Book summary “Blood games”: summary

Introduction

You often assume that violent crime belongs exclusively to the impoverished or the desperate. Jerry Bledsoe demonstrates in Blood games that horrific murder can also emerge from the privileged halls of elite universities. You face a chilling descent into rural crime, wealth, and depravity as bright college students orchestrate a brutal family execution in North Carolina.

The book explores the murder of Lieth Von Stein and traces how gifted youth slide into dark subcultures. You will follow the tangled investigation across five core stages:

• How investigators uncovered the midnight crime scene and a suspicious roadside fire
• Why massive inheritances and stepson Chris Pritchard drew immediate police suspicion
• How high intelligence, role-playing games, and drug use birthed deadly fantasies
• Why new police leadership and an accomplice finally cracked the stagnant case
• How a dramatic trial and a death sentence concluded the saga

Can brilliance blind you to basic morality? How do wealthy youths justify cold-blooded murder?

1. The Brutal Discovery

A midnight murder and a suspicious roadside fire set the stage for a complex investigation.

Contract hog farming involves raising supplier-owned pigs on a local farm over a short period before they are sent to market. Contractors supply pigs, feed, and medicine while local farmers provide the housing and daily care. Pigs arrive at ten weeks old weighing about forty pounds and are ready for market sixteen weeks later at six times that weight. Noel Lee raised pigs for contractor W. L. Murphy as a sideline to his main income from growing tobacco, peanuts, corn, and soybeans.

Hogs are intelligent and friendly animals that can become surprisingly affectionate, making their eventual dispatch emotionally difficult for farmers. Despite the intention to remain detached, farmers often grow close to the animals over the four-month feeding period as the hogs recognize them and seek affection. Noel Lee discovered that hogs are friendly and intelligent, sometimes approaching him for affection like dogs.

The Crime Scene

Moving hogs must be done in the middle of the night during summer to protect the heat-sensitive animals from fatal overheating. Hogs cannot survive long in high temperatures. Even at night, they require water spraying during transport to prevent overheating, making midnight to early morning the only safe loading window. Loadouts were scheduled between midnight and 6:00 A.M. to avoid the deadly Carolina summer heat.

The loadout process requires specific tools and coordination to select and herd heavy hogs onto transport trailers in the dark. Crews mark the biggest and most aggressive hogs with a crayon, use cutting boards to isolate and direct them through gates, and employ an electric prod to move reluctant animals into the trailer. Newton Carter led a three-man crew that marked the biggest hogs with an orange crayon, guided them with cutting boards, and used an electric prod to push them into the trailer.

Lieth Von Stein was brutally murdered in his bed, and his wife Bonnie was severely wounded, during a late-night home invasion in Washington, North Carolina. On July 25, 1988, an intruder entered 110 Lawson Road, bludgeoned Lieth Von Stein to death with a heavy club, and repeatedly stabbed him while also attacking his wife Bonnie. Despite the presence of multiple valuable items and a large amount of cash left untouched, investigators immediately noted that the attack felt premeditated rather than like a botched burglary. In the predawn hours, dispatcher Michelle Sparrow took a faint emergency call from a bleeding Bonnie Von Stein whispering that an intruder was in the house.

The Roadside Fire

Witnessing a suspicious accelerant-fueled fire in the middle of the night creates an immediate sense of intrigue and foreboding. A person with firefighting and fire science experience can immediately recognize when a fire is fueled by accelerants like gasoline or kerosene and has been intentionally set in a secluded area. While driving home after a loadout, former volunteer fireman Noel Lee spotted an unusual four-foot-high fire near an old black cemetery that was clearly fueled by an accelerant.

A tip regarding a suspicious roadside fire led investigators to discover a burned map of Smallwood and the suspected murder weapon. Farmer Noel Lee reported seeing a strange fire on Grimesland Bridge Road early on the morning of the murder. When investigators searched the debris, they recovered a melted hunting knife consistent with Lieth's stab wounds and a hand-drawn map indicating the victim's address. Farmer Noel Lee contacted the Washington Police Department after realizing the fire he saw while hauling hogs coincided with the timing of the Smallwood murder.

