HENDERSONVILLE, NC – A quiet community in the Blue Ridge foothills is at the center of a chilling saga, as a local woman stands accused of orchestrating two fatal poisonings and attempting two more across nearly twenty years — all within her own family.
Authorities have charged Gudrun Linda Jean Casper-Leinenkugel, 52, with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, along with several accusations of distributing tainted food and beverages. Arrest papers allege a tragic scheme spanning back to October 2007, and a dramatic turn during a family Thanksgiving gathering last year.
Investigators assert that the deaths of Casper-Leinenkugel’s daughter, Leela Jean Livis, and Michael Schmidt were caused by poisoning. Both tragedies are alleged to be connected to Casper-Leinenkugel, who now finds herself at the center of a complex, unfolding investigation. Her other daughter, Mia Lacey, along with Lacey’s boyfriend, Richard Pegg, are believed to have narrowly escaped a similar fate during the 2025 holiday meal.
According to court filings, wine served at the recent Thanksgiving celebration was allegedly tainted with acetonitrile, a dangerous industrial chemical that transforms into cyanide in the body. That beverage, authorities say, caused severe harm — and may have been intended to kill.
The earlier death, that of Michael Schmidt, is detailed in warrants as a 2007 poisoning, raising haunting questions about a timeline of alleged crimes experts describe as rare in both planning and execution. The authorities continue to examine any connections between the two incidents, keeping investigators and the community on edge.
In the days since the news broke, those who crossed paths with Casper-Leinenkugel in past years have struggled to reconcile recent events with the woman they thought they knew. A former employee of a now-shuttered Asheville restaurant owned by Casper-Leinenkugel described her as unpredictable and difficult to characterize, stating that “she was weird,” but expressed disbelief at the gravity of the accusations.
Patton Public House, the Asheville business at the heart of past management disputes and payroll controversies, saw its fair share of staff unease, but no one imagined the owner would later face murder charges. The former employee recalled that while their own paychecks arrived on time, the workplace often felt unsettled.
Casper-Leinenkugel was taken into custody on January 16 and formally served with the new murder and attempted murder charges the same morning. Investigators are urging anyone who may know more about her activities in past years to come forward, hoping to piece together the answers to a case as unsettling as it is unusual.
Multiple law enforcement agencies are coordinating in what has become a sprawling investigation, searching for any additional evidence of a potentially deadly pattern hidden within a quiet, everyday life. As the inquiry develops, authorities underscore that their work is ongoing, with the hope that justice — and the full story — will soon come to light.
Those in Henderson County who hold information that could impact the case are encouraged to reach out to investigators, with officials emphasizing the importance of community assistance as they pursue truth and accountability in a case that has left neighbors shaken and vigilant.