The Miranda Murders - Part 1
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Welcome to the Serial Killer Podcast. The podcast dedicated to serial killers. Who they were, what they did. I am your Norwegian host, Thomas Weyborg Thun. And in this episode, we mark the beginning of a new year, 2018.

So, from the bottom of my heart, I'd like to wish all my dear listeners a happy new year, and I hope your Christmas celebrations has been pleasant and relaxing. Tonight, we come back from the dark underbelly that is the world of relatively unknown serial killers, and again find ourselves facing not one, but two serial killers that operated as a pair.

Their story is very well documented, much because they filmed much of their exploits, and those films are in large parts available online, but also because several documentary films have been made covering their depravity. The case tonight lends its name from the name the killers gave their murderers hobby. The killers were Leonard Lake and Charles Ng.

And this is the story of the Miranda Murders. Please check out my fan page on Facebook. Go to facebook.com slash the SK podcast for discussion, bonus content, and frequent interaction with me, your humble host. Also, feel free to visit my website at theserialkillerpodcast.com.

And of course, my Patreon page at patreon.com slash theserialkillerpodcast. Any donation, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated. The San Francisco South City Lumbiard is, as the name suggests, located due south of the city center, just north of San Bruno, and only a couple of blocks away from the docks.

When Officer Daniel Wright of the South San Francisco Police responded to a routine shoplifting call there, he had no idea what he was about to uncover. All that he knew was that a sales clerk had witnessed an Asian man hiding a bench vise inside his jacket and had asked another employee to call the police. Bench vise, for those not well versed in hardware,

is a tool you fasten to a bench consisting of two steel clamps that you can screw together in order to hold something in place, or, as was probably the case here, placing a human limb between the clamps and slowly screwing the vice shut, causing extreme pain and massive tissue damage.

When Officer Wright arrived at the scene, he pulled up next to a 1980 Honda Prelude and was approached by the clerk and another rather fat man with a beard. The man was in his late 30s, possibly early 40s, had a terrible comb-over haircut with a big bald spot, and his brown beard can best be described as what we in today's society would call a neckbeard.

The clerk pointed out the vise, which lay in the open trunk of the Honda, and told Wright that he had seen the Asian man put it there before running off. Wright looked into the car and saw another bag containing what he thought was a handgun. After a closer inspection of the bag, he found a loaded .22 caliber revolver and a silencer. At this point, the bearded man approached Wright and showed him a sales receipt.

Here's the receipt, he said. I paid for the vice my friend took. There's no need for the police. Without answering, Officer Wright returned to his car and used his radio to check the Honda's registration number. Without answering, Officer Wright returned to his car and used his radio to check the Honda's registration number.

While he was waiting for a response, he asked the bearded man who the car belonged to. The man replied, Lonnie Bond. Where is he? Wright asked. Up north came the reply. At that time, Wright returned to the radio and was informed that a Honda's registration number 838WFQ did not belong to a Honda, but a Buick.

Registered in the name of Lonnie Bond. After advising the man that swapping registration plates was a crime, Wright asked for ID and was given a driver's license in the name of Robin S. Stapley, a 26-year-old San Diego resident. At that point, Wright became increasingly suspicious. Robin S. Stapley's photo was

did somewhat resemble the bearded man, as he too had dark beard and was balding, but the man standing in front of Wright looked at least ten years older than twenty-six. Wright then picked up the gun and asked the man, "'Don't you know it's illegal to carry a silenced weapon?' "'It's not mine. It belongs to Lonnie. I just use it to shoot beer cans.'

Wright then used the radio a second time to check the serial number of the weapon, and found that it was not registered to Rolani Bond, but to Robin S. Stapley. "'You're under arrest,' Wright told the bearded man. "'What for?' "'Owning an illegal weapon.' "'I told you, it's not mine,' the man replied. "'You say that you're Stapley, right? Well, the gun is registered in your name.'

After handcuffing the man and reading him his rights, Officer Wright locked him in the rear of the car and returned to the sales clerk to obtain a description of the other man, which he then broadcast. Asian male, slight build, about 25, last seen wearing a parka.

After arranging for the Honda to be towed to the police impound yard, Wright drove his prisoner to South City Police Station where he was placed in an interrogation room and told to empty his pockets. Among his possessions, he had a travel receipt in the name of Charles Gunnar. Who's Gunnar? Wright asked.

At that point, another officer advised Wright that the vehicle identification number on the Honda, which is the number on the actual chassis of the car, not the license plate, revealed that it belonged to a man named Paul Kastner, who had been reported missing to the San Francisco police nine months earlier.

When Wright told the bearded man what he had been told, the man went pale and asked for a pen and paper and a glass of water. "'Are you going to write a confession?' Wright asked the man. "'No,' he answered. "'Just a note to my wife.' After asking for his handcuffs to be released, the man scribbled a short note and placed it in his shirt pocket."

I can have that delivered for you if you like, Wright told him. The man then said, I didn't think a lousy bench vice would bring me to this. When Wright asked him to repeat what he'd said, the man continued, My friend's name is Charlie Sheeta In. Sheetat pronounced Sheeta and NG pronounced In. He then told Wright that his real name was Leonard Lake.

and that he was a fugitive wanted by the FBI. Without saying another word, Lake then took something from the lapel of his shirt and placed it in his mouth. Within seconds, his eyes rolled back in his head as he went into convulsions. He moaned, his body contorted in spasms, and he fell to the floor as his mouth foamed over before he became unconscious.

