Blood Tied: The Klenner Murders and the Delusion That Burned a Family Alive

In the American South, family is gospel — until it’s not. When loyalty turns obsessive and delusion metastasizes in silence, blood can bind just as easily as it can drown. Such was the case with the Klenner murders, a series of killings in the 1980s that exposed not just a deeply fractured family, but the terrifying depths of human madness disguised as protection.

This is the story of Frederick “Fritz” Klenner, a man who believed he was a doctor, a CIA agent, and the last line of defense against a conspiracy only he could see. It’s also the story of Susie Newsom Lynch, his lover and cousin, whose children were murdered by the same hands she trusted. Together, they carried out a murder-suicide so shocking, it earned a permanent place in the annals of disturbing true crime cases.

Fabrication, Incest, and Control

Fritz Klenner was raised in privilege but buried in delusion. Though he never attended medical school, he impersonated a doctor and administered fake treatments to unsuspecting patients. He stockpiled weapons, collected Nazi propaganda, and convinced those around him that he was a government agent fighting secret wars.

Then came Susie Newsom Lynch, herself tangled in a bitter custody dispute with her ex-husband. She was drawn to Fritz not despite his delusions, but because of them. The two shared a toxic alliance — a kind of cult of two, believing that Susie’s family and the courts were conspiring to take her sons away.

This wasn’t just another family annihilator true crime case. This was something darker. More intimate. Fueled by paranoia and blood.

Murder, Masked and Intentional

On July 22, 1984, Susie’s former in-laws, Delores and Janie Lynch, were murdered in their Kentucky home. It was brutal, strategic, and designed to appear like a Mafia-style execution — a red herring planted by Fritz to derail investigators.

But the illusion didn’t last. In North Carolina, less than a year later, Fritz and Susie struck again. On May 19, 1985, they murdered Susie’s own parents — Robert and Florence Newsom — and her elderly grandmother, Hattie, in cold blood. The reason? Robert Newsom was preparing to testify in the custody case. In their warped minds, that sealed his death.

These weren’t heat-of-the-moment killings. They were methodical. They were personal. The Bitter Blood murders, as they came to be called, were rooted in familial revenge and sustained by delusion.

The Final Drive: Cyanide, Gasoline, and Fire

On June 3, 1985, after weeks on the run, Fritz and Susie were tracked to a Chevrolet Blazer in Greensboro. A car chase ensued, bullets flew, and then — a deafening explosion. Fritz had wired the SUV with explosives, planning a murder-suicide ending if they were ever cornered.

When investigators reached the wreckage, they found both adults dead. But they also found Susie’s two sons — John and James — lying motionless in the backseat. They hadn’t died in the explosion. Fritz had poisoned them with cyanide and shot them in the head just before detonating the bomb. It wasn’t escape. It was an execution.

This is where the idea of “protection” collapses into horror. North Carolina murder-suicide statistics would later list this among the most devastating acts of domestic terrorism in the state’s history.

Legacy of Rot

In the aftermath, the FBI uncovered a hoard of automatic weapons, pipe bombs, survivalist manuals, and hate literature in Fritz’s apartment. It was clear: this wasn’t just about family. It was about a man unraveling — and a woman who followed him into the abyss.

Today, the Fritz Klenner case is studied not only by true crime fanatics but by psychologists analyzing psychological delusion and homicide. The question still lingers: how much did Susie believe? Was she brainwashed, broken, or equally complicit?

No one will ever know.

But what we do know is this: even love can kill. And in this case, it did — with cyanide, bullets, and fire. This is the story of Frederick “Fritz” Klenner, a man who believed he was a doctor, a CIA agent, and the last line of defense against a conspiracy only he could see. It’s also the story of Susie Newsom Lynch, his lover and cousin, whose children were murdered by the same hands she trusted. Together, they carried out a murder-suicide so shocking, it earned a permanent place in the annals of disturbing true crime cases.

Young Picture of Fritz Klenner