Charles Ng

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Charles Ng
Charles Ng.jpg
Mug shot of Ng taken in 1982
Background information
Birth name Charles Chi-Tat Ng
Born (1960-12-24) December 24, 1960 (age 52)
Hong Kong
Conviction Burglary
Kidnapping
Conspiracy to commit murder
Attempted murder
Murder
Sentence Death
Killings
Number of victims 11–25[1]
Country United States
State(s) Calaveras County, California
Date apprehended June 6, 1985[2]

Charles Chi-Tat Ng (Chinese: 吳志達/吴志达 (Cantonese pronunciation: [ŋ̩̏ tsītàt̚]); Pinyin: Wú Zhìdá; born December 24, 1960) is a Chinese-American serial killer. He is believed to have raped, tortured and murdered between 11 and 25 victims with his accomplice Leonard Lake at Lake's ranch in Calaveras County, California.

After a lengthy dispute between Canada and the United States,[3] Ng was extradited to California and was convicted of 11 murders.[1] He is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison.

Contents

Early life[edit]

Ng was born in Hong Kong,[4] the son of a wealthy executive. As a child, he was harshly disciplined and abused by his father. As a teenager, Ng was described as a troubled loner and was expelled from several schools. When he was arrested for shoplifting at age 15, his father sent him to Bentham Grammar boarding school in Lancashire, England.[3] Not long after arriving, he was expelled for stealing from other students and returned to Hong Kong.

Ng finally moved to the United States, where he entered Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California. He dropped out after only one semester.[citation needed]

U.S. Marine Corps[edit]

In early 1980, although not a United States citizen, Ng enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Ng later revealed that with the help of a recruiting sergeant, he provided fake papers stating he was born in Bloomington, Indiana.[5] After serving less than a year, he was dishonorably discharged for the theft of heavy weaponry and machine guns from MCAS Kaneohe Bay.[5] He was further charged with escape from confinement and attempted desertion, though the desertion charge was dropped. Ng was convicted on the remaining charges and was sentenced to 14 years in a military prison. He was released in late 1982, when his sentence was commuted.[6]

Murders[edit]

Ng met Leonard Lake in 1983. The two are believed to have murdered between 11 and 25 victims at Lake's ranch in Calaveras County, California. They filmed themselves raping and torturing their victims.[7]

The crimes became known in 1985 when Lake committed suicide after being arrested and Ng was caught shoplifting[5] at a hardware store. Police searched Lake's ranch and found human remains. Ng was identified as Lake's partner in crime.

Ng fled to Calgary, Alberta, where he was arrested by the Calgary Police Service on June 6, 1985,[2] after resisting arrest for shoplifting at The Bay department store. Ng pointed a pistol at two security guards and, after a brief struggle, shot one of them in the hand. The guards managed to overpower him and held him in custody. Ng was charged and subsequently convicted of shoplifting, felonious assault and possession of a concealed firearm. He was sentenced to four and half years[2] in a Canadian prison.

Murder trial[edit]

After a lengthy extradition battle with Canadian courts,[3] Ng was handed over to U.S. authorities. He stood trial in 1998 on twelve counts of murder and was convicted on February 24, 1999, of eleven: six men, three women and two male infants. He was sentenced to death. Ng's trial was lengthy and cost California approximately $20 million. At the time, it was the most expensive trial in the state's history.[8]

Ng is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison. Since entering prison, Ng has taken up a correspondence course in art at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV).

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b WELBORN, LARRY (2011-02-25). "O.C. death row: 11 murders, maybe more". THE REGISTER. Retrieved 2011-02-28. 
  2. ^ a b c "Ngs trail went from California to Calgary and back again". The Lethbridge Herald (Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada: Heritage Archives). 11/12/1998. p. A9. Retrieved 2011-02-28. 
  3. ^ a b c "Reference Re Ng Extradition". umontreal.ca. 1991-09-26. Retrieved 2011-02-27. 
  4. ^ "Charles Chi-tat Ng – Extradited From Canada to Face Death Penalty in California". Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty. 2005-04-25. Retrieved 2011-02-28. 
  5. ^ a b c Lasseter, Don (2000). Die For Me:The Terrifying True Story of the Charles Ng & Leonard Lake Torture Murders. Pinnacle Books. pp. 75,83,151. ISBN 0-7860-1926-3. 
  6. ^ United States vs Charles Ng.
  7. ^ World: Americas Serial killer sentenced to die, BBC, Thursday, July 1, 1999.
  8. ^ "Leonard Lake and Charles Ng". Frances Farmer's Revenge. Retrieved 2011-02-25. 

External links[edit]

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