A Deadly Inheritance: The Von Stein Murder

Lieth Von Stein was the kind of man who made life look easy. Born in 1946 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he grew up in a hardworking family that owned a successful dry cleaning business. After serving in the Army during the Vietnam era, Lieth transitioned into computer programming—a cutting-edge field in the 1970s when computers were the size of refrigerators and few people understood them.

Lieth's expertise made him valuable, and he landed a job at Pentagon Corporation, a major insurance and finance company. That's where he met Bonnie Bates, a single mother of two who had been through a difficult divorce and was working hard to support her children, Christopher and Angela. Lieth and Bonnie fell in love, married, and Lieth embraced his role as stepfather. Friends said he treated Chris and Angela like his own children and seemed genuinely proud to be a stepdad.

When Lieth was offered a position as chief auditor at National Spinning Company in Washington, North Carolina (locals call it "the original Washington"), the family moved to the quiet southern town. They bought a beautiful home, joined the country club, and lived comfortably. Lieth was respected in the community, Bonnie was warm and social, and their life seemed idyllic.

But beneath the surface, something dark was brewing.

The Murder

On the morning of July 25, 1988, Bonnie Von Stein woke up in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there. She had been stabbed multiple times and was lucky to be alive. When police told her what had happened, she was devastated: her husband Lieth had been brutally murdered in their bedroom.

The crime scene was horrific. Lieth had been beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed repeatedly. Bonnie had also been attacked but survived. At first, it looked like a burglary gone wrong—there was a slit screen and broken glass on the back porch. But investigators quickly noticed something strange: nothing of value was taken. The house was barely disturbed. And the violence was shockingly personal.

The Investigation

As detectives dug deeper, they began to focus on Lieth's stepson, Chris Pritchard. Chris was a college student at NC State who had been home the night of the murder—or so he claimed. But his alibi didn't hold up. Witnesses placed him elsewhere, and his behavior after the murder was cold and detached.

Investigators discovered that Chris and his college friends—particularly James "Bart" Upchurch and Neal Henderson—had been obsessed with Dungeons & Dragons, a fantasy role-playing game. They spent hours immersed in a world of quests, battles, and treasure. But for Chris, the game became more than fantasy. He began to see his real life as a quest—and his stepfather's $2 million inheritance as the ultimate treasure.

The Conspiracy

Chris, Bart, and Neal hatched a plan to murder Lieth and Bonnie so Chris could inherit the family fortune. On the night of July 25, 1988, Bart and Neal drove to the Von Stein home, broke in through the back porch, and carried out the brutal attack. Chris had drawn them a map and given them details about the house layout.

Lieth was killed. Bonnie survived. And the three young men thought they had gotten away with it.

The Trial and Aftermath

But investigators pieced together the conspiracy. Neal Henderson eventually confessed and testified against Chris and Bart in exchange for a lighter sentence. Chris Pritchard was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Bart Upchurch was also convicted and sentenced to death (later commuted to life). Neal served his sentence and was released.

Bonnie Von Stein survived the attack but was left to grapple with the unthinkable: her own son had orchestrated the murder of her husband and nearly killed her too. She eventually moved away, remarried, and tried to rebuild her life.

This case remains one of North Carolina's most shocking family murders—a story of greed, entitlement, and the deadly consequences of blurring fantasy with reality.