Wright called for help and checked the prisoner's pulse. He was alive, but just barely. Police later discovered that Lake had taped two cyanide capsules to the underside of his shirt lapel. As the paramedics carried Lake to an ambulance and conveyed him to hospital, Wright wondered why a man would want to kill himself over a stolen car. He was soon to get his answer.

It wasn't long before South San Francisco police knew that they had more than a simple case of shoplifting on their hands, especially when they discovered bloodstains on the front passenger seat of the Honda, a bullet hole above it near the sun visor, and two spent shell casings under the seat.

Paul Karsner, 39 years old, was the original owner of the Honda and a trader of used cars. He had disappeared on the 2nd of November 1984 after he told his girlfriend that he was meeting with a, quote, weird-looking guy to show him the car. He was never seen again.

The car and the property were later moved to San Francisco as detectives from the missing persons unit were there investigating the disappearance of Paul Kastner. Among the property were several bank and credit cards and other documents in the name of Robin Scott Stapley, which had been found in the glove compartment.

A check made with San Diego police revealed that Stapley was one of the founding members of the San Diego Chapter of the Guardian Angels, a national organization that had been formed to protect private citizens from criminal attacks and generally aid the police. He had been missing since the previous April. Another bank card, in the name of Randy Jacobson, was also found amongst the property.

as was a Pacific gas and electric bill in the name of Claralyn Ballage. The address shown on the bill was a post office box in, we'll say, California, a region 150 miles east of San Francisco, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

After checks with PG&E, police discovered that Balazs was Lake's ex-wife and was living in San Bruno, just a few short miles south from the lumberyard where Lake had been arrested. On Monday, the 3rd of June 1985, two detectives from San Francisco Missing Persons, Tom Eisenman and Irene Brunn, went to interview Balazs.

When asked about the Will Say Will address, Balazs told the police that it related to a cabin that her father owned near San Andreas, Calaveras County. When the detectives asked for directions to the cabin, Balazs explained that it was in a remote location and could only be found by someone familiar with the area.

The detectives then made arrangements for Ballard to take them to the cabin the following day, as they first required authorization from the Calaveras Sheriff's Department to conduct a search. The following day, after meeting with Sheriff Ballard and obtaining the necessary clearance, Eisenman, Brunn, and two other officers supplied by Ballard met Ballard and Leonard Lake's mother, Gloria Eberling.

at a grocery store located on Highway 88, a short distance from the cabin. When the detectives asked Balazs why she was late for their appointment, she explained that she had been to the cabin prior to meeting them. The police then advised her that if she had removed any evidence, she could be found guilty of obstructing justice.

Balazs explained that she had been looking for videos that Lake had taken of her in the nude, and had only wanted to save herself from embarrassment. Shortly after, Balazs led them up Blue Mountain Road, and after just two turns, they drove past a cinderblock structure and then came to the cabin. Contrary to Balazs' advice, it had been relatively easy to find Balazs.

After asking Balazs to unlock the cabin, Brunn and Calavera's deputy, Sheriff Varane, conducted a search of the interior while Eisenmann and the other deputy looked around the grounds. The cabin was comprised of two bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. The first thing that Brunn noticed on entering the room was a spray of reddish-colored stains on the living room ceiling.

On one wall was a mural of a forest scene. In the middle of the scene was a single, small-caliber bullet hole. Entering the kitchen, Brunn found another similar bullet hole in the floor. The master bedroom held a four-poster bed that had electrical cords tied to each of its posts.

Bolted through the floor at each corner of the bed were heavy eye bolts and above it a 250 watt floodlight that had been fastened to the wall. To one side of the bed was a dresser which contained an assortment of woman's lingerie, many of which were soiled with dark red stains. Moving to the bed, Brun lifted one corner of the mattress.

Below it was a second mattress. It, too, was heavily stained with what looked like dried blood. Returning to the front room, she was shown a television and two items of audio duplicating equipment by Deputy Varane. All the serial numbers had been erased. Brunn later found that the audio equipment belonged to Harvey Dubbs, a San Francisco resident who, with his wife and baby son,

had disappeared on the 24th of July, 1984. The family had last been seen by a neighbor who saw them talking to two men who had come to the house to inquire about the equipment which Harvey Dubs had advertised for sale in a local paper.

Brunn then left the property with Varane and drove to the office of the San Andreas District Attorney and spoke with Assistant DA John Martin, who, after listening to their report, agreed that they had sufficient evidence to request a search warrant for the whole property.

After obtaining the warrant from Judge Douglas Mewinney, Brunn and Verrain returned to the property and conducted a brief interview with Balazs and Eberling, questioning them about their previous visit to the cabin. Eberling refused to answer any questions, and Balazs became evasive, stating only that her parents had bought the cabin from the, quote, "'fat guy.'"

When she had finished with Balazs and her mother, Eisenman took Brun to another part of the yard and showed her an incinerator with thick fireproof walls that were capable of withstanding extreme temperatures. Aware that the previous occupants of the cabin were in some way involved in the disappearance of several people,

Brunn and Eisenman decided that a detailed examination of the entire area, including the incinerator and a mysterious concrete bunker, was a priority. As their search warrant didn't cover the locked bunker, Brunn asked Balazs if she would give them consent to search it. Balazs responded to their request angrily, suggesting that they talk to Lake's partner, Charles Ng.

Brun asked for more details on Ing, and was told that he was an Asian who normally hung out with Lake. When asked if she had seen Ing recently, Balazs told the detectives that Ing had rung the previous day and asked her to drive him to his apartment to pick up a paycheck.

She then told them that Ng had packet a suitcase with clothes, a .22 caliber handgun, ammunition, a large amount of cash and two IDs, a California driver's license and a social security card, both in the name of Mike Kimoto. Afterwards, she had driven him to the United Airlines terminal at San Francisco airport, but had no idea where he was going.

