Leonard Lake | |
---|---|
Born | Leonard Thomas Lake October 29, 1945 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Died | June 6, 1985 | (aged 39)
Cause of death | Suicide by cyanide poisoning |
Other names | Leonard Hill Leonard Blake Alan Drey Tom Meyers Jim Bright Ted White Steve Charles Gunnar Donald Lake Randy Jacobsen Robin Stapley Paul Cosner |
Spouse(s) | 1st: Karen Lee 2nd: Claralyn Balazs (both divorced) |
Conviction(s) | Previously convicted of vehicle theft to one year of probation; never convicted for murder |
Details | |
Victims | 11 confirmed 25+ suspected[1] |
Span of crimes | 1983–1985 |
Country | United States |
State(s) | California |
Date apprehended | June 2, 1985 |
Leonard Thomas Lake (October 29, 1945 – June 6, 1985), also known as Leonard Hill and a variety of other aliases, was an American survivalist and serial killer. During the mid-1980s, Lake and his accomplice, Hong Kong-born Charles Ng, raped, tortured and murdered an estimated eleven to twenty-five victims at a remote cabin near Wilseyville, California, 150 miles east of San Francisco.[2] Upon being arrested on unrelated charges in 1985, Lake swallowed cyanide pills that he had sewn into his clothing and died four days later. Human remains, videotapes and journals found at his cabin later confirmed Ng's involvement, and were used to convict Ng on eleven counts of capital murder.[3][1]