Die For Me: The Terrifying True Story of the Charles Ng & Leonard Lake Torture Murders

by Don Lasseter

In 1985, Charles Ng and Leonard Lake were spotted shoplifting. Ng escaped, but Lake's capture led police to a concrete bunker in the Sierra Nevada foothills, where they discovered the grisly evidence of an orgy of sex crimes, torture and murder that claimed at least sixteen victims. Lake committed suicide; Ng fled to Canada, where he was tracked down and extradited to California. This 14-year, $10 million legal case was the costliest and longest criminal prosecution in California history. Ng is currently on Death Row.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Psychology, Biography, Audiobook, Historical

428 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2000

About the author

Don Lasseter has written five true crime books for Pinnacle plus 16 magazine articles that were reprinted in Pinnacle's anthology books about murders. In addition to being a crime writer, Mr. Lasseter is a WWII historian who frequently lectures on the subject in schools, at service clubs, and for veteran's groups. He accompanies his talks with slide packages titled "WWII, Then and Now", consisting of photos he took while actually retracing most major battles in Western Europe and in the South Pacific. Taking black and white combat photos with him, Mr. Lasseter laboriously searched for the exact spots on which the photographers stood and shot the same scenes as they look today. He accumulated over 1500 such pictures associated with various battles including the Normandy invasion, Battle of the Bulge, crossing the Rhine, taking Berlin, and other major engagements.

A native Californian, Mr. Lasseter resides in Orange County. He has served as guest lecturer in criminology classes at California State University, Fullerton. Hollywood history is Mr. Lasseter's third major interest. His personal library includes an extensive collection of movie books, and he takes pride in being able to name hundreds of old character actors whose faces are often seen in classic films. One day, Lasseter says, he will write books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the golden era of film production and the people involved.

Reviews

[♥ Marlene♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A few years ago I wrote this:

Really liked this book and planning on re reading

Update August 6 2015. Wow what a great review I wrote.NOT!



Lol.

What I do remember that this was one of the first English books I read and that I was really shocked by this and always thought of it as a very good book.

Now I am finally re reading this while reading approximately 3 other books.

This is the story about 2 sadistic selfish men who managed to lure male and women to trust them only for the men and babies to be killed and for some of the women if not all to be raped and probably tortured, filmed and then killed.

Took a photo of the picture that haunts me in the book:
This is Kathy. Kathleen Allen. One of the victims.



When I first looked at the photo I wondered "why is she looking so angry and sad posing for a photo, thinking could it be a mug shot. Only later did I realise it was one of the photo's Lake took of her!!

I have read about one third and still think it is a great book.
What I had forgotten though was that the victims in the bunker were not the first. Now I understand why they are not sure how many victims there were.

Second time reading I still think this is a very good book I am glad to say.
And I will never forget the victims, especially not Kathy.





First read 2001

[Sabrina Rutter · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is heart breaking. I give it three stars because it does get a little boring towards the end, but it also gives great detail into the crimes of these monsters.

[Bookaholic__Reviews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Without guestion one of the most disturbing true crime books I have ever read.

[Petra · Rating 2 out of 5]

A horrifying story of over 20 murders occurring in under a year by 2 very disturbed men. The story that unfolded is unfathomable in scope.
Half this book describes the 2 murderers, their lives & upbringings, the murders and up to the capture. The second half of the book is about the trial and sentencing.
A horrifying story and yet dull somehow. The people disappeared. Why didn't anyone search for them for long or hard? It seems that the '80s were a time of travel, where people picked up, left and re-established themselves elsewhere without contact and not cause concern to friends and family. Odd, I found. Too odd, which made me think that this part of the situation (frantic family & friends searching for their loved ones) was left out of the book.

Then to find that Leonard Lake was such a true coward. Really, this man had no backbone.
Charles Ng is creepy....to the core creepy.

The trial went on too long in this book. It was repetitive; very much so.

I'm so sorry for the families of these people and for the victims themselves. They were all decent people with good lives yet to live.

[JJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love true crime books - I'm a big fan of Ann Rule (even if she can be long-winded). I picked this one up because I had never heard of Leonard Lake or Charles Ng.

