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Murder Suspect Ng Ordered to Stand Trial in 12 Killings

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Associated Press

A Calaveras County judge on Thursday ordered mass murder suspect Charles Ng to stand trial on 12 counts of homicide.

Ng, 31, a martial arts expert and native of Hong Kong, is accused of torturing and murdering his victims in 1985 at a secluded mountain ranch about 150 miles east of San Francisco near Wilseyville.

His former companion, survivalist Leonard Lake, committed suicide with a cyanide capsule shortly after being arrested in June, 1985, for shoplifting at a South San Francisco hardware store. Ng, who was with Lake, managed to escape and fled to Canada, where he was captured a month later. Ng was returned to the United States last year to stand trial.

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On Thursday, Ng was shackled in wrist and ankle chains and sat at the defense table without speaking, flanked by two guards. Justice Court Judge Douglas Mewhinney set Dec. 2 for Ng’s arraignment in Superior Court here. No trial date was set. He faces a possible death sentence if convicted.

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