Garden Grove Parents Go to Canada to Face Suspect in Son’s Death

EDMONTON, Canada — A retired Garden Grove couple have made a painful journey here to see the man accused of killing their son, in the hope that they will finally bury some of their hatred.

Dwight and Lola Stapley have come to see the extradition hearing for Charles Ng.

Ng, a former U.S. Marine, is accused in California of killing not only their 25-year-old son, Robin Scott Stapley--who founded the San Diego chapter of the Guardian Angels anti-crime group--but 11 other people as well.

“We lost our youngest son, and that grief will never be alleviated,” a tearful Lola Stapley said Wednesday outside the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench, where the hearing is taking place. “But maybe this will help us handle our anger better.”

Other Victims’ Relatives

Like many other relatives of Ng’s alleged victims, the Stapleys came here so they could attach a face to the radio reports and newspaper headlines.

The hearing must decide whether there is enough evidence to send Ng back to California to face trial on 25 criminal charges. He could face the gas chamber if convicted of murder.

Ng has been accused of helping fellow ex-Marine Leonard Lake to kidnap unsuspecting victims and turn them into sex slaves in their underground torture chamber in Calaveras County.

The Stapleys consider themselves “very lucky” because their son’s body was one of the few recovered. His remains were found wrapped in a sleeping bag in a shallow grave in woods not far from Lake’s cabin. He had been shot in the head three times.

The Stapleys’ worst fears came true when they heard a TV reporter addressing them personally. “The man’s voice said, ‘I want to talk to you about your missing son, Robin, and the murders in Calaveras County,’ ” Dwight Stapley said.

“I didn’t know if Scott had been accused of murder or if he was a victim. I only knew something was terribly wrong.”

The last time they heard from their son, who preferred to be called Scott, he had told them he was going backpacking in Yosemite National Park “to clear the cobwebs out of his head” before heading back to school. He was studying for a master’s degree in education at San Diego State University.

“He told me, ‘Mom, don’t worry if you don’t hear from me; there aren’t many post office boxes in Yosemite,’ ” Lola Stapley recalled.

When the parents had not heard from their son by Mother’s Day, both began to grow concerned. After learning the grisly truth, the Stapleys felt obligated to visit Lake’s property near Wilseyville.

“There was such a stench of death,” Lola Stapley remembered.

Soon after, they discovered their son’s camper truck was missing and his San Diego apartment had been looted.

“When we (examined) his apartment, almost everything had been taken,” his father said. “The gun collection he had mounted on the wall had been broken loose and all the guns were gone.”

Under Article 6 of the 1971 Canada-U.S. Extradition Treaty, Canada can refuse to surrender a fugitive unless the United States can stipulate that the person will not be executed if convicted. The ultimate decision of whether Ng will be returned to California rests with Canada’s justice minister.

Canada carried out its last executions in 1962 and formally abolished the death penalty in 1976.

In a court development Wednesday, Justice Marguerite Trussler turned down an application by Ng’s defense attorney to start an inquiry into the U.S. judicial system.

Defense Argument Rejected

Trussler rejected Don MacLeod’s argument that the hearing should set out the discrepancies between the Canadian and U.S. judicial systems.

MacLeod said the hearing should also consider the costs and morality of a life sentence without the possibility of parole versus a death penalty.

The Stapleys said they are in favor of California’s death penalty.