2. Motives and Suspects

Investigators uncover massive inheritances and focus heavily on the erratic stepson, Chris Pritchard.

Financial Motives

Detectives learned that Lieth Von Stein had recently inherited over a million dollars from his parents' estates and was heavily insured. This made his death financially lucrative for beneficiaries. Company executives and family attorney John Surratt revealed that Lieth managed a large inheritance and held life insurance policies worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The financial records revealed specific asset valuations:

• 1.2 million dollars: The value of Howard Von Stein's estate
• 350,000 dollars: The value of a life insurance policy taken out after his mother's death
• 1.75 million to 2 million dollars: Estimated total worth of Lieth's estate including life insurance

The complexity of the trusts and wills left potential ambiguity regarding how quickly heirs could access the funds. Investigators examined whether dividend captures and holdings connected to businesses like Camel City Laundry created immediate access for anyone facing debt.

Polygraph Hurdles

Investigators increasingly focused on the victims' stepson, Chris Pritchard, due to his erratic behavior, drug use, and strained relationship with the deceased. Chris Pritchard was away at N.C. State University during the murder and displayed extreme agitation when notified. Patrolman Michael Allen and Lieutenant Teresa Crocker found Chris extremely agitated near a campus call box because he could not find his car keys.

Detectives uncovered his involvement with drugs, disciplinary issues, and friction with Lieth over academic performance and finances. He had written a check for 35 dollars for marijuana and placed an emergency call from N.C. State campus at 5:17 A.M. Bonnie and Angela Von Stein passed polygraph examinations administered by polygraph examiner William Thompson on January 17, 1989. The tests determined they were truthful regarding their lack of involvement about six months after the murder when the tests were attempted.

Chris Pritchard initially agreed to the process. Prominent defense attorney Wade Smith advised Chris Pritchard not to submit to the polygraph test arranged by investigators at the SBI office in Greenville.

3. The Subculture of Gifted Delinquents

Role-playing games, high intelligence, and unbridled drug use led bright students into dark fantasies.

Caswell County featured 15,000 acres in the state-maintained wildlife preserve and an approximate enrollment of 1,000 students at Bartlett Yancey High School. Bart Upchurch introduced D&D to Caswell County, leading advanced campaigns where players plotted against each other's characters to seize treasure and power.

Role-Playing Games

Role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons provided intense intellectual engagement and a sense of power for isolated, brilliant students in rural areas. Students like Bart Upchurch and Neal Henderson became master dungeon masters, running complex, multi-leveled campaigns where players could scheme, gain prestige, and exercise control that they lacked in their everyday social lives.

Extremely high intellectual ability often failed to translate into academic success when young prodigies faced unstructured environments and personal turmoil. Students with exceptionally high IQ scores, such as Neal Henderson and Bart Upchurch, struggled with self-discipline, procrastinated constantly, and abandoned their studies in favor of drugs, partying, and role-playing games. Neal Henderson scored a 1500 on his SATs and had an IQ tested as high as 180, yet he was dropped from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and later lost his scholarship at N.C. State due to failing grades and truancy.

Escalating Delinquency

Boredom and a disregard for authority led bright college students to engage in petty thefts, burglaries, and writing bad checks for thrills. Bart Upchurch and Neal Henderson routinely shoplifted, broke into buildings, stole car stereos, and wrote bad checks for alcohol and food, viewing these illegal acts as mere adrenaline rushes and games without moral consequences. Bart Upchurch and three other boys broke into a lake house and stole beer, wine, and electronics, and subsequently broke into their high school to steal an Apple computer. He bought a Datsun 240Z for 1,700 dollars and a Camaro T-top for 4,500 dollars.

Probation officer Christy Newsom simultaneously handled 180 cases while repeatedly attempting to revoke Bart Upchurch's probation for failing to complete 150 hours of community service, missing appointments, and accumulating new criminal charges. Judges repeatedly granted him leniency based on his presentation as a college student. Judge George Greene continued Bart's probation without additional penalties after Bart made a persuasive appearance, despite Christy Newsom's strong arguments that he belonged in jail.