Bran knew by now that it was essential to quickly learn more details about Ing and Lake. She probed the ballage for more information on Lake, and she told the detectives that she and Lake had met at a Renaissance fair in Marin County and had married after dating for a short time. As his best man, Lake had chosen Charles Gunnar.

Gunnar had been a long-time friend, who at just 5'8", or 170 cm, weighed nearly 400 lbs, or 181 kg, prompting Balazs to christen him the Fat Man. Shortly after the wedding, which was in full paid for by Gunnar,

The couple moved to Philo, in Mendocino, where Lake found work managing a motel. Within a year, Ng arrived and moved in with Lake and his new wife. According to Balazs, Lake and Ng got on well, as they were both former marines.

In 1982, five months after his arrival, Ng left for several days and returned late one night driving a pickup. Balazs told the detectives that on the night of Ng's return, he and Lake had performed a strange dance in the yard and later unpacked some crates from the truck and placed them in a shed.

Following that, Balazs had been surprised early that 1982 morning when an FBI SWAT team raided the property and arrested Ng and Lake and charged them in relation to the theft of weapons from a military base in Hawaii. Lake was later released on a $30,000 bail, which was paid by Gunnar.

while Ing, who was still considered a serving member of the Marine Corps, was court-martialed and sentenced to two years in Leavenworth Prison. Not wishing to go to jail, Lake made plans to run off and hide in the mountains and ask the Balazs to go with him. When she refused, their relationship broke down and Lake moved into the cabin alone.

Although Balazs had spoken freely about her life with Lake, when Brun pushed for further details on her and Lake's relationship with Ng, Balazs became angry, refused the detective's permission to enter the bunker, and demanded to speak with an attorney. Shortly after, Balazs and Eberling left.

After relaying the information regarding Ing's movements and alias to their office, Brunn and Eisenmann left the site to request an additional search warrant for the mysterious bunker. Because of the information they had uncovered, their request was given top priority and a joint task force was set up to search the entire site.

San Francisco Police Chief Cornelius Murphy authorized a 12-man unit and Sheriff Ballard of Calaveras County assembled a team of five men and placed Lieutenant Bob Bunning in charge. Deputy Chief of Inspectors Joseph Lorden was placed in charge of the San Francisco detachment.

On Tuesday, the 4th of June, 1985, the search began. The first task was to set up a base camp while a locksmith was summoned to unlock the bunker. A preliminary examination of the area around the bunker was then conducted which revealed a cleared area 10 feet in diameter that showed traces of lye and a long trench that seemed to contain articles of clothing.

Fearing a gravesite, Sheriff Ballard ordered the searchers to focus their attention on those areas, while he sent an officer to find out who owned the neighboring property. Within hours, a team of sniffer dogs and their handlers, a forensic specialist and two additional patrolmen, had joined the search. While Ballard was coordinating his search party...

The officer returned from the house next door with more disturbing information. The owner of that property, Beau Carter, who had been contacted by telephone, informed the officer that the house was a rental. Some weeks before, his tenants, Lonnie Bond, his partner Brenda O'Connor, and their infant son, Lonnie Jr., had fallen behind on their rent.

so he had sent a real estate agent to collect it. When the agent arrived, a man calling himself Charles Gunnar came from the direction of the cabin and told him that the tenants had left ten days previously. At that time, the agent informed Carter that another man by the name of Robin Stapley had been living with the Bonds prior to their disappearance.

The agent had also, at that time, told Bo Carter that an earth mound near the boundary between the two properties had been recently dug up. Angered and annoyed by hearing this, Carter went to the site a week later to inspect his property. When he arrived, a man calling himself Charlie Gunnar had approached him and watched as he inspected the house.

Carter said he didn't worry about Gunnar until he saw a TV news item about a man who took cyanide following his arrest for a weapons charge. The news item had also shown the man's picture and given his name. According to Carter, the man he had seen near the cabin was not Gunnar, but Leonard Lake.

After hearing the story, Ballard sent searchers to find the area described by Carter. The following day, the bunker was opened. Sheriff Ballard, Detectives Brunn and Eisenmann, and the Calaveras County Information Officer, Jim Stenquist, conducted the initial search.

The main room was a 20 foot by 12 foot workshop area with a range of hand tools and power saws hanging on a plywood wall next to a workbench. Closer inspection, many of the tools were found to be encrusted with a dried brownish substance, possibly blood. Attached to the bench was a broken vise, probably the one Ing and Lake had wanted to replace.

As they inspected the room further, the detectives checked the dimensions of it and discovered that it was smaller than the size it seemed from the outside, and deduced that there may be a hidden room. They soon found that the plywood tool rack was in fact a door, leading to a smaller room. Inside were a double bed, a side table, books, and a reading lamp.

when one wall was a wooden plaque with the legend Operation Miranda carved into it. Police would later learn that the name was derived from a book called The Collector by John Fowles, which was found in the bookshelf. The book tells the story of a butterfly collector who kidnaps a beautiful woman and keeps her locked in his cellar where the woman eventually dies.

The room also contained military equipment, including uniforms, boots, and a vast array of weapons, including assault rifles, shotguns, and machine guns. On the floor, police found a work shirt and a baseball cap with the words Denny's Moving Service embroidered on them. In a bookshelf on the far wall, between books on explosives and chemicals,

The searchers found a small window that appeared to be made up of multiple panes of glass, possibly soundproofed. On another shelf was a military starlight scope, which, initially designed for snipers, was capable of viewing objects in extremely low light conditions. On another wall were 21 candid photographs of young girls in various stages of undress,

most of which were taken outdoors. Two of the pictures had been taken in front of wallpaper with a cartoon character motif. Police would eventually identify the wallpaper as being the same as that in the South City Juvenile Hall, the same location that Claralyn Ballage worked as a teacher's assistant. All 21 women were later identified and found to be alive and well.

