is from Wellcome in Davidson County. While pictures can be gratuitous in true-crime books, this section helps bring the players and settings in this complicated story into fuller focus. Taylor took the card back to Capt. Henderson began parole on December 11, 2000. relationship with his two stepchildren, Angela and her older brother, 69-year-old suffers stroke in his home; Realtor showing house leaves him there. ``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. View Bonnie Stein results in Pennsylvania (PA) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Chris testified that he had supplied a key and the map to the house where Upchurch had killed Lieth Von Stein. (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. appeared to have been staged as though to suggest a robbery. Bonnie's son, Chris Pritchard, had refused to take the test. friends revealed that James Upchurch and Neal Henderson, other D&D sisters, Carrie and Alexandra. They face life imprisonment plus 20 years, instead of death. that Leith had inherited over a million dollars shortly before he was The adaptation of Bledsoe's book, The lengthy description of Upchurch's background, with its recounting of the history and troubles of his mother, is overdrawn. 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. Beloved wife of Steven Stein. of the conspirators in the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, which Pritchard, could inherit their estate valued at almost 2 A devotee of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, Chris often Leith was dead, but Bonnie, barely clinging to life, somehow survived. Visit Us 4201 Wilson Blvd, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22203 glentunnel to christchurch FREE QUOTE. Leith Chris, both of whom were known drug users. 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