Prosecution Feels Sense of Urgency in Ng Case

The accidental death of a key witness in the case against serial-murder suspect Charles Ng underscores why the trial--already delayed more than a dozen years--must proceed quickly, a prosecution spokesman said Tuesday.

Ng, 37, allegedly confessed his crimes to Joseph Maurice Laberge, who was in a witness protection program because he was to testify against Ng. Laberge, 46, died in a car accident in Canada on May 19. He was alone at the time, and foul play is not suspected in his death, investigators said.

Despite Laberge’s death, “we have more than enough evidence to go forward with this case,” said Matt Ross, spokesman for the state attorney general’s office, which is prosecuting the case in conjunction with the Calaveras County district attorney’s office.

Because the case was so highly publicized, the trial was moved in 1984 to Orange County Superior Court, where it is set to begin in September.

Ng is accused of committing a dozen torture murders in the mid-1980s in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The victims included two women and their babies.

A series of delays in the trial began with Ng’s six-year fight against extradition from Canada, where he was living. He was arrested in Calgary in 1985 after a worldwide search. He met Laberge while the two were in custody together in Canada, authorities said, and allegedly confessed to him.

Since Ng was finally returned to the United States in 1991, he has made numerous motions to have his various attorneys replaced and is now set to represent himself.

Ross said Tuesday that Laberge’s death “points to another reason why we have to go forward. . . . It has been since 1984 and 1985 when these alleged crimes occurred. It is time for the victims’ families to finally be able to put this case to rest.”

Among those following the case closely are Garden Grove residents Lola and Dwight Stapley, whose son, Scott, is among those whom Ng is accused of killing. The couple, who have attended dozens of court hearings over the years, said Tuesday they never heard of Laberge so have no reason to think that his death will have much effect on the case against Ng.

“He murdered 13 people that we know of, and they have some very strong evidence, including witnesses and videotapes,” Dwight Stapley said. “It is pretty damning.”

Ng, dishonorably discharged from the Marines, was one of two people arrested in the case. The other suspect, Leonard Lake, killed himself by swallowing a cyanide pill after his arrest.

Prosecutors allege that Ng and 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 Calaveras County, about 170 miles east of San Francisco.

Investigators gathered 2,000 pieces of evidence at the retreat, including the remains of at least 12 people, weapons, bloody tools and videotapes of sexual torture. One of the videotapes shows Ng threatening two of the victims, officials have said.