After checking their measurements again, the detectives found that there was another discrepancy indicating that there may be a third room behind the small window. Sheriff Ballard was informed but refused the searcher's permission to continue with the search until the forensic technicians had collected evidence from the first two rooms.

The first find by the technicians was a single adult fingerprint taken from the bookshelf window. Later, they found other prints on and around the same window, which were retained until the fingerprint records of Lake, Ng, and missing person files could be obtained for comparison. The fingerprints on and around the window were later positively identified as belonging to Ng and Lake.

As the technicians continued their analysis, searchers outside uncovered two bones beside the driveway, but were unable to ascertain if they were human. They were later sent to Dr. Boyd Stevens, San Francisco's chief medical examiner, for further analysis. The second day at the site,

The lab crew responsible for the search of the cabin found additional evidence in the form of a .22 caliber bullet that was removed from the wall of the main bedroom. Under the springs of the bed, in the same room, they found a diary, which later proved to be written by Leonard Lake, and described in chilling detail how he and Ng had selected

tortured, raped and murdered numerous victims. It also described how Lake, an ardent survivalist who feared nuclear war, had planned to build a series of bunkers across the country, complete with supplies, weapons and female sex slaves. The diary further spelled out his intention to use his female captives to repopulate the world.

The diary, more than a hundred pages of typed and handwritten entries made in 1983 and 1984, provides a portrait of an obsessive individual who did not consider himself subject to society's legal or moral strictures. I am a dangerous person, Lake wrote. Society would be worried if they knew that I existed and what I was up to, end quote.

In a series of entries, he recalls how he and Ng stalked and murdered Paul Kastner, a San Francisco auto broker who is one of the 12 people Ng was later charged with killing. Throughout the document, Lake demonstrates his obsession with the sexual subjugation of women. Yet the journal is also remarkable for its near lack of emotional content.

Lake's descriptions of how he selected and stalked potential sexual slaves, built a bondage cell to imprison them, and planned and committed murder is just as flat as when he recounts doing his laundry, shopping, or watching television reruns. This book is really more of a log, he wrote in early 1983,

With few exceptions, the reader will not find any great thoughts or deep studies within it. The depths of my sins are not recorded. End quote.

In some entries, Lake discusses his ARPs, criminal operations such as stealing marijuana from rural pot plantations, selling the drug to raise money for his sexual slavery scheme, and targeting betas, Lake's code word for potential homicide victims. Some sections concern Lake's Miranda Project.

An entry marked the 19th of February, 1983, Lake wrote, The Collector, The Collector. Has it really been 20 years I have carried this fantasy? End quote. In an entry early in 1984, Lake describes his work in constructing a bondage cell at his rural hideaway near Wilsayville in Calaveras County.

1983 was the year of Miranda, he wrote. Started and abandoned in Humboldt County and restarted here. M is a serious underground construction meant to, one,

He concludes the passage by writing that how the chamber will work as a bondage cell is unknown until the facility is operational and something happens.

In some of the most chilling entries, Lake appears to dispassionately describe how he and Ng picked Costner as the target of an abduction and murder on the 2nd of November 1984. Costner's body has never been found, but investigators believe he was abducted, possibly from his Marina District home, and shot to death.

The diary goes into detail on how Lake and Ng murdered the owner of the aforementioned Honda. I'll now read the entire passage to you. Dear listener, 25th of October. Slow day. Went to SF. Considering new operation. Loot. ID. Vehicles. Beta. Unfortunately, we'll need Charlie. 31st of October.

Nothing Day Spent day making calls and checking out potential ops. New beta. Honda prelude with owner that could pass for me. 1st of November Nothing Day Called beta and arranged to pay him $500 tomorrow night. To meet Charlie tomorrow noon and make plans. 2nd of November Met Charlie. Performed op. Met Resistance for first time.

unsuccessful in obtaining credit card or bank codes, drove to country for completion, cancelled Charlie's running debt to me, end quote. Now, dear listener, Legge was brief in his diary descriptions and they might require some explanation. What he is describing is the following. On the 25th of October, 1984,

Lake was considering murdering a new victim in order to acquire new ID, a new car, and a human being to murder, in his diary called Betas. The original target victim did not work out for Lake, so on the 31st of October, he prowled both the streets and the newspaper ads, looking for a new victim.

He found an ad for the sale of a Honda Prelude, where the owner turned out to look similar to Lake. The next day, he called Costner and arranged to meet up in order to purchase the Honda for $500. He also called his partner, Charles Ng, in order to plan how they were going to torture and kill Costner. On the 2nd of November, Ng and Lake met Costner, attacked him, and abducted him.

They tried to threaten and torture him in order to acquire his credit card and bank codes, but Costner put up too much of a fight, so they simply shot him to death. They then drove to the cabin and bunker where they dismembered and burned Costner's body and buried it. For joining Lake in this murder, Ng had his debt to Lake erased.

Two entries after his description of the Beta-Arp, on the owner of the Honda Prelude, Legg's diary reverts to his daily activities, as if the incident had never occurred. I quote, Fourth of November. Spent whole day cleaning house and putting my stuff away. Laundry, shopping, basic coming home stuff. It is good to be home. End quote.

