Charles Chi-tat Ng: The Wilseyville Serial Murders
Background
Charles Chi-tat Ng was born on December 24, 1960, in Hong Kong. He later moved to the United States and became one of the two men responsible for a series of kidnappings, sexual assaults, torture sessions and murders connected to a secluded property near Wilseyville, California. Ng committed the crimes with Leonard Lake, a survivalist who had constructed a hidden concrete bunker beside a remote cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Calaveras County.
Ng and Lake are believed to have killed at least eleven people, although investigators have long suspected that the true number of victims may have been considerably higher. In 1999, Ng was convicted of murdering six men, three women and two infant boys. Several additional disappearances and violent crimes were also linked to the pair, but the available evidence did not result in murder convictions in every case.
The Wilseyville Property
The center of the murder operation was a rural property outside Wilseyville. Lake had access to a cabin there and constructed a small cinder-block bunker that he described in his writings as a place where women could be imprisoned. The structure was equipped with restraints, a bed, concealed spaces and recording equipment. Evidence later recovered from the property showed that victims had been held against their will and that some of the crimes were recorded.
Ng and Lake generally targeted acquaintances, coworkers, neighbors and people contacted through classified advertisements. Prosecutors argued that the men followed a deliberate pattern. Adult male victims were often killed shortly after being brought to the property. Women were separated from their partners, confined, sexually assaulted and terrorized before being murdered. Infant victims were also killed, apparently so that no witnesses or surviving family members would remain.
The precise dates on which most of the Wilseyville victims were killed have never been established. Many were last seen days, weeks or months before investigators uncovered the property in June 1985. Their disappearance dates are therefore listed below rather than represented as confirmed dates of death.
Victims for Whose Murders Ng Was Convicted
- Harvey R. Dubs, 30 — Harvey disappeared with his family from their San Francisco apartment on July 25, 1984. He was a photographer, and photographic and video equipment belonging to him was later discovered at the Wilseyville property. Prosecutors contended that Harvey was killed after the family was abducted. His exact date of death remains unknown.
- Deborah Ann Dubs, 33 — Deborah disappeared from San Francisco with her husband, Harvey, and their young son on July 25, 1984. Evidence presented at Ng's trial indicated that she was taken to the Wilseyville compound and held captive. Her exact date of death remains unknown.
- Sean Christopher Dubs, 16 months old — Sean vanished with his parents from their San Francisco home on July 25, 1984. Prosecutors maintained that the infant was murdered after the family was taken to the rural property. His exact date of death remains unknown.
- Clifford Raymond Peranteau, 23 — Peranteau was last seen in San Francisco on January 20, 1985. He worked at a moving company where Ng was also employed. His motorcycle and personal property were later connected to Lake and Ng. His exact date and location of death were never conclusively determined, although Ng was convicted of his murder.
- Jeffrey Gerald, 25 — Gerald disappeared from San Francisco in February 1985 after telling his roommate that he was going to assist with a moving job. He was acquainted with Peranteau and was connected to the same moving-company circle as Ng. His remains were associated with the Wilseyville investigation, but the precise date of his death remains unknown.
- Michael Carroll, 22 — Carroll disappeared in April 1985. He had been in custody on a minor matter before being released, and Kathleen Allen was told that someone would take her to meet him. Prosecutors argued that the promise was a deception used to lure Allen into Lake and Ng's control. Carroll's exact date of death remains unknown.
- Kathleen Allen, 18 — Allen was last seen in Milpitas on April 12, 1985, entering a vehicle driven by a man who claimed he would take her to see Michael Carroll. Instead, she was taken to the Wilseyville property. Evidence shown at trial established that she was imprisoned and subjected to abuse before being killed. Her exact date of death remains unknown.
- Lonnie Wayne Bond Sr., 27 — Bond lived with Brenda O'Connor and their infant son in a house near Lake's cabin. The family disappeared in late April 1985. Bond's vehicle and other belongings were found in the possession of Lake and Ng. Prosecutors concluded that he was killed as the pair took control of his home and property. His exact date of death remains unknown.
