Charles Chitat Ng Trial: 1998-99

Ng was caught. He was shoplifting again, this time in Calgary, Canada. A security guard grabbed him. Ng shot the guard in the hand, but another guard wrestled him down. He was convicted of robbery and assault and sentenced to 4 and one-half years in prison. Canadian authorities ruled that he'd have to finish his sentence in Canada before he could be extradited. Meanwhile, California authorities filed charges of murder and kidnapping against Ng. Digging at the cabin continued, with 11 more-or-less intact remains found in addition to the pile of bone fragments.

Ng spent his prison time studying Canadian and U.S. law. Son of a wealthy Hong Kong businessman, he had been expelled from several schools, including a private boarding school in England. He came to the United States but joined the Marines after a hit-and-run accident. He stole a number of guns from the Marine Corps, deserted, was caught but escaped from the marine brig. He met Lake, a former marine, through a survivalist magazine and moved in with him and Balasz.