By 5 p.m., on the second day of investigation, the initial forensic analysis of the bunker had been completed, and Ballard ordered Brun and Eisenman to continue their search of the interior. After checking what looked like a sealed room, Brun found a secret door behind the bookcase that led into the room with the window.

The room itself was only 3 foot 3 inches wide by 7 and a half feet long, with a 6 foot ceiling. Converted to metric numbers, this means approximately 1 meter wide, circa 2 meters long and about 180 centimeters from floor to ceiling. Inside, they found a very narrow bed, a chemical toilet, air freshener and a water container.

Holes had been drilled in the wall to provide ventilation, but had been baffled to exclude light. After closely examining both rooms at the same time, they discovered that the window was two-way glass. They later discovered a button beside it, which, when pushed, allowed the occupants of the first room to hear any sounds from within the smaller room.

Eisenmann then turned off all the lights in the bunker and, using the starlight scope through the viewing window, was able to see Brunn clearly in the smaller room. They had discovered what looked like a hostage cell. When the newest information was relayed to Ballard,

He left the site and returned to his office where he made plans for a full-scale murder investigation which would include the FBI, the Californian Forestry Department and the Californian Department of Justice. On day three, the searchers were assisted by another specialist detachment of dogs and their handlers from the Californian Rescue Dogs Association.

After an hour of fruitless searching, Ballard called for heavy equipment to begin digging up the site. During the same morning, Ballard received an unexpected visitor in the form of Gloria Eberling, Lake's mother. She told Ballard that she had come because she was concerned about her other son, Donald, who had disappeared two years earlier.

Brunn, who was also present, asked Eberling if Balazs had removed anything from the cabin on the day they met, and was told that Balazs had taken 12 videotapes from the main bedroom. Balazs later gave police the 12 videos she had taken from the cabin, which, as she had indicated, were of her and Lake having sex.

Ballard then asked Eberling if Lake's condition had improved. She told him that her son had been officially pronounced brain dead, and doctors were pressing her to switch off his life support. For Ballard, the case was becoming a nightmare.

He had evidence that suggested multiple kidnappings, rapes and murders, and two main suspects, but one was virtually dead. The other was in hiding, possibly in another country. All he could do was collect the evidence and wait.

The FBI, meanwhile, had determined that Charles Ng had taken a flight from San Francisco to Chicago, but they were unable to ascertain where he had gone from there. After a check of his background, they found that he came from Hong Kong, had sisters in Toronto and Calgary, an uncle in Yorkshire, England, and former marine friends in Hawaii.

They were aware that with sufficient funds and several days' lead, Ing could be in any of the four locations. To assist in the search, they contacted Interpol and Scotland Yard and distributed Ing's description worldwide. On the fourth day of the search, Dr. Stevens arrived at the site and

An informed Ballard that the bones found near the driveway were definitely human. Shortly after he arrived, another bone was found which appeared to have been cut neatly on both ends by a saw or similar cutting tool. As the search progressed, numerous items were unearthed from various locations.

In the trench that ran from the bunker to the entry road, police found a plastic bag containing a letter addressed Charles Ng and a receipt in the name of Harvey Dubs. Next, they unearthed a shirt with the name Scott embroidered on it. Literally hundreds of items, which had to be painstakingly photographed and held for analysis, were removed from the site.

It wasn't until the fifth day that the first bodies were found. The skeletal remains of two people seemed to be complete, but the bones had been sawn into sections and badly burned. Ironically, at 8 p.m. on the same day that the skeletons were found, doctors at Kaiser Permanente Hospital switched off Leonard Lake's life support.

He died within seconds. Later, a sealed five-gallon bucket was uncovered which contained a checkbook in the name of Robin Scott Stapley, jewelry, credit cards, driver's licenses, wallets, and two videotapes without labels, and a third marked M, Ladies Kathy slash Brenda. The first two videos were later viewed.

The first showing Lake and Balazs at a Thanksgiving dinner. On the second, Lake had been filmed discussing his greatest fantasy, kidnapping a woman and enslaving her. The third video was the most disturbing. And I will now, dear listener, play you the audio from both the second and third video. Hello, my man.

It's a Sunday in October, 22nd, 23rd, something like that. Very close to my 38th birthday. And I'm starting this tape without script or without any real organization of what I want to say. But I do feel I need to explain. What I want is an off-the-shelf sex partner. I want to be able to use a woman whenever and however I want.

And when I'm tired, or bored, or not interested, I simply want to put her away. Lock her up in a little room, get her out of my sight, out of my life. A slave. There's no way around it. Primarily a sexual slave, but nonetheless a physical slave as well. And I believe that I can, if I can construct...

a holding cell, a place where I can put such a woman, a facility that is so stark and so empty, so cold, so quiet, so totally removed from the world, that I can quickly condition a young woman to cooperate with me fully. I want to cooperate with this woman.

as nice as we can to you within the limits of keeping you prisoner. If you don't go along with this, I'll probably take you into the bed, tie you down, break you, shoot you, and bury you. Sorry, lady. Time's up. Make your choice. I want to be available. Tell me why you're here. While you're here, we'll keep you busy. You'll wash for us, you'll clean for us, cook for us, you'll cook for us.

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For some, that could be a night out with the boys, chugging beers and having a laugh. For others, it might be an eating night. For me, one non-negotiable activity is researching psychopathic serial killers and making this podcast. Even when we know what makes us happy, it's often near impossible to make time for it.

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Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash serialkiller today to get 10% off your first month. That's BetterHelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash serialkiller. If it ever arises again, if there's any circumstance whatsoever that leads me to think that you're even attempting to make noise, it's immaterial as to whether I hear you or anyone else hears you.

