A mother is suspected of causing the death of her daughter by poisoning her with tainted wine during a holiday dinner, while authorities investigate potential connections to other unexplained deaths.
Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel, aged 52, is accused of fatally poisoning her daughter and making her daughter’s partner ill, along with another individual, during a Thanksgiving meal last November. The daughter, Leela Levis, shared the wine with her sister and the sister’s partner, who all fell ill after consuming it, leading to Leela’s death on December 1. The incident prompted a police investigation.
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina, in collaboration with the state’s bureau of investigation, launched a probe following the tragic death of Leela. Authorities revealed that the wine consumed by the trio had been tampered with acetonitrile, a clear liquid commonly found in batteries that can transform into cyanide over time.
Investigators discovered that Casper-Leinenkugel had reportedly searched online about the effects of ingesting acetonitrile. Additionally, authorities are looking into potential ties between the mother and a cold case involving Michael Schmidt, who perished in a house fire in 2007.
North Carolina prosecutors stated that the mother might also be connected to other undisclosed deaths that are currently under scrutiny. Casper-Leinenkugel had operated a restaurant inspired by council houses in Germany, where she grew up.
She claimed to have established several restaurants, bars, and a dry-cleaning business across the United States, and her extended family was associated with Wisconsin’s Leinenkugel Brewing Company.
Casper-Leinenkugel has been formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and three counts of distributing prohibited food and beverages, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. She is being held without bond and faces the possibility of the death penalty.
North Carolina authorities are actively pushing for the resumption of the death penalty through “Iryna’s Law,” named after a Ukrainian refugee, to include alternative execution methods like firing squad and the electric chair, in addition to lethal injection, which is currently the only permitted method.