A western North Carolina woman is accused of poisoning a bottle of wine served at a 2025 Thanksgiving gathering, killing her 32-year-old daughter and injuring two other guests, according to court records and investigators. Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel, 52, was arrested Jan. 16, 2026, and charged with first-degree murder and related counts; a judge ordered her held without bond while detectives continue their work.
Authorities say the holiday death set off a homicide probe that soon focused on a single bottle opened during dinner at a home in Henderson County. Warrants allege the wine contained acetonitrile, a clear liquid that can metabolize into cyanide after ingestion. Only three people drank from that bottle, officials said: the victim, identified as Leela Livis; Livis’ half-sister, Mia Lacey; and Lacey’s boyfriend, Richard Pegg. Livis died Dec. 1, 2025. Lacey and Pegg became ill and later recovered. The case now sits at a pivotal stage: prosecutors have filed charges, forensic testing is underway, and detectives are mapping the bottle’s path to and through the home to determine how and when the chemical was introduced.
Detectives were called after multiple people reported sudden illness following the holiday meal. Responders transported the victims for treatment, and clinicians later flagged findings consistent with cyanide toxicity, officials said. Investigators collected the bottle and other items for testing. Charging documents say a search of seized devices revealed lookups tied to acetonitrile and its effects. A sheriff’s spokesperson said the investigation has involved local deputies, the State Bureau of Investigation and state crime lab chemists. Former acquaintances of the suspect said they were stunned by the allegations but not by reports that the case hinges on meticulous lab work. “I didn’t see this coming,” said a onetime restaurant employee who recalled unpredictable behavior from years earlier. “It’s hard to square what we remember with what’s alleged now.”
Officials said the alleged delivery method was acetonitrile, a toxic, colorless solvent used in laboratories and industry. The chemical can release cyanide in the body, potentially causing delayed symptoms that progress rapidly. Authorities have not publicly detailed the product’s make or vintage, the precise amount of acetonitrile detected, or whether fingerprints or DNA were recovered from the container. They have not identified how or where the chemical was obtained or whether a supplier has been located. The warrants state only that the tainted bottle was shared among three people and that Livis, who worked in higher education in western North Carolina, died days later. Lacey and Pegg were treated and discharged. No additional injuries were reported among other dinner guests.
Casper-Leinenkugel, a former restaurant and bar owner in the Asheville area, was also charged in connection with a 2007 death in Henderson County following a recent cold-case review. Investigators said new forensic work and interviews led to an additional first-degree murder count tied to that case. Officials have not released a full narrative of the earlier death, including whether the same chemical is alleged, but court summaries describe parallels under review by prosecutors. The two cases will advance on separate tracks, authorities said, even as detectives compare evidence. The sheriff’s office described the broader probe as active and multi-agency, with teams revisiting records, collecting follow-up statements and coordinating lab schedules.
Public records in the Thanksgiving case outline a familiar blend of modern homicide tools: hospital toxicology that flagged cyanide, confirmatory testing by state chemists, and digital forensics on confiscated phones and computers. Investigators also canvassed local stores and online vendors to see whether any purchase histories align with the chemical profile described in reports. Officials did not release lot numbers for the wine or say whether other bottles from the same source were examined. They have not identified the retailer that sold the bottle. The home where the dinner took place is in Henderson County, south of Asheville, in a region of small towns and farms backed by the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Court calendars show the case moving into early procedural steps. After her Jan. 16 arrest, Casper-Leinenkugel appeared before a judge who denied bond. A probable cause hearing is scheduled for Feb. 10. Prosecutors have not said whether they will seek the death penalty. Defense counsel of record had not been listed as of the latest docket posting. Additional filings are expected as the state compiles discovery, including chain-of-custody records for the bottle and associated materials, lab notes, and transcripts of key interviews. The 2007 charge is expected to generate its own hearings later this year. Authorities said the suspect is presumed innocent unless proved guilty in court.
Relatives and friends have begun to share remembrances of Livis as investigators shape the timeline. Neighbors recalled emergency vehicles crowding the street on the night of the dinner and detectives returning in the days that followed. A local shop owner said people have been asking whether investigators ever traced when the tainted bottle was brought into the house. “We’re all waiting on the lab reports,” the shop owner said. Former employees at one of the suspect’s past businesses described an intense manager who nevertheless built a following among regulars. “You never expect to read about a holiday table in a murder case,” one said.
Poisoning deaths are relatively uncommon in U.S. homicide statistics, and acetonitrile cases are rarer still. Toxicologists say cyanide stops cells from using oxygen, and symptoms—confusion, seizures, cardiac arrest—can resemble other medical crises unless clinicians and investigators connect clinical clues with scene evidence. The Thanksgiving scenario described by authorities—a small, defined group sharing a single bottle—tightened the investigative focus quickly. Even so, prosecutors must still prove how the chemical entered the wine and who put it there. That work relies on converging strands: chemical analysis, timelines, witness accounts, and any digital records that indicate planning or procurement.
Officials said they have not published full lab reports and will not release certain evidence while the case is open. They have not identified a motive. It remains unknown whether the bottle showed signs of tampering visible to guests, whether the container’s closure was intact before dinner, or whether any residue was found on glassware. Detectives are reviewing photographs and video taken by guests during the holiday to place the bottle and establish who handled it. Investigators also requested records that could indicate whether chemicals were shipped to addresses linked to the suspect in the months before the dinner.
The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office asked anyone with relevant information to contact its violent crime unit. Community members have followed the case closely as new filings appeared. The events have also revived interest in the 2007 death that prompted the second murder count, though authorities emphasized that the Thanksgiving death and the earlier case will be prosecuted separately. For now, the focus remains on scientific testing and interviews that could clarify how a household celebration led to a death and two hospitalizations.
As of Sunday, Feb. 1, no trial date had been set. The next key milestone is the probable cause hearing on Feb. 10, when a judge will decide whether the state’s evidence is sufficient to move the case forward in district court before potential grand jury action.
Author note: Last updated February 1, 2026.