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HENDERSON COUNTY, N.C. — A North Carolina woman indicted on murder charges after she allegedly poisoned family members with wine during a Thanksgiving dinner could face the death penalty.
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, the office of District Attorney Andrew Murray filed a motion to hold a Rule 24 pretrial conference in the case of Gudrun Linda Jean Casper-Leinenkugel. A Rule 24 hearing in North Carolina is mandatory for cases where the defendant is charged with a crime punishable by death, as is the case for Casper-Leinenkugel.
Casper-Leinenkugel, 52, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and multiple counts of distributing a prohibited food or beverage, according to arrest warrants.
Court records allege Casper-Leinenkugel killed her daughter, Leela Jean Livis, and is responsible for the 2007 death of Michael Schmidt, both by poisoning. Investigators also allege she attempted to kill her other daughter, Mia Lacey, and Lacey’s boyfriend, Richard Pegg, during a Thanksgiving gathering in November 2025.
Sheriff’s investigators say the wine served during that meal was allegedly laced with acetonitrile, an industrial solvent that converts into cyanide once ingested. Warrants charge Casper-Leinenkugel with knowingly distributing a beverage containing the toxic chemical, which authorities say caused death or serious physical injury.
The warrants state the alleged poisoning of Schmidt occurred in October 2007, while the more recent allegations involve the 2025 Thanksgiving gathering in Henderson County.
Casper-Leinenkugel is being held without bond and is scheduled for a court hearing on Thursday, Feb. 26.
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