Leonard Lake and Charles Ng are two of the most notorious serial killers in American history.
During a dark period between 1983 and 1984, they terrorized Wilseyville, California by brutally raping, torturing, and murdering at least 11 people – but possibly many more – at a remote cabin property in the area.
The devastating impact of their killing reign still resonates today; filmmaker Todd Howe describes it as impossible to know how many innocent victims perished in their hands.
Through ‘Manifesto of a Serial Killer‘, viewers can now gain unprecedented insight into the lives of these twisted personalities who clearly had no concept of right or wrong.
The two-man killing spree led by Benjamin Ng and Randy Steven Kraft came to a shocking end in June 1985. While Ng was arrested at a San Francisco shop, Lake’s arrest revealed something more sinister.
During the detention of Lake, authorities found an illegal gun silencer in his car, which belonged to a missing man named Paul Cosner.
To further complicate the situation, Ng had managed to escape before Lake was arrested. Unfortunately for him, his plan never materialized as he took a cyanide capsule sewn into his clothing which resulted in his death only a few days later.
Police discovered the Wilseyville property and the remains of victims murdered by Lake and Ng. They also found written and video diary entries made by Lake detailing their plan to kidnap young women and hold them captive in a cell they had built for that purpose.
The two men recorded themselves assaulting women. Ng fled to Canada and was arrested for shoplifting and assaulting a store guard. He spent six years fighting extradition before being returned to the United States in 1991.
The trial, which was delayed by tactics used by Ng and his lawyers, finally began in California in 1998. Ng was charged with 12 counts of first-degree murder and was eventually convicted on 11 counts of murder for the deaths of six men, three women, and two baby boys.
He was sentenced to death and that sentence was upheld by the California Supreme Court in late July 2022. Ng is currently on death row at San Quentin prison.
What is the documentary about?
In November 1984, Cosner and his car, a Honda, went missing. His sister Sellitto worked tirelessly to keep the case active, and in the following year, Lake and Ng were identified as being in Cosner’s car while shoplifting.
This led authorities to a cabin in Wilseyville, California, where Lake and Ng had been holding, sexually assaulting, and killing kidnapped women.
The pair also murdered men whose identities they believed Lake could assume. The documentary tells the story of Sellitto’s determination to seek justice for her brother and encourages viewers to never give up the fight for justice.
Sellitto hopes that audiences will understand that it is important to stand up to injustice and not let perpetrators get away with their crimes.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7t7XZmpqaZpOkunC8wK6jZpufqLumvoydoKyZoKWyor7Ap5qeZw%3D%3D