You'll be whipped very severely. How many of you understand? I understand. I'm having a little war within myself between what I want to do and what we might call the decent thing to do. And for the moment, the decent thing to do is win. So, rest. Okay. I just wanted you to know that when I'm doing this, it's actually under protest. You don't care, mind you.

You don't like it? Would you like me to put it in writing?

It's done. Just take it, whatever we tell you. You're welcome. Don't cut it in half. My thing is yours now. You can take it to the house. I played it so hard, it's like sick. I'm suffering. You can pass out a few minutes later. Well, if you can pass out, we'll wake you up. I have a lot of animosity against you. I would just as soon start you out with a nice firm whipping right now to make you believe how serious we are.

So, I thought I'd unbutton my vest and get through. And since you're into my sweet little hat, next to the softened padded, we don't need marks, but it makes me firm too. That's pretty cool. Um, let's see. We talked about underage performers and, uh, but

The audio on the tapes is not the best. And it is broken up. But have no fear. I will explain it to you, dear listener. The second video.

The first part of the audio you just heard comes off very much like a modern YouTube video. Leonard Lake is sitting in an easy chair, talking about his greatest fantasies and his philosophies regarding those as you just heard. The second video showed a young woman, identified only as Kathy, chained to a chair and later perforced

to perform a striptease while being taunted by two men, Leonard Lake and Charles Ng. In another part of the video, Ng could be clearly seen on a bed with Cathy while Lake took still photographs. The young woman was later identified as 18-year-old Cathy Allen, a clerk at a supermarket in Milpitas.

Kathy was apparently lured to the site by Lake, who told her that her boyfriend had been shot. Police later revealed that Alan's boyfriend, a known drug dealer named Michael Sean Carroll, had been Ing's cellmate in Leavenworth. The tape also included footage of another young woman named Brenda, which showed her begging for information regarding her baby.

In answer, Lake tells her, your baby is sound asleep, like a rock. Eventually, when the constant barrage of taunts and threats breaks her resolve, Brenda agrees to cooperate. Later in the tape, she can be heard taking a shower with both men. The second victim shown on the tape was 19-year-old Brenda O'Connor, Lake's next-door neighbor.

Police believe that her common-law husband, Lonnie Bond, and their baby, Lonnie Jr., were murdered by Lake and Ng prior to the tape being made. Also in the video, there are scenes of either Lake or Ng having anal sex with a participating woman following her proclamation that she has a, quote, "'sweet little ass.'"

It also shows the same woman brandishing a ping-pong racket that she explains how one can use as a spanking paddle. None of the women in the recovered tapes were found alive. They were all raped, tortured and murdered by Leonard Lake and Charles Ng.

As the search progressed, the searchers uncovered a partial skull, another plastic bucket containing personal items, and a complete, albeit burned body. Within minutes, four more bodies, including that of a child, were uncovered. Two were female, the other a black male. A short time later, another plastic container and a long 12-inch diameter metal tube were unearthed.

Inside the container, police found 1,863 silver dollars, more wallets and credit cards. The tube also contained a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. In another search of a mound of freshly dug earth, some distance from the cabin, two more bodies were uncovered. Both had been killed by a single small caliber bullet to the head.

The bunker was later completely demolished in the search for more bodies. As the search wound down, the bodies of seven men, three women, two baby boys and 45 pounds of bone fragments had been recovered, along with numerous amounts of property belonging to the deceased.

In all, police found evidence suggesting that up to 25 people who had previously been reported missing may have been murdered in or around the Vilsayville compound. But the fact that most of the bodies had been cut up, burnt and scattered around the site made identification extremely difficult.

Eventually, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Charles Cheetah Ng for 12 murders. The victims that could eventually be identified were as follows. Kathleen Allen, her boyfriend Michael Carroll, Robin Scott Stapley, Randy Johnson, Charles the Fat Man Gunnar, Lake's best man, Donald Lake, Leonard's brother,

Paul Costner, the owner of the Honda, Brenda O'Connor, Lonnie Bond Sr., Lonnie Bond Jr., Lake's next-door neighbors, and Harvey Dubs, Deborah Dubs and Sean Dubs. The Dubs family had been abducted and killed after Ng and Lake went to their house in relation to audio equipment that Harvey Dubs had advertised for sale.

While Sheriff Ballard and his team were working 12 hours a day to unearth the grisly secrets of the Wilseyville compound, the FBI were gathering additional information on Leonard Lake's closest associate, believed to be responsible for the carnage, Charles Cheetah Ng.

Charles Cheetah Ng had been born in Hong Kong on the 24th of December 1961. He was the son of a wealthy businessman and given every opportunity life could offer. But Charlie developed a rebellious streak at a very young age and was expelled from several schools.

Anxious for his son to change his ways, his father sent him to a boarding school in Yorkshire, England, where he would be under the protection of his uncle, who was a teacher at the school. After a short time at the new school, Charles was caught stealing from other students and a local department store and was, once again, expelled.

He then returned to Hong Kong until, at the age of 18, he obtained a student visa to study in the United States and attended Notre Dame College in Belmont, California. Obviously, the life of a student didn't appeal to him as he dropped out after just one semester. In October of 1979, Ng was charged in relation to a hit-and-run accident.

He was later convicted and ordered to pay damages. Shortly after, he enlisted in the Marines, even though he wasn't an American citizen, falsely listing Bloomfield, Indiana as his place of birth. By 1981, Ng had been promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.

