Lieth Peter Von Stein (March 16, 1946 – July 25, 1988) was an American businessman whose murder launched a high-profile trial in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. The case became the subject of two books and two

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s. An executive at National Spinning, a textile factory in

Washington, North Carolina Washington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States, located on the northern bank of the Pamlico River. The population was 9,744 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beaufort County. It is commonly known as "Original Wa ...

, Von Stein was stabbed and bludgeoned to death in his home as the result of a plot devised by his stepson, Christopher Wayne Pritchard. Von Stein's wife, Bonnie (Pritchard's mother), was also attacked, but survived. Pritchard's friend James Bartlett Upchurch III was convicted of

first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

, while Pritchard and another co-conspirator, Gerald Neal Henderson, were convicted of aiding and abetting the murder. The trial revealed that Pritchard's motive was his desire to inherit his stepfather's fortune, derived from his family's

dry cleaning Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a solvent other than water. Dry cleaning still involves liquid, but clothes are instead soaked in a water-free liquid solvent. Tetrachloroethylene (perchloroethylene), known in ...

chain, Camel City Dry Cleaners in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

Assault and murder

In the early morning of July 25, 1988, in the Smallwood subdivision of

, Lieth Von Stein and his wife Bonnie were attacked in their bedroom by an intruder wielding a knife and a club. Lieth was killed, but Bonnie survived with serious injuries and was able to summon aid. Lieth was stepfather to Bonnie's two children from her previous marriage, Christopher (usually known as Chris) and Angela Pritchard. Angela Pritchard, whose bedroom was in another part of the house, told police she slept through the attack. At the time of the murder, Chris Pritchard was living in a student residence at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

Police investigation

When it was discovered that Lieth's estate was worth two million dollars, Bonnie Von Stein and her children, Chris and Angela, became suspects. The police investigation eventually focused on Chris Pritchard. A breakthrough came when Pritchard's college friend Neal Henderson confessed to investigators that he (Henderson) had driven another friend, James "Bart" Upchurch, to and from the scene of the murder at the instigation of Pritchard, who had promised to use his projected inheritance money to reward Upchurch and Henderson if his mother and stepfather were killed. In June 1989, nearly a year after the attack, Pritchard, Henderson, and Upchurch (all born 1968) were arrested and charged with the crime.

Trial

The trial took place in January 1990. Chris Pritchard, who (subsequent to his arrest) admitted to masterminding the murder conspiracy, and Neal Henderson, who said his role was that of James Upchurch's lookout and getaway driver, pleaded guilty to reduced charges as part of a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...

whereby they both testified against Upchurch. Upchurch, who denied all charges, was found guilty 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. For these crimes he was sentenced, respectively, to

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

, 20 years, 6 years and

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

. Upchurch's death sentence was set aside on October 1, 1992, and he was re-sentenced to life imprisonment. He will not be eligible for

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

until 2022. Pritchard was convicted of aiding and abetting in second-degree murder, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. He also received a 20-year sentence for aiding and abetting the assault on his mother, Bonnie Von Stein. He was paroled on June 2, 2007, later becoming a

born-again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

. Henderson was also convicted of murder in the second degree (aiding and abetting), and of aiding and abetting assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill or seriously injure. He was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment on the former charge and six years on the latter. He was paroled on December 11, 2000.

Books and television adaptations

The case and ensuing trial were the subject of two books:

Joe McGinniss Joseph Ralph McGinniss Sr. (December 9, 1942 – March 10, 2014) was an American non-fiction writer and novelist. The author of twelve books, he first came to prominence with the best-selling ''The Selling of the President 1968'' which describe ...

's ''Cruel Doubt'' and

Jerry Bledsoe Jerry Bledsoe (born 1941) is an American author and journalist known for several true crime titles based on murders in his native state of North Carolina. His journalism career, which spanned over 20 years, included newspaper work in the North ...

's '' Blood Games'', both published in 1991. Bledsoe's book was adapted for television as '' Honor Thy Mother'', first aired in April 1992. McGinniss's ''Cruel Doubt'' was adapted as a 2-part miniseries of the same name, aired in May 1992. Both books and television films heavily emphasized the three perpetrators' interest in the

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'', which they sometimes acted out with real weapons in the

steam tunnels A utility tunnel, utility corridor, or utilidor is a passage built underground or above ground to carry utility lines such as electricity, steam, water supply pipes, and sewer pipes. Communications utilities like fiber optics, cable television, ...

of their college campus while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. However, ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', in discussing Bledsoe's ''Blood Games'', commented that "the linkage ledsoeattempts to establish between Dungeons & Dragons and the crime seems tenuous." Critics also remarked that both television adaptations displayed ''Dungeons & Dragons'' handbooks with artwork altered from the originals, in an apparent effort to imply they had inspired the murder. The case has also featured in the

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...

television documentaries ''Dark Temptations'' (2014) and ''

Blood Relatives ''Blood Relatives'' (original French title: ''Les Liens de sang'') is a 1978 Canadian-French mystery film directed by Claude Chabrol from a screenplay that he and Sydney Banks adapted from the 1975 novel of the same name by Ed McBain. Set in ...

'' (2016).

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Von Stein, Lieth 1988 in North Carolina 1988 murders in the United States Deaths by stabbing in the United States July 1988 crimes July 1988 events in the United States People murdered in North Carolina