A mother is suspected of causing the death of her own daughter by poisoning her with contaminated wine during a holiday gathering, while authorities investigate potential connections to other unexplained deaths.

Gudrun Casper-Leinenkugel, 52, is accused of fatally poisoning her daughter, making another family member ill, and also affecting the woman’s boyfriend in November of the previous year, according to prosecutors. The daughter, Leela Levis, along with her sister and her sister’s partner, consumed the wine before partaking in the family’s Thanksgiving dinner with 12 people.

Casper-Leinenkugel and the other nine attendees did not drink the wine. Shortly after, the trio fell ill, and Leela passed away on December 1, prompting law enforcement to open an inquiry.

The Henderson County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina has initiated an investigation, aided by the state’s bureau of investigation, following Leela’s death. Authorities revealed that the wine consumed by the trio had been spiked with acetonitrile, a clear liquid commonly found in batteries that can transform into cyanide over time, as per the prosecution.

Further examination uncovered that Casper-Leinenkugel allegedly searched online for “What happens if I accidentally ingest acetonitrile.” Investigators looking into the mother also discovered potential connections to the unsolved case of Michael Schmidt, who died in a house fire back in 2007.

North Carolina prosecutors indicated that the mother might also be linked to additional undisclosed deaths currently under scrutiny. Casper-Leinenkugel had operated a restaurant inspired by council houses from her upbringing in Germany.

She claimed to have established several restaurants and bars across the United States and a dry-cleaning business, asserting that her extended family managed the Leinenkugel Brewing Company in Wisconsin.

Casper-Leinenkugel has been formally charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted murder, and three counts of distributing prohibited food and drink, as per the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.

She is being held without bail and could potentially face capital punishment. North Carolina authorities are actively seeking the reinstatement of the death penalty through “Iryna’s Law,” named after a Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed by a mentally unstable repeat offender.

This legislation aims to broaden the methods of execution, allowing for death by firing squad and the electric chair in addition to lethal injection, which is the current standard method.