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The suspect has been identified as 52-year-old Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel of Hendersonville, and one of the deaths dates all the way back to 2007, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said in a Jan. 16 news release.
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A death investigation turned into something more sinister when evidence linked the same woman to two murders, and two attempted murders using cyanide in beverages, according to investigators in western North Carolina.
The suspect has been identified as 52-year-old Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel of Hendersonville, and one of the deaths dates all the way back to 2007, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office said in a Jan. 16 news release.
“After an extensive and comprehensive investigation, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office Violent Crime Unit has charged Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel … in connection with the 2025 murder of Leela Livis and the attempted murder of Richard Pegg and Mia Lacey,” the sheriff’s office said.
“During the course of the investigation, detectives located evidence linking Casper-Leinenkugel to the murder of Michael Schmidt that occurred in Henderson County in 2007.”
Investigators did not reveal what the four victims have in common.
An obituary reports 32-year-old Livis died on Dec. 1, 2025, and court records show Schmidt died on Oct. 29, 2007.
Casper-Leinenkugel is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of distribution of certain food or beverage prohibited, the sheriff’s office said.
“To preserve the integrity of this investigation, no further information will be released at this time. There is no current or ongoing threat to the public,” the sheriff’s office said.
A cause of death was not released for Livis and Schmidt. But court documents report Casper-Leinenkugel killed both with “malice aforethought.”
Details of the attempted murders are also being withheld. However, an affidavit reports Casper-Leinenkugel “willfully” placed the poisonous chemical acetonitrile in beverages on three occasions. The chemical is a form of cyanide “which might cause death or serious physical injury,” officials say.
A search of state court records indicates Casper-Leinenkugel does not have a history of violent offenses or felony charges in North Carolina.
Hendersonville is about a 105-mile drive west from uptown Charlotte.
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Mark Price
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