A culture of heavy drinking, daily marijuana use, and frequent experimentation with LSD characterized the college lifestyle of the group. Students like Chris Pritchard and Bart Upchurch rapidly escalated their drug use, financing habits through allowances, jobs, and illicit activities while spending free time consuming alcohol, pot, and acid in campus dormitories and apartments. Chris Pritchard consumed heavy amounts of beer, smoked marijuana daily, and regularly took hits of LSD, which severely impaired his grip on reality and academic focus. Parents provided Chris Pritchard a 50 dollars weekly allowance, while a hit of LSD cost 3 dollars.

Idle fantasies about eliminating wealthy parents for financial gain blurred the line between dark humor and real-world tragedy. Impoverished or frustrated students trapped in academic and financial limbo engaged in wild wish-listing sessions where they joked about murdering affluent family members to instantly inherit wealth and fund a hedonistic lifestyle. Bart Upchurch, Chris Pritchard, Brew Simpson, and Tim Parker joked and fantasized during a marijuana-infused session about Chris offing his parents to collect their millions and buy sports cars and a restaurant. Bart put 2,000 dollars into the bank from his insurance payout after an insurance company paid 5,500 dollars to replace his demolished Camaro.

4. The Investigation Breaks Open

Fresh police leadership, handwriting matches, and a shaken accomplice cracked the cold case wide open.

City manager Bruce Radford hired John Crone as the new police chief on February 1, 1989, to reform the department and solve the Lieth Von Stein murder. Crone assigned Detective John Taylor to review the unsolved Lieth Von Stein murder case files among the 25 personnel in the Washington police department.

Handwriting Evidence

Forensic handwriting analysis of a housing card matched a hand-drawn map found with the murder weapon, providing solid physical evidence linking the suspect to the crime. Detective John Taylor secured a subpoena for Chris Pritchard's university housing card and matched the handwriting of the word 'Lawson' to the burned map found in Pitt County.

Chief John Crone bought books about Dungeons and Dragons during a weekend trip and realized a beginner adventure outlined a plot to kill a castle overlord for treasure. You can see how the mechanics of Dungeons and Dragons, where players infiltrate a castle to kill an overlord and obtain treasure, closely mirrored the details of the Von Stein murder. Christy Newsom teamed up with Detective John Taylor to stake out local restaurants and biker bars in Raleigh to locate James Upchurch. Christy Newsom, a probation officer overseeing 180 probationers, partnered with Detective John Taylor to track down an absconded client.

Bonnie Von Stein retained Greensboro lawyer William Osteen to represent Chris, advising him to refuse police questioning. Substantial financial resources from the estate enabled the suspects to retain high-profile criminal defense lawyers Wade Smith and Bill Osteen.

The Accomplice Confession

Neal Henderson broke down during an interview at SBI headquarters in Raleigh and detailed the exact plot and execution of the murder to Chief John Crone. Intense police pressure and psychological turning points prompted an accomplice to break his silence and lay out the entire conspiracy. Chief John Crone and Melvin Hope borrowed a city maintenance truck, dressed in street crew coveralls, and found the cracked baseball bat in a depression in the woods near Smallwood. Systematic searching of unexamined terrain led to the physical recovery of the discarded murder weapon months after the crime.

The Washington Daily News published a front-page story revealing the estate's value at nearly two million dollars, showing the total value of Lieth Von Stein's estate in dollars as 1,940,206.92 and life insurance policies at 770,000. Public revelation of the massive estate value provided a concrete financial motive for the inheritance-driven murder plot. Neal Henderson walked into the superior courtroom of the Beaufort County Courthouse and pleaded guilty to aiding and abducting second-degree murder and assault in exchange for a plea bargain. A formal plea bargain offered reduced charges to a secondary participant in exchange for truthful testimony against the primary conspirators. You must follow specific requirements under the agreement:

• Plead guilty to aiding and abducting second-degree murder and assault
• Testify truthfully against co- defendants at trial

5. Trial and Sentencing

When Chris Pritchard agreed to plead guilty and testify against Bart, defense attorneys informed Bart that he stood a strong chance of receiving the death penalty and advised him to seek a plea bargain. Bart refused, maintaining his innocence and stating he could not live with pleading guilty to a crime he did not commit.

