To Wrap Up...

The crimes of Leonard Lake and Charles Ng are some of the most chilling and disturbing in American history. The things they did—murdering innocent people, torturing their victims, and keeping records of their actions—show just how twisted and cruel they were. What makes it even worse is the possibility that there are more victims we’ll never know about, leaving an unsettling feeling that we might not have seen the full picture of their horrors.

What stands out in their case isn’t just the violence but how planned it all was. Lake’s delusional belief in a nuclear apocalypse and his creation of torture chambers to prepare for it show a disturbing level of thought behind his actions. Ng’s willingness to participate and his lack of remorse add another layer to just how dangerous they were as a pair.

This case leaves us with a lot of questions. How did two people with such dark intentions find each other? How did they escalate to committing such horrific crimes? And how many more lives might they have destroyed if they hadn’t been caught?

It’s deeply saddening that in cases like these, the names of serial killers often become infamous, almost like a dark kind of celebrity, while their victims are reduced to numbers and statistics. Each victim was a person with a story, a family, and a future that was stolen from them. Yet, their names and lives are overshadowed by the notoriety of the killers.  

This imbalance reflects a troubling aspect of how we process and remember such tragedies. While society seeks to understand the minds of perpetrators, we often fail to give equal attention to honoring the victims’ lives and the grief left behind for their loved ones. It’s a painful reality that adds another layer of injustice to the already horrifying crimes.  

The story of Leonard Lake and Charles Ng isn’t just about the depths of human depravity—it’s also a stark reminder of the countless lives destroyed in the process. Each victim mattered, and their stories deserve to be remembered just as much as the crimes that ended their lives. Moving forward, we must strive not just to understand and confront such evil but also to ensure that the victims are seen, valued, and remembered for who they were.  In the end, their story is a reminder of the darker side of human nature and why it’s important to stay aware of these dangers. It’s a case that sticks with you, not just because of the horror but because it shows how far some people will go to carry out their twisted ideas.

"Operation Miranda"

The following includes a transcript of Leonard Lake's taped manifesto, which he called "Operation Miranda." This refers to the novel "The Collector" by John Fowles, about a loner young man who kidnaps a fellow student named Miranda who he's obsessed with and in love with. Lake read the book as a teen and reportedly became fascinated with the idea of holding women captive through the book. A copy was also found at Lake and Ng's bunker.

 

"I am a realist. I am 38 years old, a bit chubby, with not much hair, and I’m losing what I have. I am not particularly attractive to women—or I should say particularly attracting to women. And all the traditional magnets—the money, the position/power—I don’t have. And yet I am still very sexually active, and I am still very much attracted to a particular type of woman who almost by definition is totally uninterested in me. Dirty old man, pervert, I’m attracted to young women, sometimes even as young as 12, although to be fair certainly 18–22 is pretty much an ideal range as far as my interests go. I like very slim women, very pretty of course, petite, small breasted, long hair, if I am allowed. And, such a woman, by virtue of her youth, her attractiveness, her desirability to certainly the majority of mankind, simply has better options. There is no particular reason why such a woman should be interested in me. But there is more to it than that. It is difficult to explain my personality in 25 words or less, but I am in fact a loner, I enjoy the peace, the quiet, the solitude, I enjoy being by myself. And while all my relationships with women in the past have been sexually successful, socially they have almost always been a failure. I’ve gone through two divorces, innumerable women, 50–55, I forget exactly the count, I counted recently. I’m afraid the bottom line statement is the simple fact that I’m a sexist slob. I enjoy using women, and of course women aren’t particularly interested in being used. I certainly enjoy sex. I certainly enjoy the dominance of climbing on a woman and using her body. But I’m not particularly interested in the id, the ego, all the things that a man should be interested in to complement a woman’s needs. Now I can fake these emotions, and I can fake them very well. In the past, I’ve been very successful at attracting fairly interesting and attractive women simply because I did fake fairly well an interest in their needs and their requirements. So momentarily I had what I wanted and they thought they had what they wanted. But in the long term I don’t want to bother. 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 satiated or bored or not interested, I simply want to put her away, lock her up in a little room to get her out of my sight, out of my life, and thus avoid what heretofore has always been the obligation to entertain or amuse or satisfy a particular woman or girlfriend’s whims of emotional whatevers. Such an arrangement, of course, is not only blatantly sexist, but highly illegal. There’s no doubt about it. It violates all of the human rights and blah blah, blah blah blah. To spare posterity my concept of other people’s morality, I’m explaining my morality—what I feel, what I want. And as of this moment I am going to try to get it."

Now this obviously, is crazy. But reading through Lake's manifesto, we can see that he is following a logic of sorts, and is self aware even to the point of describing what an awful human rights violation this is. But this implies that Lake isn't a psychopath, his mind does work correctly, but it implies rather that he's a prime example of a sociopath. This has nothing to do with his sanity and rather shows he has no conscience, he only cares about himself and obviously cannot form empathy for others. It's estimated that about 3% of men are sociopaths, or have antisocial personality disorder.

