CA Supreme Court Upholds Death Penalty In Calaveras Murder Case
Wilseyville, CA — The California Supreme has upheld the conviction and death penalty for Charles Ng, who along with criminal partner Leonard Lake, murdered at least 11 people in the mid-eighties.
The victims were enslaved at a cabin property owned by Lake’s ex-wife, who he was still on good terms with, in the Calaveras community of Wilseyville. It had a bunker constructed, and a makeshift gravesite nearby. They had engaged in bondage and sadism, according to officials.
As authorities were investigating the case, Ng escaped and fled to Canada and was eventually captured there. Lake was arrested for shoplifting in San Francisco in 1985 and committed suicide in an interrogation room.
Ng was later convicted on 11 counts of murder, in connection to the deaths of six men, three women, and two infant boys. During the course of the investigation, officials found a 250-page diary kept by Lake, along with blood-stained tools, and human remains in shallow graves.
In a 181-page analysis just released in relation to the case, the California Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled that Ng was properly extradited from Canada and had received a fair trial (The court case had been moved from Calaveras County to Orange County due to the heightened interest and media attention).
Ng will remain on death row for the immediate period as Governor Gavin Newsom has issued a temporary moratorium on capital punishment while he is in office. Ng is being detained at San Quentin state prison.
