News

Defense seeks release on bond of poison-murder suspect

By Amy McCraw, Published: April 28, 2026

A Hendersonville woman incarcerated on two murder charges is the mother of two young children, including a 3-year-old daughter who was breastfeeding at the time of her arrest, and has health issues that "require ongoing and specialized medical management," her attorneys said in a motion seeking her release from jail on bond.

In a motion to set conditions for pretrial release filed this week, Asheville attorneys Paul Bidwell and Dustin Dow say their client, 53-year-old Gudrun Linda Jean Casper-Leinenkugel, should be released on bond in part because she is the mother of an 8-year-old and a 3-year-old who are dependent on her and are now being cared for by family members.
“At the time of her arrest, the defendant was actively breastfeeding her youngest child,” Casper-Leinenkugel's attorneys said in the motion.
The defendant has been held without bond in Henderson County’s detention center since she was charged in January with first-degree murder in the death of her 32-year-old daughter, Leela Jean Livis, and attempted first-degree murder of her younger daughter, Maija Lacey, and Lacey’s boyfriend, Richard Evan Pegg. She is also charged with first-degree murder in the 2007 death of 42-year-old Michael Schmidt who lived in a camper on property she owned on Schmidt Terrace off Big Willow Road.
In the motion filed Monday, defense attorneys are asking the court to release Casper-Leinenkugel on a secured bond, arguing that she is not a flight risk, nor a danger to the community, has serious medical conditions and needs to be freed to assist in her defense. The motion also notes that Casper-Leinenkugel has no prior criminal record and argues that the court should consider the weight of the evidence in the case.
“At this stage, the state’s case appears to rely substantially upon circumstantial evidence," the attorneys said. "Based upon discovery provided to date, there are material issues concerning causation, access and the timing of the alleged events. There is no direct evidence that the defendant administered any harmful substance to any alleged victim.”
The lawyers also asked the court to consider Casper-Leinenkugel’s health, saying that she suffers from serious, documented medical problems.
“These conditions require ongoing and specialized medical management," they said. "Since her incarceration, the defendant has required emergency medical treatment and has been transported to the emergency room for treatment. Continued detention presents a substantial risk to the defendant’s health and well-being. The defendant’s medical care is coordinated through providers located in this community, further supporting her continued presence within the jurisdiction.”
Bidwell on Tuesday declined to say what medical conditions his client is facing.
“She has medical issues that make it difficult for the jail to care for her,” he said.
Casper-Leinenkugel is accused of putting acetonitrile, a common industrial organic solvent, into wine that Livis, Lacey and Pegg drank during a Thanksgiving gathering at her home on Sunday, Nov. 30. Livis was found dead at her apartment in Cullowhee the next day. Pegg was hospitalized for six days after falling ill shortly after the Thanksgiving meal.
Tests found acetonitrile in Livis’s body while cyanide, the metabolized version of acetonitrile, was found in Pegg’s blood. Schmidt’s death certificate shows he also died from acetonitrile toxicity and mentioned “probable huffing.” His death was considered accidental in 2007 before detectives reopened the case.