It was interesting to learn about this story, but I agree with some of the other reviews, it gets pretty boring towards the end. Whenever true crime books bring up the names of countless lawyers, police officers, (and in this story, the numerous victims) etc., my mind just swims around all the names and I lose track of who's who. But that's just me, I guess.

One thing that really bugged me about this book was the lack of any interesting photos. I would have loved to have seen a photo of Cricket, Leonard Lake's wife and accomplice.

I would say it was so-so. I learned a lot about this story that somehow passed me by the first time, but it could also have been better written.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leonard Lake was born in California in 1945. He had a very odd upbringing, and became obsessed with pornography at a young age...even going as far as photographing his own sister naked. He ultimately joined the United States Marine Corps, serving two tours in Vietnam. During this time period, he was diagnosed with a personality disorder. Lake met Charles Ng, also a former Marine, through a magazine. Ng was born in Hong Kong in 1960. He was dishonorably discharged from the Corps for desertion and theft. The two of them began a crime spree of rape, torture, and murder. Eventually, their kill count reached 11 confirmed and dozens more suspected.

This book is part of The Last Podcast On The Left reading list, and the episodes about this particular duo was really dramatic. I learned a great deal from this book. If you are a fan of the show, absolutely pick this book up and read it as a companion. If you are a true crime fan, this book has an exceptional amount of details about both men and their pasts, as well as the crimes and the court case. I wasn't let down by this at all. I personally have the Audible version, and it was a pretty long listen, but the page count for the physical copy is average.

[Doreen Petersen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would not bother with this book. It was a huge mistake reading it.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a truly disturbing and horrific account of the sociopaths, Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, who killed more than 15 people in and around the San Francisco area in 1984 and 1985. I actually lived in the Bay area at that time and I remember well when these crimes were discovered. Lake killed himself with cyanide shortly after being arrested for shoplifting, while Ng managed to escape to Canada. It took years to finally bring Ng back to California to stand trial for his crimes and it was a full 15 years before he was convicted and sentenced to death. He is still awaiting his punishment on death row in San Quentin. Without going into details, I would have to say that these crimes were some of the most brutal and horrific ever. Reading this account was much more disturbing than any horror novel. Not for the squeamish!

[Bryan Mcquirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I give this book a tepid 3.5 stars. I was drawn to this book as I lived just north of this horror show, and remember it in the news growing up, and I wanted to learn more about it.
However this was a frustrating book. The author spent too much time going into life stories of every victim, which did not have anything to do with why they were chosen, or what actually happened to them. This did nothing but pad the length of the book unnecessarily.
The chapters about the trial were excellent.

[Steve Kemp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charles Ng and Leonard Lake pulled off some vile disgusting acts during their little reign of terror , and this book does a fantastic job of taking you to the scene . More than once you will ask yourself if these people really exist ,sadly they do ! Well worth admission price ,go grab a copy !

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't read this right before bed. I'll just leave it at that.

[Suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to say this was a bit long winded for me not to say I didn't enjoy it. For aussie readers it reminded me a lot of the snowtown murders.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was interesting but man there was no narrative style or finesse in telling it. It read like a police report and then a court transcript- not engaging at all.

[Valkyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t need a detailed backstory of every single person that never shows up again. Other than that I recommend on this pair of fucked up assholes.

[Stacey Giuca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely love true crime and saw a Dateline episode about these crimes so thought I’d read the book. Boy, what a mistake - this is the most drawn out, boring, tedious read I’ve encountered since in ages. Took me three weeks to finish it mainly because it was so painfully boring.
I could have done without the whole first half of the book - I feel it could have been condensed much more.

[DancingMarshmallow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall: 3 stars. A great matter-of-fact retelling of the Lake/Ng case with weaker concluding chapters.

Pros: Like many other true crime books I’ve read by this publisher, the book itself is nowhere near as sensationalized as the title and is actually a rather matter-of-fact retelling of the Lake/Ng case with a lot of in-depth details on their lives prior to the crimes. This is really a deep-dive into their personalities, behaviors, and relationships complete with a lot of quotes and interviews.