His military career ended shortly after, however, when he and three accomplices stole military weapons from an armory at the Kanaway Military Marine Base in Hawaii. A month later, he was arrested by the military police and locked up. Within days of his incarceration, he escaped and made his way to California, where he met up with Leonard Lake.

One story suggests that the two met as a result of an ad that Lake had placed in a survivalist magazine, but this information cannot be verified. Not long after, he moved in with Lake and his wife Balazs, until the FBI arrested them for weapons offenses. Following his release from Leavenworth in June of 1984,

Ng returned to California and moved into the Willisville cabin with Leonard Lake. Ng should have been deported following his release from Leavenworth, but the Marine Corps was still unaware that he was not, in fact, an American citizen. The FBI estimates their kidnapping and killing spree started within a month of their reunion.

In July 1984, Donald Giuletti, a San Francisco disc jockey, and his roommate, Richard Carrazza, were shot by an Asian man who broke into their apartment and robbed them. Giuletti died in the attack, but Carrazza survived and would later identify Charles Ng as his attacker. The pistol used in the attack was found at the Willisville site.

Gradually, the FBI were successful in tracing Ng's movements after leaving San Francisco. On the day that Clara Lynn Ballage had driven him to the airport, he was seen boarding an American Airlines flight to Chicago. On his arrival, he booked into the Chateau Hotel under the name of Mike Kimoto before checking out four days later.

He then met up with an unidentified friend and traveled to Detroit before crossing the border into Canada alone. A search of his apartment revealed a cache of weapons and property allegedly belonging to the victims, as well as a payslip from the Denny's moving company. The FBI also compiled a dossier on Leonard Lake.

who obviously hadn't had the benefit of the privileged upbringing that Ng had enjoyed. He was born in San Francisco on the 29th of October, 1945, to parents who were constantly fighting. His birth obviously did nothing to ease their domestic conflict, as he was sent to live with various relatives until...

At the age of six, he found a permanent home with his grandparents. According to statements taken from friends and relatives, Lake was never able to come to terms with his feelings of rejection and abandonment. At the age of 19, Lake left home and enlisted in the Marines, where he was trained as a radar operator.

Following his specialist training, he was sent to Da Nang in Vietnam. When inspecting his medical records, you will find that Lake was hospitalized during his first tour in Vietnam for exhibiting incipient psychotic reactions. Obviously, his superiors did not consider his condition serious as he was treated and returned to his unit to finish his tour.

A second tour lasted a few short months before it was cut short when Lake was deemed to be suffering from unspecified medical problems and returned to El Toro Marine Base in Orange County. In all, he served seven years, earning the Vietnam Service Medal, a Vietnam Campaign Medal, and two other medals for good conduct.

He was later discharged on medical grounds and went to live in San Jose, California. Now, dear listener, knowing what we now know about some American G.I.'s behavior in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, we can only speculate as to what depravity Blake might have stooped to while overseas.

In Vietnam, soldiers had easy anonymous access to illicit drugs and prostitutes, and while on active duty, there are many, many documented cases of innocent Vietnamese girls being abducted and raped by American soldiers. In addition to this, soldiers were constantly witnessed to extreme violence and death.

experiences that not exactly dampens murderers' tendencies in sexual psychopaths such as Leonard Lake. Shortly after his release, he entered the Oakland Veterans Administration Hospital, where he was treated for, quote, psychological problems. Following his release, he briefly attended college at San Jose State University.

Five years after his discharge, he met Claralyn Ballage at a Renaissance fair in Marin County, where he ran a stall charging visitors for photographs posed with a goat that he had disguised as a unicorn. In 1981, Lake and Ballage were married and moved to a commune located in Philo, Mendocino County, Northern California.

While in Filo, the Lakes lived in a sprawling ranch that Leonard called Alibi Run, where he allegedly grew marijuana. According to friends, it was about this time that Lake became delusional and converted his ranch into a survivalist enclosure and stocked it with weapons and supplies to ward off the siege that he believed was coming.

Although Charles Ng managed to elude a nationwide manhunt for 34 days, his penchant for shoplifting led to his demise just as it had for Leonard Lake. On Saturday the 6th of July 1985,

Two security guards in a Hudson Bay store in Calgary approached Ng after he had attempted to leave the store with several grocery items hidden in a backpack. When they challenged him, Ng drew a gun and threatened them. A short scuffle followed, during which one of the officers was shot in the hand before Ng was overpowered and taken into custody.

He was later charged at Calgary Metropolitan Police Station with robbery, attempted robbery, possession of a firearm, and attempted murder. As Charles Ng prepared to face the courts, news of his arrest reached the Calaveras task force. Any elation at his capture was soon dispelled, however.

When John Crosby, the Canadian Justice Minister, announced that under the terms of a 1976 extradition treaty with the United States, he had refused the request for Ng's extradition as Canada, having abolished capital punishment, would not release any prisoner charged with a capital crime that carried the death penalty.

After the U.S. authorities had recovered from their shock, two San Francisco detectives were sent to interview Ng in his Calgary jail cell. He told them that it was Lake who was responsible for most of the Vilsayville killings, but admitted to helping to dispose of Paul Costner's body. Following the interview, the U.S. Justice Department made a renewed attempt to have Ng extradited.

but the Canadian authorities refused, as they were about to bring Ng to trial for offences committed on Canadian soil. He was later tried and convicted on the Calgary shoplifting and assault charges and sentenced to four and a half years' imprisonment.

As Ng prepared to serve his sentence, the United States Justice Department began what would become a long and protracted battle to extradite Charles Ng. The battle lasted almost six years. During this period, Ng spent most of his time studying American law.

