North Carolina prosecutors will not seek the death penalty against Gudrun Linda Casper‑Leinenkugel, a 52‑year‑old woman accused of poisoning wine at a Thanksgiving gathering in 2025 that killed her daughter, Leela Jean Livis, and affected at least three others.
What the case involves
- Casper‑Leinenkugel is charged with two counts of first‑degree murder (Livis and Michael Schmidt, 2007), two counts of attempted first‑degree murder, and three counts of distribution of a prohibited food or beverage.
- The fatal 2025 incident occurred on Nov. 30, when Livis, Richard Pegg, and Mia Lacey drank from the same wine bottle at a Thanksgiving dinner in Henderson County; court records allege the wine was laced with acetonitrile, a chemical that metabolizes into cyanide and causes delayed toxicity. Livis died on Dec. 1, 2025.
Other alleged poisoning and background
- Investigators also tie Casper‑Leinenkugel to the 2007 death of Michael Schmidt in Henderson County, whose death certificate lists “acute acetonitrile toxicity, probably huffing.” Warrants allege the same chemical was involved in both cases.
- She is a former entrepreneur who operated or helped run restaurants in Asheville, including Bean Werks Coffee and Tea and Patton Public House (also known as Bryish Haus and Pub).
No death penalty, but serious consequences
- At a mandatory Rule 24 hearing in Henderson County on Feb. 26, Assistant District Attorney John Douglas Mundy announced the case would proceed as non‑capital, meaning the maximum possible sentence at trial is life in prison without parole, not execution.
- Her defense attorney, Paul Bidwell, has said she “firmly denies” the allegations and plans to fight the charges.
The decision not to pursue the death penalty narrows the trial to whether she is guilty of the murders and attempted murders, but the underlying accusations—poisoning family and another person over an 18‑year span—remain extremely serious.
