Bio 

Frederick Robert Klenner Jr., known as “Fritz,” was born on July 11, 1952. He came from Reidsville, North Carolina, and was the son of Dr. Frederick Klenner, a physician known for unusual medical views. Fritz Klenner was smart but socially awkward, obsessed with weapons, military gear, and roleplay identities.

Klenner did not complete medical school, but he reportedly let people believe he was connected to medicine or secret government work. He worked for a time as an unlicensed assistant in his father’s clinic. After his father died in 1984, Klenner used some inheritance money to buy weapons and military equipment. A Radford University case chronology lists his birthdate, family background, work history, and later weapons purchases before the murders.

Klenner’s life became closely tied to his first cousin, Susie Newsom Lynch. Susie was involved in a bitter custody dispute with her ex-husband, Tom Lynch, over their two sons, John and James. Klenner and Susie became romantically involved, and investigators later believed the murders were connected to their belief that Tom Lynch and members of both families were trying to take the children away from Susie. The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources states that the murders appeared rooted in the couple’s belief that Lynch’s ex-husband and family members were conspiring against them.

Murder Story

The first killings connected to Fritz Klenner occurred on July 22, 1984, in Prospect, Kentucky. Delores Lynch, the mother of Susie’s former husband Tom Lynch, and Janie Lynch, Tom’s sister, were shot to death in their home. Klenner was later suspected of killing them in an attempt to make Tom Lynch appear connected to organized crime or danger, which could affect the custody dispute. The North Carolina DNCR summary states that Klenner was suspected of killing Susie’s former mother-in-law and her daughter in Kentucky in 1984.

The violence continued in May 1985. Robert Newsom, Susie’s father, had reportedly agreed to testify in support of Tom Lynch in the custody case. On May 19, 1985, Robert Newsom, his wife Florence Newsom, and Robert’s mother Hattie Newsom were killed at Hattie’s home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Later accounts describe Robert and Hattie as shot and Florence as stabbed and shot. A Spectrum News anniversary report states that Robert Newsom, Florence Newsom, and Hattie Newsom were found shot to death in their Winston-Salem home.

Police began connecting the Kentucky and North Carolina murders and focused on Klenner and Susie Newsom Lynch. Investigators also obtained information from a young associate who had been led to believe he was helping Klenner with secret intelligence work. According to the North Carolina DNCR account, Klenner killed the Winston-Salem victims with assistance from a misguided friend who believed he was “auditioning” for the CIA.

On June 3, 1985, with police closing in, Klenner, Susie Newsom Lynch, and her two sons, John and Jim, fled in Klenner’s Chevrolet Blazer. Police intercepted them near Greensboro, North Carolina. Klenner opened fire with a machine gun and wounded officers before the vehicle exploded on Highway 150 near Summerfield. Spectrum News reported that a homemade bomb was detonated by either Klenner or Lynch, killing everyone inside the vehicle.

The aftermath showed that the children had died before or during the final escape. Autopsies found that John and Jim had been given cyanide and shot in the head before the explosion. The North Carolina DNCR summary states that evidence later revealed the boys had been poisoned with cyanide and shot in the head by their mother before the bomb exploded.