New Grave Located Near Site of Mass Murders

Investigators in rural Calaveras County said Tuesday that they have unearthed a new grave, even as local prosecutors scrambled to prepare a murder warrant against Charles C. Ng, the only living suspect in the mass murder case.

Calaveras County Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Stenquist said the latest grave, six-tenths of a mile from the Wilseyville cabin used by Ng’s suspected partner, Leonard Lake, was discovered by deputies walking in the area Monday evening.

He said the grave is 18 inches deep, filled with bones and clothing, and is in an area not studied earlier. Because of this, he said, investigators are expanding their search to a five-mile radius around the remote site.

“We thought it was all done; now it’s taken this turn,” Stenquist said.

Stenquist and Chief Deputy Coroner George Porovich both said it is too soon to discuss the condition or tentative identification of the remains. At least two bodies are believed to be in the new grave, although there could be more, the officials said.

Nine bodies and about 40 pounds of human bone fragments have previously been recovered near Lake’s cabin.

Lake killed himself while in police custody last month. He was arrested June 2 after a shoplifting attempt by Ng. His death, by cyanide poisoning, sparked an investigation that uncovered the bizarre kidnap-torture-murder scheme, which authorities believe could account for the deaths or disappearances of as many as 22 people, including two families.

Ng, who fled San Francisco and became the focus of an international manhunt shortly after Lake was arrested, is in custody in Calgary, Canada, where he was captured Saturday. Provincial authorities in Alberta charged him with attempted murder, unlawful use of a firearm and robbery after he tried to shoot his way past department store security guards who suspected him of shoplifting.

During a five-hour interrogation by FBI, San Francisco and Calaveras County authorities Sunday, Ng reportedly blamed Lake for the murders of six of the 22 missing people allegedly linked to the two suspects.

Ng’s Canadian defense lawyers have said they will oppose any attempt to extradite Ng to the United States to face charges in the Wilseyville case. The extradition treaty between Canada and the United States permits Canada, which does not have capital punishment, to deny extradition in cases in which the suspect is subject to the death penalty.

Stenquist said Calaveras County Dist. Atty. John Martin’s staff is working nonstop in drafting a warrant accusing Ng of two counts of murder. No details were released, and it is not known whether the murder counts include the special circumstances required for a death sentence in California.

Discovered in Lean-To

Calgary police, meanwhile, said Ng may have arrived in that city as early as June 22, because at the time of his arrest he possessed identification papers lost June 22 by a woman using local public transport.

Two days after that date, 14-year-old Ken Finlaison discovered Ng asleep in a crude lean-to in the Fish Creek Provincial Park south of the city. The boy’s mother, Fern, said her son awakened Ng but left when the fugitive said groggily, “I’m tired.”

Young Finlaison then told his parents that he had found Ng, but they did not at first believe him. After Ng’s capture was announced, the Finlaisons inspected the camp site, concluded that it was indeed Ng’s, and reported it to police.

In the lean-to, police found toothpaste, toilet paper and a camp stove that Calgary Police Supt. Ron Tarrant said came from the United States. Police also found the purse lost by the woman on June 22.

Near the tent, Ng, described by police as a survivalist, had dug a 1 1/2-by-6-foot trench to a depth of about three feet. On top was a sheet of plywood and a sleeping bag. Inside, police saw a water jug, cooking pot, clothing, penlight batteries, collapsible shovel, folding saw, empty food cans and paperback books, including one on the Vietnam War.

During Ng’s stay in the park, Tarrant said, at least one other person saw the fugitive, but the police spokesman did not say whether the person knew at the time who Ng was or if a report was made to police. Tarrant also did not say whether Ng contacted his sister in Calgary, Alice Ng, during his stay there.

Travel Questions

It still is not clear how Ng, captured with only a few Canadian dollars in his pocket, was able to travel from Sudbury, Ontario, where he had been spotted June 14, to Calgary, a distance of 1,910 miles.

In San Francisco, Lake’s former wife, Claralyn Balazs, has been subpoenaed to appear before a criminal grand jury today. One of her attorneys, Stanley H. Rozanski, said she has been ordered to bring with her a personal calendar for 1985 and some letters from Lake.

Mark A. Stein reported from San Francisco and Louis Sahagun from Calgary.