When Justice Caught Up to Ng...

While investigations into the gruesome murders were underway in California, Charles Ng managed to lay low in Canada for a while. However, his criminal tendencies led to his downfall once again. Ng was caught shoplifting, and during a struggle, he shot a police officer, prompting an investigation into his activities.

[image from getty]

Extraditing Ng back to the United States turned into a lengthy and contentious legal battle. Canada, opposing the death penalty, resisted returning Ng due to the likelihood that he would face execution in the U.S. This standoff stretched over two decades and cost an estimated $20 million in legal expenses.

When Ng was finally extradited and put on trial, he confessed to his involvement in the crimes but attempted to shift much of the blame onto Leonard Lake. He claimed he was merely a subordinate, acting as the “cleaner-upper” to Lake’s torture. Despite his defense, the overwhelming evidence, including videotapes and witness testimonies, led to his conviction.

In 1998, Charles Ng was found guilty of 11 murders and sentenced to death. He remains on death row in California, a chilling reminder of one of the most horrific killing sprees in American history.

The Capture and Investigation that Exposed Everything

On June 2, 1985, Charles Ng was caught shoplifting a vise from South City Lumber in Northern California. While being confronted by store employees, Ng managed to flee the scene, leaving his accomplice, Leonard Lake, to face the authorities. Lake was taken into custody and brought to the police station for questioning. However, during his detainment, he swallowed a cyanide pill hidden in the collar of his shirt. Lake fell into a coma and died a few days later, raising immediate suspicion about his motives and potential crimes.

Following Lake’s suspicious suicide, police launched an investigation into his remote ranch in California. What they uncovered shocked investigators. The property revealed the extent of Lake and Ng’s horrific crimes. They discovered approximately 12 bodies buried in shallow graves, along with 45 pounds of charred bone fragments, suggesting the remains of up to 25 victims. The ranch also housed makeshift torture chambers, which Lake had constructed to hold his captives. These chambers, equipped with restraints and soundproofing, were part of Lake’s delusional preparations for a nuclear apocalypse. He believed he would need captives to satisfy his sexual desires and perform labor in a post-apocalyptic world.

[pic from https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBVL6GfVYAAE8O-.jpg]

Among the most damning evidence were videotapes found at the scene, documenting Lake and Ng torturing and sexually assaulting their victims. The footage showed the pair mocking, taunting, and dehumanizing their captives. Additionally, police found a diary written by Lake, detailing his twisted fantasies and the atrocities he had committed. A suicide note left by Lake also served as a confession, tying him and Ng to the gruesome murders.

All while this was happening, Ng was able to flee to Canada where he'd remain an underdog for 6 years. 

Victims 2.0

•    Clifford Peranteau worked with Ng at a moving company until his disappearance in January of 1985. Leonard Lake later sold a motorcycle that had belonged to Clifford, and many of his belongings were found in Ng's apartment. Lake had forged a letter from Clifford to his boss saying that he'd found a new place to live and to send his last check to an address included below. The typewriter that had been used to type the letter was later found at the house in Wilseyville              

•     On April 14th in 1985,  Kathleen Allen got a call at her job that her boyfriend Michael Carroll had gotten into some trouble near Lake Tahoe and she had to go see him. He told her that he would send someone to pick her up, and Allen was seen getting into a gold Honda Prelude. The car was later identified as belonging to another victim named Paul Cosner, and Lake was the driver. She spoke to her friend later, telling him the man who was taking her to see Mike was kind of weird and wanted to take pictures of her, and that she couldn't speak for long because he was in the room. The next day she called her manager and asked for a month off from work as her boyfriend had gotten a job. One of the tapes found at the Wilseyville property shows Allen tied to a chair and Lake and Ng telling her that if she cooperates, they would release her in 30 days, and if not they would kill her and bury her with Mike.  

• Lonnie Bond Sr, his fiancee Brenda O'Connor, son Lonnie Bond Jr, and friend Robin Stapley all went missing in April of 1985 from their home in Wilseyville. Brenda also appears in one of the tapes taken by Lake and Ng, where they tell her they're "cold-hearted" and that they've given her son away to a family without children.

•     sheryl Okoro, pictured below, was a prostitute who disappeared from San Francisco in November of 1984. Her daughter, Cheryl Gyant, was adopted by a family in Michigan and found out about her biological mother and her passing in her teens. In tribute to her mother, Cheryl started a nonprofit and wrote the book "A Letter From Sheri," which detailed her mothers tragic and traumatic upbringing, and the 11 page letter she wrote during her time at Wilseyville before her death.