I think what’s also interesting here compared to accounts of other serial murder cases is that the police/lawyers play a minimal role in the story. I can see why the author took this approach (the investigation was rather short), and it’s an interesting narrative choice.

Cons: The book’s latter half (post-arrest of Lake/Ng) is much weaker than the first. The coverage of the trial is a bit bland, and there’s not really a solid conclusion that leaves you with any parting thoughts or analyzes larger implications of cases like this. Without that “but what does it mean??” section and wrapping things up within a few paragraphs, the book feels like it ends a bit abruptly: especially in comparison to how richly detailed the opening chapters were.

Still, this was an easy, captivating read and was a great introduction to the Lake/Ng case.

[Nat PlainJanetheBookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, the was a lot of info dumping in the beginning of this one that dragged the telling. That’s a shame because it would have been a great book, as opposed to a good one. I found it fascinating that lake carried around a cyanide pill, who does that?! I really felt for Ng’s family, especially when his parents spoke in court. Another terrify real life telling of two depraved human beings who murdered innocent people. You can hardly believe someone could do it, especially in such a cold and calculated way… but here we have it. RIP to the victims 😢

[Angel Early · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could've been written in 223 pages rather than 423 in my opinion. It's an interesting true crime story. However, I got lost several times in thought from boredom. There's TOO much detail. There's too many people involved to go into such detail on each & every one of them. I appreciate the research the author done, but I feel it could've been summed up in less time rather than lose someone interest.

[Stephen Rowland · Rating 3 out of 5]

About 2/3 of this book is beyond compelling. I spent hours unable to put it down. But about 1/3 of this book is tedious repetition. I honestly believe 75-100 pages could have been lopped off. The trial was interminably long, with sentencing taking place in 1999. The book was published in 2001 or 2002, leaving Ng's ultimate fate up in the air.

[Stahlgewitter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deathly boring. Not a single person is introduced without paragraphs upon paragraphs, if not entire chapters, dedicated to their life story beginning with how their parents met.

The culprits are arrested halfway through with the second half of the book consisting of trial coverage in the most excruciating detail. Punishment through dullness.

[Rachel Aranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow these were some disturbing individuals... I feel so bad for their victims who had the poor luck of meeting them. The author did a very good job of explaining the minds and situations that these two acted out.

[CYNTHIA DEPUY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book

Not particularly well written, but I read every page. I hadn't heard of this gruesome pair before and it was like watching a wreck, I couldn't turn away. Certainly not an easy read.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This Book Felt Like It Was Just Rotating The Same Information Over And Over And Was So Tedious And Redundant I Kept Reading To Find Out More And Instead Felt Like I Just Kept Hitting The Repeat Button

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sick men. Very good book.

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those rare books that actually manages to put me off, from making me think about what these losers put their victims through. Pretty sickening stuff.

[Madelyn Farrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but it was to long.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cruel is an understatement in this story! Many lives taken and destroyed by two selfish men on a kidnaping killing spree for sexual pleasure.

[Christopher Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don Lasseter’s Die for Me is an excellent, albeit horrifying, chronicle of one of America’s most disturbing, yet unknown, serial killings: the Wilseyville murders, a sadistic spree of rape, torture, and murder committed by Leonard Lake and Charles Ng in rural Calaveras County, California during the 1980s. Far from being a dry account, Lasseter highlights (albeit with the utmost respect) the utter depravity of Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, Lake's manipulation, and their respective moral vacuity. One strength of this book is the unflinching depiction of not only the crimes themselves but the inhuman motivations behind them, motivations driven by a callous disregard for one's fellow man and an indifference to human suffering.

At base, this is also a story about Leonard Lake, a Vietnam veteran (who never saw combat). He was a manipulative, narcissistic misogynist who believed that a nuclear war was coming. He was also obsessed with sexual dominance and conceived what he termed “Project Miranda,” a plan to enslave women in a bunker of his own construction in the California wilderness. His idea was to totally control a woman and bend her to his will. He was a man of contrasts. He hated "leeches" on public assistance like his disabled brother Donald (whom he murdered), but he also leeched from his victims, many of whom he knew personally or had some tangential connection to, rather than using his own labor to earn a living.

