North Carolina | DA won't seek death penalty against woman accused of poisoning family

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (DPN) — Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against a Western North Carolina entrepreneur accused of poisoning her family during a Thanksgiving dinner and killing a man nearly two decades ago.

During a mandatory Rule 24 hearing Thursday in Henderson County Superior Court, Assistant District Attorney John Douglas Mundy announced that the state will proceed with the case against Gudrun Linda Jean Casper-Leinenkugel, 52, as a non-capital matter. The decision removes the possibility of an execution, meaning the maximum penalty Casper-Leinenkugel now faces is life in prison without parole.

The hearing is a procedural requirement in North Carolina for any case eligible for the death penalty, allowing a judge to ensure sufficient evidence of "aggravating factors" exists. By declaring the case non-capital, the District Attorney’s office has narrowed the trial’s focus strictly to the defendant's guilt or innocence.

Casper-Leinenkugel faces two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and three counts of distribution of a prohibited food or beverage.

Authorities allege that during a Thanksgiving gathering on Nov. 30, 2025, Casper-Leinenkugel served wine laced with acetonitrile to her guests. The chemical, an industrial solvent, is metabolized by the body into cyanide. According to the CDC, this process leads to "delayed toxicity," often appearing hours after ingestion.

The poisoning claimed the life of Casper-Leinenkugel’s daughter, 32-year-old Leela Jean Livis, on Dec. 1. Two others — Casper-Leinenkugel’s other daughter, Mia Lacey, and Lacey’s boyfriend, Richard Pegg — fell ill but survived.

The investigation led the Henderson County Sheriff's Office to reopen the 2007 file of Michael Schmidt. While Schmidt’s death certificate originally attributed his death to "acute acetonitrile toxicity, probably huffing," investigators now allege Casper-Leinenkugel was responsible for his poisoning as well.

Defense attorney Paul Bidwell told reporters after the hearing that Casper-Leinenkugel "firmly denies" the allegations, describing the state’s case as one built on conjecture.

"In that meeting [with investigators], I didn't hear anything that implied guilt. I just heard theories," Bidwell said, calling the 18-year gap between the alleged crimes "unusual."

While a definitive motive has not been established, the involvement of the North Carolina Department of Insurance suggests investigators are scrutinizing life insurance policies or financial benefits tied to the deaths of Livis and Schmidt.

Despite the gravity of the charges, Casper-Leinenkugel’s family appears divided. Some family members, including surviving victim Mia Lacey, sat in the gallery Thursday to show support for the defendant.

However, Travis Peterson, the Wisconsin-based father of Leela Livis, described the loss of his daughter as a "gut punch." He recalled attending the funeral in Transylvania County, where Casper-Leinenkugel was present but appeared "wooden."

"I’d go to give her a hug and she would just... it was like hugging a plank of wood," Peterson said.

Casper-Leinenkugel was a prominent figure in the Asheville business community, with past ties to Bean Werks Coffee and Tea and the Patton Public House.

The investigation remains active with assistance from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Casper-Leinenkugel is scheduled to return to court April 30.

Source: DPN, News outlets, Agencies, Staff, AI, February 27, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

Death Penalty News For a World without the Death Penalty

Comments

US | Conservative federal judge says death penalty for child sex crimes may be legal

June 24 (Reuters) - A conservative federal judge on Wednesday took the position that despite a 2008 U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring the death penalty for child rape, prosecutors today may be free to seek capital punishment in cases involving sexual offenses against children. St. Louis-based U.S. District Judge Joshua Divine, who was appointed to the bench only last year by Republican President Donald Trump, delivered his views in an unusual ‌court opinion issued on the same day he was set to sentence a Missouri man who faced a maximum prison term of 20 years.

Two men executed with AK-47 for raping and murdering boy, 12, in Yemen as children watch on

“Public execution is an even more grotesque violation of human rights, particularly in a country where the ability of the accused to obtain adequate legal representation and the coverage of the process is highly limited.” -- Human Rights Watch director Sarah Leah Whitson TWO pedophiles have been executed with AK-47s in front of a bloodthirsty crowd for raping and murdering a 12-year-old boy in Yemen. Chilling images show Wadah Refat and Mohamed Khaled being marched at gunpoint through the port city of Aden. Yemen is one of the few countries in the world where capital punishment is legal, and even children were in attendance to watch the gruesome event. Refat, 28, and Khaled, 31, were condemned for the abduction, rape, and murder of a young boy who was snatched after playing next to the house of one of the men. The pair reportedly dragged him into their home and raped him. When sentencing the pair, The Daily Star reported that the judge said, "After ...

Iraq: Saddam Hussein Execution was Moved Forward Because of Gaddafi Rescue Plans, Judge Says

Saddam Hussein's execution on December 30, 2006 The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was accelerated due to the belief that the then Libyan leader, Muammar El-Gaddafi, had a plan to rescue him from prison, Judge Mounir Haddad revealed today. Hadad, who presided over the trial of Hussein, revealed to the Al-Arabiya Satellite Channel Point of Order program new details of the trial against the former president and his last moments before being hanged, including the 'health and welfare' votes for the magistrate himself . According to his testimony, the application of the death penalty to Saddam Hussein was precipitated because authorities knew that El-Gaddafi - later murdered in 2011 - was allegedly trying to bribe US guards who guarded him to rescue him from prison. He added that, contrary to previous reports from the local and US press, former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani gave his 'implicit approval' for Hussein's execution, an...

