Jury Selection Begins in Ng Torture-Murder Case

In what is expected to be a long and arduous task, jury selection began Monday in the long-awaited Orange County trial of alleged torturer-murderer Charles Ng.

Ng, who may face the death penalty, is charged with killing a dozen people at a Calaveras County cabin in the mid-1980s. His trial was transferred to Orange County because of fears that pretrial publicity could have tainted the jury pool in Northern California.

Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan interviewed 405 prospective jurors Monday morning, dismissing those with financial, health or other hardships that could prevent them from sitting through a trial that is expected to last six to nine months.

Over the next two weeks, Ryan is expected to interview up to 3,240 people, one of the largest jury pools ever in the county.

Ryan wants to have 200 to 300 qualified jurors available for detailed questioning, which is expected to begin Oct. 13.

Prosecutors charge that Ng, 37, and Leonard Lake tortured and killed at least 12 people in 1984 and 1985 on Lake’s property in the Sierra foothills of Calaveras County. Lake, who was arrested on an unrelated charge, confessed to the crimes and later killed himself.

Ng fled to Canada, where he was captured in June 1985. He fought extradition for six years, but was finally transferred to California. His case has since been delayed by myriad circumstances, including numerous motions filed by Ng to postpone the trial and to move it out of Northern California.