Evidence Called Sufficient for Extradition of Ng

Accused mass murderer Charles Ng smirked Tuesday as a Canadian judge ruled there was enough evidence to extradite the ex-Marine to California, where he could face the death penalty.

However, a key issue in the case--whether Ng can be extradited under the threat of a possible death sentence--was not addressed in the ruling. It is expected to be considered in a possible future appeal to Canada’s minister of justice.

Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Marguerite Trussler ruled Ng should be extradited on 19 of the 25 offenses he is accused of in California.

She said she would issue a warrant that will keep Ng in prison in Canada until he is surrendered to U.S. authorities.

Ng is charged with the sex-torture killings of 11 men, women and children in one of the most gruesome mass-murder cases in California’s history. The other charge stems from the shooting death of a San Francisco disc jockey.

Prosecutors allege Ng and his accomplice, Leonard Lake, formed a “brotherhood” to abduct men and women from the San Francisco area to use as sex slaves at a torture chamber in Lake’s cabin in Wilseyville, in Calaveras County, about 170 miles east of San Francisco.

Lake took a cyanide capsule and killed himself shortly after he was arrested in California in June, 1985.

As Trussler recounted the crimes Tuesday, Ng sat, smirking, with his hands chained to his waist.

Police found the remains of at least 12 people at Lake’s 2 1/2-acre mountain retreat, along with 45 pounds of charred bones, weapons, bloody tools and videotapes of sexual torture.

Ng’s lawyer, Don MacLeod, said he will appeal and could take the case all the way to the Supreme Court of Canada, a process that could take up to five years.

Ng’s lawyers want to invoke Article 6 of a 1971 Canada-U.S. extradition treaty, which says extradition may be refused unless the requesting state guarantees the fugitive will not be executed if convicted.

Once all legal avenues of appeal have been exhausted, the final decision on Ng’s fate rests in the hands of Canada’s justice minister. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, reelected last week, has not named a justice minister for his new government.

In Sacramento, Gov. George Deukmejian told a press conference that he was “pleased” to learn that Ng is closer to extradition and urged Canadian authorities “to move as expeditiously as possible to dispose of expected legal challenges” by the accused mass murderer’s defense counsel.

“My satisfaction is tempered by the fact that it will be months, if not years, before Charles Ng is returned to face justice in California,” the governor said. “There are few crimes in modern times that are as heinous as the atrocities attributed to Charles Ng.”

Deukmejian also noted that California voters twice have voted in favor of capital punishment for convicted murderers. “It is the law in this state,” he said, “and certainly we would be expecting to follow that law.”

Deukmejian said it was “hypothetical and premature” at this point to speculate whether Canada would use its option to prevent Ng’s extradition on grounds he faces the death penalty.

Ng has been serving a 4 1/2-year prison term in Canada, where he was arrested in July, 1986, after a foiled shoplifting attempt in a department store in Calgary, Alberta, where he shot a security guard in the hand during a struggle.

U.S. authorities were forced to wait until he was eligible for parole before proceeding with the extradition case.