THE SO GOOD POTATO SHOOTING Peter Busch, David Leeker, and a Night at Grant's Farm: A True Account of Privilege, Tragedy, and Justice (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798258575678)

A Pillow. A Gun. A Life Cut Short.

On the night of February 10, 1976, two young friends were winding down for the evening at one of the most famous private estates in America - Grant's Farm, the magnificent 281-acre Busch family mansion in St. Louis County, Missouri. Before the night was over, one of them would be dead.

David Leeker, 22-year-old son of the president of So Good Potato Chip Co., was shot and killed when a .357 magnum pistol discharged in the hands of his friend Peter Busch - son of August A. Busch Jr., chairman of Anheuser-Busch, the world's largest brewery and maker of Budweiser.

Peter Busch claimed the gun went off accidentally as he tossed his friend a pillow. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He received five years' probation.

He never spent a day in prison.

The So Good Potato Shooting is a deep dive into one of St. Louis's most haunting true crime stories - a tale of two dynasties, a careless moment with a loaded weapon, a young man who never made it to his 23rd birthday, and a legal outcome that raised uncomfortable questions about wealth, privilege, and equal justice in America.

Drawing on court records, newspaper archives, and the full context of the Busch family's complicated legacy, this book tells the complete story: who David Leeker was, what happened that winter night, how the legal system responded, and what it all means - nearly fifty years later.

Some cases are closed. Some questions never are.

Author: Bugs Ben
ISBN-13: 9798258575678
Publisher: Independently Published
Language: English
Published: 04/23/2026
Pages: 66
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.22lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.14d