The Leith Von Stein murder was a 1988 North Carolina killing planned by the victim’s own stepson, Christopher Wayne Pritchard, who recruited two North Carolina State University classmates to break into the family’s Washington, North Carolina home and kill Von Stein and his wife so Pritchard could reach an inheritance worth close to $2 million.1vLex. State v. Upchurch
The Killing in Washington, North Carolina
Leith Peter Von Stein and his wife, Bonnie Bates Von Stein, were asleep in their home in the Smallwood subdivision of Washington, North Carolina, when an intruder entered the house in the predawn hours of July 25, 1988. Von Stein was stabbed and bludgeoned to death. Bonnie was clubbed and stabbed as well and barely survived.1vLex. State v. Upchurch Their daughter, Angela Pritchard, was in the house that night and later said she slept through the entire attack.2Orlando Sentinel. Cruel Doubt Leaves Much Unexplained
Christopher Pritchard’s Plot
Bonnie had married Leith in 1979, and by most accounts Leith had a good relationship with her two children from a previous marriage, Chris and Angela. That changed in 1988. Pritchard’s grades at N.C. State were poor, and the two men clashed over it.1vLex. State v. Upchurch
At school, Pritchard fell in with a group of students who used LSD and played Dungeons & Dragons. Two of them, James Bartlett Upchurch III and Neal Henderson, became his co-conspirators. Pritchard told Upchurch his parents were millionaires and proposed killing both of them so he could collect his inheritance early. He promised Upchurch $50,000 and a Porsche to carry out the killings, and Henderson $50,000 and a Ferrari. He talked about opening a restaurant with Upchurch, buying a house in North Raleigh, and driving expensive cars once the money came through.1vLex. State v. Upchurch
When asked whether his sister Angela might be home when the attack happened, Pritchard reportedly said, “Well, if she is there, then I guess her, too; but if she is not, that’s fine too.”1vLex. State v. Upchurch
The Inheritance He Wanted
The plot was driven by money. In 1987, Leith Von Stein had inherited roughly $1,000,000 from his parents, who had run a family dry cleaning business. On his death, $600,000 of that was designated to fund a trust for the benefit of his stepchildren, Chris and Angela. The remainder was to fund a spousal trust for Bonnie, and on her death that money would also pass to the children’s trust. The trust was to be distributed when Angela reached age thirty-five.1vLex. State v. Upchurch
Von Stein also held a $700,000 life insurance policy with his wife as the primary beneficiary and the children as contingent beneficiaries. Combined, the estate was worth nearly $2 million. The children knew about the inheritance but not the specifics of how the trust was structured.1vLex. State v. Upchurch
How the Attack Was Carried Out
Pritchard drew a floor plan of the Von Stein home and a map of the surrounding neighborhood for his co-conspirators. He tried to lace his parents’ food with crushed sleeping pills, and he handed over his 1965 Mustang so Henderson could drive Upchurch to Washington while Pritchard stayed in Raleigh building an alibi.1vLex. State v. Upchurch Henderson drove Upchurch to the house that night, and Upchurch carried out the attack.3News & Observer. Lieth Von Stein Murder Case
What Happened to the Three Men
James Upchurch
Upchurch was tried at a special criminal session of Superior Court in Pasquotank County beginning in January 1990. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder on a theory of premeditation and deliberation, along with first-degree burglary, felonious assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, and felonious larceny and conspiracy to commit murder. The jury recommended death, and on January 30, 1990, the trial court sentenced him to die.1vLex. State v. Upchurch
On appeal, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the conviction but ordered a new sentencing hearing. At the resentencing on September 21, 1993, Upchurch’s death sentence was replaced with life in prison. He also received a consecutive life sentence for first-degree burglary, a 20-year sentence for assault, and a six-year sentence for larceny and conspiracy.4The Washington Daily News. Pritchard to Be Paroled
Christopher Pritchard
Pritchard took a plea. He pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting the assault on his mother; in exchange for his testimony against Upchurch, prosecutors dismissed charges of first-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit murder, larceny, and possession of stolen goods.4The Washington Daily News. Pritchard to Be Paroled The judge imposed the maximum available under the deal: life for the murder and a consecutive 20-year sentence for the assault.2Orlando Sentinel. Cruel Doubt Leaves Much Unexplained
Pritchard first became parole-eligible on December 23, 2001. In May 2007, the North Carolina Post-Release Supervision and Parole Commission approved his release through the Mutual Agreement Parole Program, with a scheduled parole date of June 2, 2007. Conditions of parole included no contact with his co-defendants.4The Washington Daily News. Pritchard to Be Paroled
Neal Henderson
Henderson pleaded guilty to reduced charges and testified against Upchurch at trial.3News & Observer. Lieth Von Stein Murder Case He was paroled in 2000 and finished his probation in 2005. He was last reported to be living in Raleigh.5MyFox8. Buckley Report: Sin and Redemption
Bonnie Von Stein After the Attack
Bonnie survived the assault and was left with the knowledge that her son had arranged the killing of her husband and the attempts on her own life and her daughter’s. She later approached writer Joe McGinniss to tell the family’s story and gave him extensive access to her life, even authorizing her psychiatrist to share the contents of their private sessions with him.6Orlando Sentinel. Two Very Different Tellings of the Same Crime
Cruel Doubt and the NBC Miniseries
McGinniss’s book about the case, Cruel Doubt, was published by Simon & Schuster in 1991. Bonnie had approached him after reading his earlier book Fatal Vision, and McGinniss noted he made no promises to the family about how the story would be told.7Los Angeles Times. Cruel Doubt by Joe McGinniss
NBC turned the book into a four-hour, two-part miniseries that aired on May 17 and May 19, 1992. Blythe Danner played Bonnie Von Stein and Matt McGrath played Christopher Pritchard. The cast also included a young Gwyneth Paltrow as Angela Pritchard, along with Ed Asner, Dennis Farina, and David Arquette. Yves Simoneau directed, John Gay wrote the script, and Susan Baerwald was executive producer.8Variety. Cruel Doubt Parts I & II