N.C. woman faces multiple murder charges for allegedly poisoning family members at 2025 Thanksgiving dinner, killing man in 2007

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (TCN) — A 52-year-old woman has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder for allegedly poisoning several family members at 2025 Thanksgiving gathering. She is also facing another first-degree murder charge after an investigation connected her to a previously unsolved 2007 death.

On Jan. 16, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the December 2025 death of Leela Livis, 32, and the 2007 death of Michael Schmidt, 42, and two counts of attempted murder in connection with the alleged poisonings of Richard Pegg and Maija Lacey.

In addition, Casper-Leinenkugel was charged with three counts of distribution of certain food or beverage prohibited. She was taken into custody and remains held at the Henderson County Detention Center.

The Hendersonville Lightning reports the alleged poisonings of Livis, Livis’ half-sister Lacey, and Michael Pegg happened in November 2025 at a family Thanksgiving gathering. According to the outlet, Livis’ and Lacey’s Facebook pages list Casper-Leinenkugel as their mother but different men as their fathers. Pegg is reportedly Lacey’s boyfriend, according to the outlet. Livis died Dec. 1, 2025.

According to an arrest warrant obtained by Law & Crime, Casper-Leinenkugel, a former restaurant owner, allegedly slipped acetonitrile into the beverages of three people. The chemical is used in batteries and pesticides and can form cyanide in the body resulting in delayed toxicity, according to the outlet. 

According to the Hendersonville Lightning, Schmidt died in 2007 when his travel trailer burned. 

A 2016 story detailing a restaurant Casper-Leinenkugel opened in Asheville, North Carolina, states she had previously opened six restaurants and bars throughout the U.S.

The investigation was conducted in collaboration with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, the North Carolina Department of Insurance, and the Office of the District Attorney, according to the NCSBI.

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