Might Ohio use electric chair again?

Electric chair at Southern Ohio Correctional Facility The difficulty of obtaining drugs for executions has some Ohio legislators talking about alternatives, including the electric chair. "There are other options," said Rep. Jim Buchy, R-Greenville, a co-sponsor of legislation to keep the supplier of execution drugs secret. "Rope is cheap," said state Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Cincinnati. No one is seriously suggesting - at least not yet - taking "Old Sparky," Ohio's electric chair, out of retirement, or returning to hanging, which the state abandoned in 1897. But Ohio's problem with lethal-injection drugs is coming to a head: The scheduled Feb. 15 execution of Ronald Phillips is 90 days away. Legislators are rushing to pass House Bill 663 before the lame-duck legislative session ends on Dec. 31 so that the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction can obtain drugs it needs at least a month before the execution. The legisla...

Halfway through the year, Saudi Arabia has already executed nearly 100 people

Almost 100 people executed so far this year as dozens more remain on death row for drug-related offences Saudi Arabian authorities have executed nearly 100 people so far this year, including at least 61 for drug-related offences, the latest of which was on 18 June. In response, Dana Ahmed, Middle East Researcher at Amnesty International, said today: “It is halfway through the year and Saudi Arabia has executed nearly 100 people, a grim milestone exposing the authorities’ unconscionable and unlawful use of the death penalty. Of the 96 people put to death already in 2026, an astounding 61 were executed for drug-related offences; 39 of them were foreign nationals and 22 Saudi nationals.

Florida executes Dusty Ray Spencer

74-year-old man becomes oldest inmate executed in modern Florida history A 74-year-old man convicted of fatally stabbing his wife became the oldest person executed in Florida’s modern history on Thursday, and the state is scheduled to execute another 74-year-old inmate next month. Dusty Ray Spencer was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. following a 3-drug injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. Spencer was convicted of the 1992 stabbing death of his wife Karen.

Reports suggest Iran executed LGBT singer Mohsen Lorestani 6 December

“Mohsen Lorestani, a Kurdish singer from Kermanshah, was charged with ‘corruption on earth’ in a public complaint. His lawyer told Kurdistan Human Rights Network, ‘The alleged incidents happened in a private chat.’ If convicted, this charge could result in death sentence.” The Tehran court alleged that the singer posted ‘immoral’ content which seems to indicate flirting. Iranian law appears to allow the execution of allegedly gay men despite no evidence of actual sexual activity. Indeed, the Iranian Foreign Minister defended the executions of gays and lesbians earlier this year. “Our society has moral principles and we live according to these principles.” Posts from Kurdish social media accounts suggest that Iran executed singer Mohsen Lorestani on 6 December. Although authorities detained the singer in March, news of his arrest only surfaced in October . He appeared in court before the notorious hanging judge Mohammad Moqisseh, infamous for his role in ...

ISIS releases images showing another 'gay man' being thrown off roof and stoned to death in Syria

Man thrown off roof and stoned to death for being gay in Syria. Islamic State (ISIS) has released images appearing to show another man being thrown off a roof and stoned to death for being gay in Syria. Last month ISIS released extremely graphic images of the execution of two men for being gay in Mosul, Iraq, and earlier this month posted video of an similar incident in Tal Abyad, Syria . The group has now posted images of another execution in Raqqah, Syria. In the images, a man is thrown off a roof blindfolded, with his hands and feet bound. A large crowd gathered below the area to pelt his body with rocks. According to the Mail, the man had been accused of committing ‘acts of Sodomy’, and was referred to as a ‘Child of Lot’. Most of the images are too graphic to display on PinkNews, showing the man’s body amid a mound of rubble. In addition to men in the crowd, women in niqabs can be seen watching the execution in some of the unpublished pictures...

Indiana’s new prison already equipped for firing squads

Correction officials confirmed Westville can accommodate firing squad executions as lawmakers, the governor, and the U.S. Justice Department push for changes to protocols. As Indiana inches toward what could be its fourth state execution since resuming capital punishment, prison officials confirmed the state’s next correctional complex is already equipped for an execution method Hoosier lawmakers have yet to authorize. The Indiana Department of Correction confirmed to the Indiana Capital Chronicle that the new Westville Correctional Facility, now nearing completion, is designed to accommodate both lethal injection and firing squad executions. Indiana law currently allows only lethal injection.

The Price of Silence: How Withheld Evidence Decimated the Glossip Prosecution

The upcoming retrial of Richard Glossip, now scheduled for September 28, 2026, marks a pivotal moment in the Oklahoma judicial system. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to vacate his conviction, the case has evolved from a capital punishment dispute into a fundamental test of institutional integrity. Central to this transition is the revelation of "Box 8," a trove of long-withheld prosecution records that exposed a systemic pattern of constitutional violations during the original 2004 proceedings.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog