Secret Witness Called Key to Ng Case Dies in Car Accident

A secret witness who was to play a pivotal role in the scheduled Orange County trial of accused serial killer Charles Ng has died in a car accident in Canada.

Ng, a former Kaneohe Marine also suspected in a murder in Hawaii, was arrested in Calgary, Alberta, 13 years ago after he allegedly confessed his crimes to fellow inmate Joseph Maurice Laberge.

Laberge, 46, died May 19 in a car accident near Crossfield, 19 miles north of Calgary.

Laberge, whose name had not been revealed until now because he was under a witness protection program, was alone. Foul play has been ruled out.

The California attorney general’s office would not discuss the consequences for its death-penalty case against Ng, who goes to trial Sept. 1 in Orange County.

Ng was arrested in 1985 and charged with a dozen murders committed at a cabin in the Sierra foothills. The victims were placed in makeshift cells, tortured and killed. Co-defendant Leonard Lake killed himself while in police custody 11 years ago.

The trial has been delayed for years because Ng, 37, fled to Canada, fought extradition and repeatedly has objected to court-appointed attorneys.

His trial was moved in 1994 from Calaveras County, where the killings occurred, to Orange County after wide publicity.

Ng could face the death penalty if convicted.