Judge Issues Murder Warrant Against Ng

A Calaveras County judge issued a two-count murder warrant Friday against Charles Ng, accusing the friend of suspected mass killer Leonard Lake of the slaying of two young women.

The warrant, signed by Justice Court Judge Douglas Mewhinney, accuses Ng of the murders of Kathleen Allen, 18, of San Jose, and Brenda O’Connor, 21, of Wilseyville, Calif. Both are among 22 people whose deaths or disappearances have been linked to Lake and Ng by authorities.

Allen appeared on a videotape that authorities discovered at Lake’s mountain cabin near Wilseyville, 150 miles northeast of San Francisco, and her last paycheck was sent to his residence. O’Connor, Lake’s neighbor, appeared on another confiscated tape in which she is shown being threatened by a knife-wielding Ng, according to authorities.

Ng, 24, is in custody in Calgary, Canada, where he was apprehended last Saturday after a monthlong international manhunt. Lake died in police custody June 6 after taking poison.

This is the first time Ng has been formally charged with murder in the case. Previously he was wanted for kidnaping and unlawful flight. Ng is scheduled to appear in a Calgary courtroom Monday at a bail hearing on attempted murder charges that stem from a shooting incident when he was captured.

‘Simple Arrest Warrant’

The Calaveras County warrant, described by Deputy Dist. Atty. Ronald Krelle as a “simple arrest warrant,” is separate from any extradition request the county may file.

Authorities have discovered the remains of 11 people and about 40 pounds of charred human bone fragments in the area around the Wilseyville cabin occupied by Lake. Police also have recovered videotapes, a diary and other evidence at the cabin and at a nearby concrete bunker.

Police fear that victims were lured to or kidnaped and held in the bunker, where they were tortured and murdered. Some bodies apparently were burned and dismembered.