Family life is not always rooted in love. For the blended family of Lieth and Bonnie Von Stein, life was marked by disappointments, resentment, and deep-seated hate. One summer night in 1988, Bonnie and Lieth were viscously attacked in their own bed. Daughter Angela said that she had slept through the attack. Son Christopher was away, living in student housing at North Carolina University.

The primary investigation led to Christopher and his Dungeons & Dragons playing friends. During this era of satanic panic, there was a public perception that the brutal attacks were a real life manifestation of the role-playing game.

At the quiet end today, we’re looking into the dark heart of family life in a small southern town. It’s a terrifying story of greed and callousness and the story of a mother forced to consider the worst about her own son.