              

Victims

•      Leonard Lake's streak of violent crimes began his and Ng's cabin in Wilseyville. His first victim was in fact his own brother, Donald Lake, who had been in a train accident as a child and was mentally disabled. Leonard was quoted as referring to his brother as a "leech" and saying that he "didn't deserve to live."  In 1982, Leonard took his brother on a house sitting job, and they were never seen again. Lake resurfaced in 1983 and stole Donald's identity in order to cash his disability checks

•     Shortly after this, Lake moved in with his best friend Charles Gunnar (pictured below), the best man at his wedding to Claralyn Bazales. After his divorce from her, he invited Gunnar on a road trip to Las Vegas in celebration, from which Lake returned alone. He told people that Gunnar had run away with a woman he'd met, and assumed his identity in Wilseyville. His body wasn't found until a secondary unearthing in 1992.

                 

•     It wasn't until 1984 that Lake and Ng began their sting of murders together, responding to a newspaper add offering oral sex to straight men put out by Donald Albert Giulietti, an openly day radio personality living with Richard Carazza. The two men heard a knock on the door and after opening it, Giulietti was shot in the head point blank and Carazza was shot in the chest. Carazza survived and is the only known survivor of the two, and he identified Ng as one of the shooters in the attack. 

•     Harvey and Deborah Dubbs, along with their one year old son Christopher, disappeared from their home on July 25th, 1984. Deborah was on the phone with a friend when the door rang, telling her that they were expecting people over to talk to Harvey about his video equipment, and she hung up. The family was never seen again. The family's video equipment was found on the Wilseyville property, along with a receipt belonging to Harvey Dubs.

Early Life - Leonard Lake

Leonard Lake was born on October 29th, 1945, in San Francisco . He was the first of three children, brother to Elgin Leonard Lake and Gloria May Williams. 

[picture of Leonard Lake from IMDb]

When he was six years old, his parents had a rough divorce which left him with mother(who got remarried), his two siblings, and two half-sisters. 

Leonard Lake was reportedly a "bright child"(?), but he soon became overly obsessed with pornography at a very young age. 

This obsession only continued and grew as Lake habitually photographed his sisters naked, which was also encouraged by his grandmother(!?). His eerie interests expanded, as he became invested in dissolving dead mice in chemicals... which would influence the way he would dispose of human corpses(not so subtle foreshadowing). 

After high school, Leonard Lake enlisted himself into the Marine Corps in 1964. His time of service did not last long, as it was there that he was first diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder. He was admitted to receive psychotherapy but received his medical discharge in 1971. 

He then enrolled in university at San Jose State University, but dropped out after one semester after becoming involved with a hippie group. It was during this time that Leonard lived a semi-normal life, as he got married to his first wife Karen Lee in 1969, even though they got divorced because she discovered that Lake was directing and participating in pornographic films that involved sadomasochism. 

It was following this that he moved to Northern California where he settles in 5,600 acre settlement for the following 8 years.. where the nightmare he created began. 

He also married Claralyn Balazs during this time, who ended up being subjected to his tortures later on even after their divorce. 

Leonard was sneaky, however, as during these moves and different chapters in his life he never stuck to one identity. Here is a list of some names that he identified as... some of which are names of his victims.

Leonard Hill

Leonard Blake
Alan Drey
Tom Meyers
Jim Bright
Ted White
Steve
Charles Gunnar
Donald Lake
Randy Jacobsen
Robin Stapley

Paul Cosner

[list pulled from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Lake]

Early Life - Charles Ng

We often hear the phrase in the crime community that "killers are not born, they're made". Well, in this case at least, we find it true. 

Charles Ng's real name is Ng Chi-tat. Born in British Hong Kong, Ng was the youngest of three children, and the only son. He lived a lavish life with a lavish family, but he was severely abused by his father; a wealthy Hong Kong executive. 

Stemming from the childhood abuse, Ng was described as a "troubled loner". Constantly getting expelled from the school we would be enrolled in, Ng had a reputation of not being able to stay in one place. His dad, continuingly trying to discipline his son, sent him to a school in England to set him straight. Not much information is provided as to what went on at that school, but he ended up coming back to Hong Kong after shoplifting again during his time in England. 

With his frequent tendency to shoplift, its no surprise that he got arrested for the first time at fifteen for that very reason.

image of Charles Ng as a child: taken from https://allthatsinteresting.com/charles-ng]

At 18 years old, Ng obtained a student visa and moved to the Belmont, California, United States for university. He attended a semester at the University of Notre Dame before dropping out. 

Its speculated that this was around when Charles Ng met Leonard Lake through a "wargamer advertisement". 

Soon, Ng got involved with a hit run accident, but to avoid prosecution he joined the US Marine Corps. 

As this was going to be a short-time endeavor for him as well, as he was later arrested for joining the Marine Corps with false documents. He ended up escaping custody, which is when he made his way to Northern California--- where the horror begins to unfold. 

[It is also known that Leonard Lake had also been in the Marine Corps, but not during the same time frame. ]