Leonard Thomas Lake

Serial Killer

Leonard Thomas Lake: The Wilseyville Serial Murders

Background and Early Life

Leonard Thomas Lake was born on October 29, 1945, in San Francisco, California. He served in the United States Marine Corps during the Vietnam War as a radar electronics technician but was medically discharged in 1971 after military doctors diagnosed him with a personality disorder. In the years that followed, Lake became increasingly absorbed in survivalism, weapons, pornography and fantasies involving the imprisonment and domination of women. Lake believed that civilization might collapse in a nuclear war. He imagined surviving such a disaster inside a fortified shelter while keeping women as prisoners for his sexual gratification. These ideas were not merely private fantasies. Lake recorded them in writings and on videotapes, describing a plan he called "Operation Miranda," a reference to the imprisoned woman in the novel The Collector. His goal was to construct a concealed chamber where women could be held indefinitely and forced to obey him. During the early 1980s, Lake became associated with Charles Chitat Ng, a former Marine originally from Hong Kong. Ng had fled military custody after stealing weapons from a Marine Corps armory. Although Lake was considerably older, the two men developed a close relationship based on their shared interest in firearms, military equipment, survivalism and sexual violence. After Ng was released from federal prison in 1984, he reunited with Lake in Northern California.

The Wilseyville Property

Lake established himself at a secluded property near Wilseyville in Calaveras County, California. The land was legally connected to his former wife, Claralyn Balazs, but Lake treated it as his private compound. In addition to the main residence, he constructed a bunker containing three rooms, two of which were hidden behind a concealed doorway. One hidden room was furnished as a living area. The second was a narrow locked cell approximately seven feet long and three feet wide. It contained a small bed with a foam pad, a bucket, toilet paper and a lamp. Its door could be opened only from the outside. Investigators later concluded that Lake and Ng used this chamber to confine abducted women. The two men targeted acquaintances, coworkers, neighboring families and strangers selling valuable property through classified advertisements. Male victims and children were generally killed, while some women were held captive, threatened, sexually assaulted and recorded on videotape. Lake and Ng also stole their victims' vehicles, identification documents, money and household belongings. Forged letters and telephone calls were used to create the impression that missing victims had voluntarily moved away. ...

Confirmed Victims: (11)

Charles Gunnar Age: (34), Date of Death: 1983-05-22

Suspected Victims:

Donald Lake Age: (31), Date of Death: 1982-12

Jeffrey Askren Age: (30), Date of Death: 1984-04

Donald Giulietti Age: (36), Date of Death: 1984-07-12

Maurice Rock Age: (37), Date of Death: 1984-07

Paul Cosner Age: (39), Date of Death: 1984-11-02

Sheryl Okoro Age: (25), Date of Death: 1984-11-16

Clifford Parenteau Age: (23), Date of Death: 1985-01-20

Jeffrey Gerald Age: (25), Date of Death: 1985-02-24

Leonard Lake - Wikipedia