During the extradition proceedings, evidence was tabled that Ng had drawn several cartoons which, according to U.S. attorneys, showed details of the Vilsayville killings that only someone with an intimate knowledge of the killings could produce.

After dozens of appeals and a seemingly endless round of hearings, the Canadian government finally acceded to the Californian government's request and agreed to extradite Charles Ng on the 26th of September 1991.

Within minutes of his release, Ng was flown to McClellan Air Force Base, where he was transferred to Folsom Prison in Sacramento to await trial. What followed were the most drawn-out, costly criminal proceedings in U.S. criminal history, even outstripping the infamous O.J. Simpson case.

Inge used every point of law that he and his string of attorneys could muster to delay trial proceedings against him. The site for the trial was to be San Andreas.

But Ng constantly filed actions against the state of California, making formal complaints on matters ranging from alleged poor treatment and bad food to the claim that he was forced to take medication for motion sickness during the 50-mile trip to the courthouse, which he claimed made him drowsy and unable to take part in pretrial proceedings.

He gained further delays by dismissing his attorneys at regular intervals and later filed a $1 million malpractice suit against them for incompetence. At one stage, he filed a motion with the San Andreas court applying for the right to represent himself, but later withdrew it.

The delaying tactics continued as Ng's attorneys applied to have the trial moved to Orange County, as they believed that their client would not receive a fair trial in San Andreas. In support of this motion,

The attorneys tabled an independent survey indicating that 95% of the residents of the Calaveras County already considered Charles Ng guilty of the Will Sayville murders. These and other motions were brought before the California Supreme Court no less than five times until finally, on the 8th of April 1994,

A San Andreas judge upheld the motion and ordered the trial moved to Santa Ana in Orange County. This action caused further delays when Orange County officials objected to the order on the grounds that the county was virtually bankrupt and unable to bear the costs of such a trial.

The issue was eventually resolved when the state of California agreed to pay any costs incurred. More years of legal wrangling ensued as Ng changed attorneys who in turn asked for further adjournments to prepare their case. At one point during the proceedings, Ng was housed in a small cage between appearances as he was considered highly dangerous.

The cage was later removed when a federal magistrate described its use as barbarous. Even before the actual trial began, Ng had appeared before six different judges in a case that had amassed over six tons of evidence and other illegal documents at a cost approaching $10 million. And so it was, dear listener.

On October 1998, after 13 years of delays and extended legal arguments, the trial of Charles Cheetah Ng began.

For the next few months, the jury, the media, and the families and friends of the victims heard state prosecutor Charlene Honaka relate how Leonard Lake and Charles Ng had selected and kidnapped their victims before taking them to the Vilsaville site where they were sadistically tortured, raped, and murdered.

To support the state's case, Honaka submitted the videos that were found at the site that clearly showed Ng and Lake torturing and abusing Kathy Allen and Brenda O'Connor. Evidence, including stolen property and photographs, were also tabled, further linking both men to the victims. Honaka also attempted to submit excerpts from Lake's diaries as evidence, but Judge John J. Ryan...

refused to admit them, ruling that most of the material submitted bore no relevance to the case. Part of Lake's military record was also withheld. The defense countered, claiming that Ng was an unwilling accomplice to the more dangerous and demented Lake, who was responsible for the murders while Ng merely participated in some of the sexual offenses.

Towards the end of the proceedings, Ng damaged his own case when he insisted on taking the stand, a move which allowed prosecutors to present additional evidence, including a picture of Ng in his cell showing an incriminating cartoon behind him on the wall next to a motto which read, and I quote,

No kill, no thrill, no gun, no fun. End quote. William Kelly, Ng's court-appointed attorney, attempted to regroup by calling Claralyn Ballage to give evidence in support of his client, even though the prosecution had previously granted her immunity. He later changed his mind when Judge Ryan advised him that Ballage had made prior statements implicating Ng.

Finally, on February 1999, after a trial lasting eight long months, all the evidence had been heard and the jury retired to consider a verdict. Within hours, they returned. They found Charles Cheetah Ng guilty of the murder of six men, three women, and two baby boys.

The charge of murdering the seventh man, Paul Kastner, had been dropped previously, owing to insufficient evidence. Judge Ryan then followed the jury's recommendation and imposed a sentence of death, even though he had the option of sentencing Ng to life imprisonment. Charles Cheetah Ng is currently 56 years old. He holds inmate number P46001

and remains on death row at San Quentin State Prison, where he has been locked away since the 30th of June, 1999.

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As dawn broke over the seven seas, the pirates of the Crimson Galleon set sail for adventure.

But there was one problem. Paperwork. Mountains of it. Filing, invoices, you name it. This work ain't fit for a pilot. Luckily, their captain had an idea. She used the smart buying tools on Amazon Business so they could work more efficiently and get back to doing what they do best. I know, right? Amazon Business, your partner for smart business buying.

And so, dear listener, ends the first episode of the Serial Killer podcast in 2018. The next episode will air on the 15th of January. So, as they say in the land of radio, stay tuned. I have been your host, Thomas Weyborg Thun. Doing this podcast is a labor of love.

This podcast has been able to bring serial killer stories to life thanks to you, dear listener. And especially those of you that support me via Patreon. There are especially a few patrons that have stayed loyal for a long time. Maud, Wendy, Thomas, Craig, Charlotte, Tommy and Brandon. Your monthly contributions really help keep this podcast alive.

and you have my deepest gratitude. As always, thank you, dear listener, for listening, and feel free to leave a review on Apple Podcasts, your favorite podcast app or website, and please do subscribe to the show if you enjoy it. Thank you, good night, and good luck.