In a significant development, North Carolina authorities have detained a woman in connection with two separate murder cases—one occurring last year and another dating back nearly two decades.

Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel faces murder charges related to the killing of Leela Lavis in the previous year and Michael Schmidt in 2007, according to a statement from the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office. She is also accused of two attempted murders involving Richard Pegg and Mia Lacey last year.

In addition to these charges, the sheriff’s office indicated that Casper-Leinenkugel faces three counts related to the distribution of prohibited food or beverages.

While the sheriff’s office withheld further details, Law & Crime reported that the arrest warrant offered more insight into the 2025 incidents.

The warrant stated, “[T]he defendant unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously did knowingly distribute or otherwise cause to be placed in a position of human accessibility or ingestion a beverage which contained a poisonous chemical, acetonitrile, which might cause death or serious physical injury.”

Acetonitrile is a solvent that has multiple uses, including in pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and batteries, and, according to the Centers for Disease Control, the chemical “forms cyanide in the body,” frequently resulting in “delayed toxicity.”