'Manifesto of a Serial Killer': How did Leonard Lake die? Ex-marine killed dozens with Charles Ng in '80s
WILSEYVILLE, CALIFORNIA: Two of the many serial killers who haunted the people of the US were — Leonard Lake and Charles Ng. While Ng has still been on death row for over two decades, Lake died in 1985. It has been said that both of them had together killed several people, including women and children, for years before authorities got to know about them.
The crimes of Lake and his co-conspirator are now getting featured in ‘Manifesto of a Serial Killer’, which will reportedly release on January 1 at 7 pm ET on Oxygen. As per Oxygen’s site, the series is divided in three episodes as the synopsis noted, “When a documentary filmmaker sets out to tell the story of one of the biggest serial killer cases in California history, he uncovers a terrifying tale that begins in 1984 with the disappearance of San Francisco resident Paul Cosner. As investigators search for Cosner, they discover Leonard Lake’s cabin, where among buried human remains they find Lake’s recorded manifesto. When Lake’s accomplice, Charles Ng, flees the country, a manhunt ensues and the fight for justice begins.” With the announcement of the true crime show, people’s interest in both the killers have increased more.
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How did Leonard Lake die?
Lake reportedly used Leonard Hill along with a number of other aliases as his identity. As per reports, he was born in 1945 in San Francisco and spent his childhood with his grandparents after his parents separated. His obsession with porn and doing disturbing things like taking the lives of mice by dissolving them in chemicals, reportedly started at an early age.
In his adulthood, Lake went on to serve the US Marine Corps and worked in Vietnam as a radar operator. However, soon he was admitted in the hospital for “exhibiting incipient psychotic reactions” and eventually in 1971, he was released from the service after being diagnosed with schizoid personality disorder.
Reportedly, the criminal then registered himself at the San Jose University but did not complete the studies and became a part of a hippie commune. CRIMINAL MINDS reported that “around this time, Lake became obsessed with the idea of a global nuclear war and developed a kind of survivalist paranoia and with it an obsession with guns.”
In 1981, Lake reportedly married Claralyn Balazs and around that time only, he also met Ng, who was originally from Hong Kong. Together, they then went on to assault, rape, torture, and murder approximately 11 to 25 people. However, their dangerous obsession came to an end in 1985 when he was arrested on unrelated charges. But before being questioned or charged, Lake took cyanide pills while in custody that resulted in his death on June 6, 1985, at the age of 39.