- Brenda Sue O'Connor, 20 — O'Connor disappeared with Lonnie Bond Sr. and their infant son in late April 1985 from the Wilseyville area. Recorded evidence established that she had been held captive by Lake and Ng. Human remains recovered from the property were positively identified as O'Connor's through modern DNA testing approximately four decades later. Her precise date of death remains unknown.
- Lonnie Wayne Bond Jr., approximately 1 year old — The child disappeared with his parents in late April 1985. Prosecutors argued that he was killed when Ng and Lake eliminated the Bond family. His exact date of death remains unknown.
- Robin Scott “Scott” Stapley, 26 — Stapley was a friend of Lonnie Bond and frequently visited the house near Lake's cabin. He disappeared in late April 1985. Police later found Lake carrying identification bearing Stapley's name, while a firearm registered to Stapley was recovered from the vehicle that led investigators to the property. His exact date of death remains unknown.
Other Victims and Suspected Victims
Investigators discovered burned bone fragments, teeth and other human remains around the Wilseyville property. Because some of the remains were incomplete or badly damaged, authorities could not initially determine the exact number or identities of everyone killed there. Later forensic testing identified additional victims who were not among the eleven people named in Ng's murder convictions.
- Donald Lake — Leonard Lake's younger brother disappeared in 1983. Investigators believed Leonard killed him before Ng became fully involved in the Wilseyville murder operation. His precise date of death has not been confirmed.
- Charles Gunnar — Gunnar was Leonard Lake's friend and had served as best man at his wedding. He disappeared before the main group of 1984 and 1985 victims. His remains were discovered at the Wilseyville property in 1992. His exact date of death remains unknown, and evidence concerning Ng's direct involvement was uncertain.
- Paul Steven Cosner, 39 — Cosner disappeared from San Francisco on November 2, 1984, after arranging to show his 1980 Honda Prelude to a potential buyer. Lake was driving Cosner's car when police detained him on June 2, 1985. Cosner's body has never been recovered, and his exact date of death is unknown.
- Cheryl Lynn Okoro, 25 — Okoro disappeared from San Francisco on November 16, 1984. Photographs, personal belongings and a lengthy letter written by her were found among evidence connected to the Wilseyville property. Her remains have not been conclusively identified, and her date of death is unknown.
- Jeffrey Dean Askren, 30 — Askren was reported missing after failing to appear for work in Santa Clara on May 1, 1984. His vehicle was found several days later near West Point, California, only a few miles from the Wilseyville property. He has been considered a possible victim, although his remains have not been conclusively identified and his date of death is unknown.
- Reginald “Reggie” Frisby, approximately 28 — Frisby was living in San Francisco when his family last heard from him in 1984. He had not originally been reported missing or publicly connected to Lake and Ng. DNA testing conducted decades later identified remains recovered from the Wilseyville mass-grave area as Frisby's. The date and circumstances of his abduction and death remain unknown.
The San Francisco Shooting
Ng was also linked to a deadly shooting in San Francisco. On July 11, 1984, disc jockey Donald Albert Giulietti, 36, and his roommate, Richard Carrazza, were attacked inside their home during a robbery. Giulietti was shot in the head and died, while Carrazza was shot in the chest but survived. Carrazza later identified Ng as the gunman.
The Giulietti attack demonstrated that Ng's violence was not confined to the Wilseyville bunker. Carrazza became one of the only known people to survive a violent encounter attributed to Ng or Lake and provide investigators with a direct identification of an attacker.
Discovery of the Crimes
The murder operation began to unravel on June 2, 1985, because of a shoplifting incident at the South City Lumber store in South San Francisco. An employee saw Ng take a vise without paying for it. When confronted, Ng placed the vise in the trunk of a Honda Prelude and fled on foot as police arrived.
