Die for Me: The Terrifying True Story of the Charles Ng & Leonard Lake Torture Murders

by Don Lasseter

Book Overview

Charles Ng and Leonard Lake were spotted shoplifting. Lake's capture led police to a bunker, where they discovered evidence of sex crimes, torture and murder. This legal case was the costliest and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0786011076
• ISBN13: 9780786011070
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books
• Length: 428 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 4.2" x 7.0"

Customer Reviews

Great story

Die For Me is the true story of Leonard Lake, his apparent inferiority complex, his psychopathic sidekick Charles Ng and their horrible crimes. The book begins with excerpts from Leonard Lake's "philosophy tape" a homemade video Lake made so that one day the world would know of his feelings, plans, ambitions and lack of success. In this tape Lake confesses of his sickening sexual desires including his attraction to girls as young as twelve. He tells those who may one day see the video that he likes to "use" and "dominate" women. Sadly for him, he explains, is that he doesn't have the tradional allures of money and power that women require. So as a self described realist, Lake's plan is to build a bunker with a secret compartment to hold his "slaves". He called it "project miranda", named after a girl in the book "The Collector". In "The Collector", a butterfly collector and loser of the same enormous proportions Lake saw in himself capured a girl (named Miranda) and made her his slave. Lake talks humorously of how his plan is "highly illegal" and "violates human rights" and continues to say blah,blah,blah... clearly showing that these things mean nothing to him. As fate would have it Lake would meet a man who shared many of his interest. The mans name was Charles Ng. He too liked guns, the military, survivalism and most of all- murder and sexual torture. With this mans help Lake's depraved dreams would come to fruition. I will leave it to the reader to find out the whole story but Lake and Ng did indeed build their bunker and capture women to be, as Lake had documented "mostly sexual slaves, but physical slaves as well". In this book you will hear the story of two psychopaths. Classic in their complete disregard for human life and the feelings of others. You will also learn a little about the dynamics of what many psychologist call a "folie a deux"- a whole greater than the sum of its parts. These men's desires fed off of each other and got stronger as they spent time together. They cooperated not only in enslaving women but in murdering men as a means to collect their social security checks or some other trivial gain. God only knows the true extent of these crimes and I would prefer that he keep it to himself. This book however does an excellent job of covering what is known, which is sufficient to scare the daylights out of most. I suggest that you read this book, learn a little about something and pray along with the rest of us who have read this book that two monsters like these will never cross each others path again.

Shockingly Detailed

I read through this one in about a week. I really enjoy the True Crime stories on A & E and thought I'd try reading some. This book is a little graphic and I wonder about the author who so thoroughly researched for it. The guy even attended the trial. Talk about dedication! Some of the gorror haunts me even now. Be careful.

Die For Me.....True Crime at its best!

I have been reading True Crime for 30 years and this one is truly a winner.Not since Norman Mailer's "The Executioners Song" has an author so totally captured the essence of "the evil next door". Leonard Lake was the real "mind" behind these heinous murders...it is always amazing when two such psyches collaberate as Lake's and Ng's do in this case. Although this is the story of Charles Ng....it is the saga of Lake's pathetic life that really captured my interest. Mr. Lasseter ( as he did previously in "Property of the Folsom Wolf" ) mesmerizes the reader with his descriptions of the minutiae of this madman's every day life leading up to the murders....you hear the sounds...smell the smells....and taste the tastes....heartwrenchingly so.Everyone has known a Leonard Lake, the wierd guy you went to highschool with...the creep down the street...your "quiet" cousin...after this read, Lake and the pokerfaced and dark spirited Ng will live on in the back of your mind for a discomforting long while.Fascinating!!!

Extraordinary true crime book

Author Lasseter has presented an admirable view of a cruel and violent pair of killers. Other reviews seem to express disappointment because he didn't include graphic, bloody descriptions of killing women and babies. I, for one, am grateful he didn't. I was looking for a work that exams in excellent detail the factors that molded these two men into degenerate murderers. Lasseter has gone the extra mile to provide that. I couldn't put the book down during the trial segment, waiting in suspense to see if Charles Ng would be found guilty despite very scarce evidence regarding his involvement in the crimes. From my admiration of this book, I will become a regular reader and fan of this author.

Terror in California

This has to be one of the most disturbing true-crime books I have read! It is the story of Charles Ng and Leonard Lake's extensive killing career that began in 1985. The narrative is well written and intriguing, the photos gripping. I honestly lay awake contemplating the inhumanity wrought by these two men. GREAT READ!