One of the most disturbing aspects is how Leonard Lake used his incredible charm to deceive and control others as well to mask his intentions. This can be seen in the numerous video recordings Lake made (and that still exist -- watch them with caution) as he is alternatively playing good cop, bad cop with his victims.

What is also disturbing is that this is not only the story of Leonard Lake and Charles Ng or their victims, but this is also the story of an unindicted co-conspirator who received full and complete immunity for 18 murders. Her name is Claralyn "Cricket" Balazs and she is Leonard Lake's ex-wife and it was her family's cabin where the majority of the murders took place.

Make no mistake: Cricket Balazs was not a clueless bystander. She was a willing accomplice to evil. Lasseter makes it clear that she knew more than she ever admitted to authorities. She destroyed evidence, acted evasively, and still, to this day, has not revealed the full extent of what she knew. In fact, she appears quite happy on her private Facebook account where her name is Lyn Kessler and she lives in Pacifica, California. She is a coward and as guilty of murder as Lake and Ng. One of the biggest tragedies of this case is that she is not in prison as we speak, but enjoying life as a free woman.

If Die for Me teaches us anything, it’s that evil is among us and we must remain vigilant to its presence. Leonard Lake and Charles Ng were serial murderers of the worst kind, but they were enabled by those like Cricket who, for a multitude of reasons, turned a blind eye toward their crimes and deviance.

[Jennifer deBie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, and minute, account of a terrible series of crimes, and the two men who committed them. Lasseter goes into the kind of grueling detail he's known for when it comes to the crimes themselves, and the eventual trial of Ng, and I can see why that put some readers off. Detail is all well and interesting when we're talking about murders, robberies, pornography, identity theft, and underground bunkers, but it becomes way less sexy when suddenly that attention to detail is turned to trial records, witness statements, jury member experiences, and repeated Marseden hearings.

That said, where several other reviewers found the back half of the book (the trial half) dull, I found it interesting in an entirely different way. We, the readers, know Ng is guilty. We've spent a couple hundred pages by this point establishing all the ways that he was an accomplice to Lake's crimes, and complicit in them. The jury that eventually convicted Ng, however, did not have those 200+ pages. They had four lawyers and dozens of witnesses, two video tapes, pictures of pits, bone fragments, and secret cells to sort through. They had a dozen known victims ranging from infant to adulthood, and those victims' families in the gallery watching them. They had to sort out a lot of details in their minds over months and months of testimony.

There's a world where Lasseter hand-waves that process away, and ends his book with "Lake took cyanide after one night in jail. Ng fled to Canada, was extradited after an exhausting court battle, spent months on trial in Los Angeles, and eventually was sentenced to death row." but that version of an ending does no credit to the prosecutors, investigators, jury members, and family members, who all worked together to see the legal system through. It's a long read, but I can't help but think that there is great value in the "trial half" of this book, even if it's not quite as bloody, or sexy, as the crime half.

[Anthony Meaney · Rating 4 out of 5]

(based on the Audiobook)
I thought I knew a lot about the lake-ng murders. Specifically, two "survivalist type" nutjobs kidnapped a bunch of women to make into slaves and then murdered them. Lake takes cyanide, ng flees to Calgary yada yada yada... death row.

Turns out there is a lot more to this story. Particularly just how strange these two were and just how many people they killed particularly how many men (which is unusual for serial killers who tend to be very focused on one sex).
I can't say I'm more enriched by knowing all the gory details of Lake's murder spree but then again I suppose one doesn't delve into true crime for uplifting messages.

The one critique I have of the book is far too much time spent on the minutiae of Ng's court case. Do we really need to know what outfit the DA wore on each day? That whole section of the book could do with some serious pruning. It made it a struggle to finish.

The narrator (Charles Constant) does an excellent job but he really, really needs to learn how to pronounce Saskatchewan.... it's not that hard. Has he never met a single Canadian?