New details released in case of woman accused of poisoning family at Thanksgiving dinner

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A bond hearing Thursday for a Hendersonville woman accused of fatally poisoning her daughter at a Thanksgiving dinner has been postponed until mid-May.

Gudrun Linda Jean Casper-Leinenkugel, 52, remains in jail facing two murder charges. Investigators allege she poisoned her adult daughter, Leela Livis, at a Thanksgiving dinner in November 2025. Investigators said the wine served during that meal was allegedly laced with acetonitrile, an industrial solvent that converts into cyanide once ingested.

Leinenkugel is also charged with the alleged 2007 murder of Michael Misha Schmidt at the same home in rural Hendersonville…

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