Leonard Lake remained near the vehicle and was questioned. Officers discovered a pistol fitted with an illegal silencer inside the car. They also learned that the Honda belonged to missing victim Paul Cosner and that Lake was carrying identification belonging to missing victim Scott Stapley. The car's license plate was associated with Lonnie Bond, another missing man.
After being taken into custody, Lake admitted his true identity and disclosed Ng's name. He then swallowed a cyanide capsule that he had concealed in his clothing. Lake died on June 6, 1985, before he could be prosecuted or fully questioned about the missing people.
Search of the Wilseyville Compound
Investigators followed evidence from the vehicle to the Wilseyville property. Inside the cabin and bunker, they found restraints, weapons, personal belongings, identification documents, vehicles and equipment belonging to missing people. They also recovered photographs, journals and recordings that revealed the calculated nature of the crimes.
Outside the structures, investigators excavated areas where human remains had been burned or buried. The condition of the remains made identification difficult. Some victims were identified through dental records or other evidence, while others remained unnamed for decades until advances in DNA analysis and genetic genealogy allowed cold-case investigators to revisit the evidence.
Flight to Canada and Extradition
Ng escaped from California and traveled to Canada. On July 6, 1985, he was caught shoplifting at a department store in Calgary, Alberta. During the confrontation, Ng struggled with security personnel and shot one of them in the hand before being subdued. Canadian authorities convicted him of robbery, assault and weapons offenses.
The United States requested Ng's extradition to face murder charges in California. Ng fought the request for several years, arguing that sending him to a jurisdiction where he could receive the death penalty would violate his rights under Canadian law. After prolonged litigation, the Supreme Court of Canada permitted the extradition, and Ng was returned to California in 1991.
Trial and Convictions
Ng's criminal proceedings were delayed by numerous disputes concerning attorneys, competency, courtroom security and the location of the trial. Because of extensive publicity in Calaveras County, the case was transferred to Orange County. Jury selection began in September 1998.
Prosecutors used physical evidence, witness testimony, property belonging to the missing victims and recordings recovered from the Wilseyville compound to establish Ng's participation. Ng attempted to portray Leonard Lake as the dominant killer and argued that the evidence did not prove he personally committed every murder. Under California law, however, he could be found responsible as a direct participant, an aider and abettor or a member of a conspiracy to commit the killings.
On February 24, 1999, the jury convicted Ng of eleven counts of first-degree murder. The victims named in the verdicts were Sean Dubs, Deborah Dubs, Harvey Dubs, Clifford Peranteau, Jeffrey Gerald, Michael Carroll, Kathleen Allen, Lonnie Bond Sr., Lonnie Bond Jr., Robin Scott Stapley and Brenda O'Connor. The jury also found that the multiple-murder special circumstance was true.
On April 30, 1999, the jury returned a death verdict. Ng was formally sentenced to death on May 3, 1999. In July 2022, the California Supreme Court affirmed all eleven murder convictions and the death sentence.
Legacy of the Case
The Wilseyville murders remain among California's most disturbing serial-murder cases because entire families disappeared and because the offenders created a secluded location specifically designed for imprisonment and abuse. The discovery of recordings and written plans provided investigators with unusually direct evidence of the killers' intentions and treatment of their captives.
The case has also remained active through continuing efforts to identify human remains recovered from the property. Modern DNA testing has restored names to victims who were unknown for decades, including Reginald Frisby and Brenda O'Connor. Investigators have continued examining the surviving evidence because the number of remains and missing people associated with Lake and Ng suggests that additional victims may still be unidentified.
Charles Ng was convicted of eleven murders, but the total number of people killed by Ng and Leonard Lake has never been conclusively determined. Estimates have commonly ranged from eleven to twenty-five. The uncertain victim count, the number of unrecovered bodies and the destruction of evidence at the property mean that the complete history of the Wilseyville killings may never be known.
