Jury Begins Sifting Grisly Details in Ng Murder Trial

An Orange County jury of three men and nine women began Monday the grisly task of poring over evidence and deciding the fate of alleged serial killer Charles Ng, accused of murdering 12 people in a Northern California cabin nearly 14 years ago.

Ng, 38, faces the death penalty if convicted in one of the costliest and longest-running murder cases in state history.

On Monday morning, the defense and prosecution delivered their last pleas to the jury, each arguing its own version of the evidence introduced in the three-month trial.

Deputy Atty. Gen. Sharlene Honnaka painted Ng as a more-than-willing participant in a twisted scheme that included kidnapping two women who were held as sex slaves until they were murdered.

“He was in it for the thrill of the kill, the fun of the gun,” said the prosecutor, pointing to a cartoon Ng allegedly drew while in prison in Canada. The drawing depicts Ng in a San Quentin prison cell with pictures of his alleged victims hanging on the wall. Also drawn on the wall are the phrases “No Kill, no thrill” and “No gun, no fun.”

The defense countered that the drawing is being wrongly portrayed as a “confession” or admission of guilt. Defense attorneys said it was the product of sick joshing between the defendant and a fellow inmate who later became a jailhouse informant against Ng, turning over evidence in exchange for more lenient treatment in his own case--factors the defense asked jurors to keep in mind during deliberations.

“Things are not always what they appear,” defense attorney Lewis Clapp told jurors.

Ng fled to Canada in 1985, shortly after his alleged accomplice, survivalist Leonard Lake, 39, was arrested and committed suicide. According to the prosecution, Ng and Lake had a long-standing plan to kidnap people, rob them and, in the case of two female victims, use them for sexual gratification.

On a cabin property in Wilseyville, a town in Calaveras County in the Sierra Nevada foothills, authorities recovered nearly 1,000 pieces of charred human bones and a bunker they believe Ng and Lake used as a prison cell for their alleged victims. The property, occupied by Lake and owned by his former in-laws, was a virtual killing field, the prosecution contends.

Ng was captured in Canada during a shoplifting attempt during which he shot a security guard. He served time for attempted murder in that case and was extradited to California in 1991 to face murder charges. The case was later transferred to Orange County because of pretrial publicity in Northern California.

Ng’s attorneys have maintained their client was a “patsy” who was manipulated by Lake. They put the blame for the murders squarely on Lake, who, they said, “looms large over this case.” “Lake had the plan, he had the motive,” Clapp told jurors.

Defense Uses Parts of Companion’s Diary

During the trial, the defense introduced parts of Lake’s diary in which he expounds on his plan to kidnap a young woman and turn her into a “willing” sex slave using a careful mix of punishment and rewards.

Clapp argued that Ng was helping Lake fulfill this fantasy but was unaware of Lake’s plan to kill anybody. Ng admitted helping Lake bury two of the victims, but said he learned of the other murders from news accounts.

The prosecution’s case is built around a strongly woven set of circumstantial evidence that, prosecutors argue, point to Ng as at least a participant if not the actual triggerman in all 12 murders. There is no physical evidence, fingerprints, murder weapons or DNA testing that links Ng to any of the murders.

Their strongest piece of evidence is a videotape that links six victims in the case.

The videotape shows, among other things, Lake threatening Kathi Allen, 18, of San Jose. Ng can be heard in the background, interjecting from time to time.

“If you don’t go along with us, we’ll probably take you into the bed, tie you down, rape you, shoot you and bury you,” Lake tells Allen, who is seen shackled and sitting in a sofa chair.

“This won’t be the first time. It won’t be the last time,” Ng tells Allen when she hesitates to take her clothes off and enter the shower with Ng. A visibly frightened Allen eventually relents.

Ng is charged with killing Allen, her boyfriend Mike Carroll and 10 other victims, including two children.

Clapp argued the tape was unfairly used by the prosecution to appeal to the jurors’ emotions.

“I beseech you not to be sucked in by that type of analysis,” he said. “Because that is not analysis, it is gut reaction.”

Honnaka, in her rebuttal, countered with a plea of her own. She focused on Ng’s own testimony, calling his version of events not credible: “Mr. Ng wants us to not believe the plain words and actions on the tape” and, instead, his own “convoluted explanations.”