Bart Upchurch refuses a plea bargain despite overwhelming evidence and the urging of his attorneys and parents, choosing instead to go to trial.

Wayland Sermons and Frank Johnston visited Bart in the Beaufort County Jail to explain the situation, but Bart insisted on going to trial.

The Elizabeth City Trial

The trial is held at the Pasquotank County Courthouse before Judge Thomas Watts. The prosecution is led by Mitchell Norton, while Wayland Sermons and Frank Johnston represent Bart. Judge Thomas Watts allowed still and TV cameras inside the courtroom for the first time in the First Judicial District. Twelve jurors, consisting of eight women and four men, were chosen to try Bart for his life.

Bonnie Von Stein was called to the stand at 4:45 P.M. on the first day. Bonnie described her attacker as looking bulky through the shoulders and chest with no neck. Chris Pritchard testified as the state's star witness, detailing the elaborate, bungled plots to murder Lieth Von Stein for an early inheritance. Chris testified about trying to break a glass fuse by slamming it into the hood latch hole of his car. He promised Bart 50,000 dollars in cash, along with a Porsche, in exchange for the murder.

Neal Henderson testified that he drove Bart to Washington, North Carolina, and waited while Bart committed the murder. Neal testified that Bart carried a green book bag containing a baseball bat and a knife when they left for Washington. Dr. Page Hudson stated that he had seen very few cases where trauma stopped digestion to the point seen in the autopsy. The defense argued that Bart Upchurch is being framed by two confessed murderers seeking to save themselves from the death penalty. Frank Johnston pointed out during cross-examination that there was no physical evidence or fingerprints connecting Bart to the Von Stein house out of the 117 total pieces of evidence introduced by the state.

Sentencing and Aftermath

Bart Upchurch is convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death by lethal gas, responding by declaring his innocence and threatening a hunger strike.

After the jury unanimously recommended the death penalty following a sentencing hearing, Judge Thomas Watts formally sentenced Bart. Bart received a 20-year prison sentence for the assault on Bonnie Von Stein alongside his death sentence. Bart told the judge he intended to take his own life by fasting to prove his innocence and avoid spending life in prison.

Chris Pritchard and Neal Henderson received prison sentences after emotional hearings supported by family testimonies and psychiatric evaluations. Dr. Billy W. Royal testified about Chris Pritchard's chronic depression, suicidal ideation, and borderline personality disorder. Chris Pritchard received a sentence of life plus twenty years, with 19 years as the minimum time he would serve before becoming eligible for parole with good behavior. Neal Henderson received a 40-year prison sentence for his role in the murder.

10 Key Ideas

1. Jerry Bledsoe demonstrates in Blood games that horrific murder can emerge from the privileged halls of elite universities as bright college students orchestrate a brutal family execution in North Carolina.
2. A tip regarding a suspicious roadside fire led investigators to discover a burned map of Smallwood and the suspected murder weapon.
3. Detectives learned that Lieth Von Stein had recently inherited over a million dollars from his parents' estates and was heavily insured, making his death financially lucrative for beneficiaries.
4. Extremely high intellectual ability often failed to translate into academic success when young prodigies faced unstructured environments and personal turmoil.
5. Impoverished or frustrated students trapped in academic and financial limbo engaged in wild wish-listing sessions where they joked about murdering affluent family members to instantly inherit wealth and fund a hedonistic lifestyle.
6. Detective John Taylor secured a subpoena for Chris Pritchard's university housing card and matched the handwriting of the word 'Lawson' to the burned map found in Pitt County.
7. Intense police pressure and psychological turning points prompted an accomplice to break his silence and lay out the entire conspiracy.
8. Chris Pritchard testified as the state's star witness, detailing the elaborate, bungled plots to murder Lieth Von Stein for an early inheritance.
9. The defense argued that Bart Upchurch is being framed by two confessed murderers seeking to save themselves from the death penalty.
10. Bart received a 20-year prison sentence for the assault on Bonnie Von Stein alongside his death sentence and told the judge he intended to take his own life by fasting to prove his innocence.