U.S. Asked to Seek Extradition of Suspect in 12 Grisly Murders

Gov. George Deukmejian has asked the Reagan Administration to seek extradition from Canada of accused mass murderer Charles Ng, who is serving a four-year prison term for shoplifting and assault, the governor’s office said Wednesday.

Ng, 26, is accused of 11 killings in Calaveras County and one in San Francisco in connection with bits of charred bones, teeth and other human remains found last year at a remote mountain hideaway near Wilseyville in Calaveras County.

Deukmejian on Monday sent an extradition request to the U.S. Justice Department for review and transmittal to the State Department, his office reported.

“By his action, the governor is formally asking federal authorities to extradite Ng from Canada so he can stand trial on pending charges in California,” the office said in a statement.

However, Canadian law prohibits extradition of suspects who would face the death penalty, as Ng could, if convicted.

Ng fled to Canada after the arrest in June, 1985, in South San Francisco of Leonard Lake, his alleged accomplice.

Lake swallowed a cyanide pill and died shortly after his arrest on unrelated charges stemming from a shoplifting incident. Belongings in Lake’s stolen car led investigators to the charred remains in shallow graves at the hideaway near Wilseyville allegedly used by Lake and Ng.

The U.S. Justice Department will review the case before sending it to the State Department for conveyance to Canadian officials.