Shill Kill Show Notes For The Keddie Murders — Map with Details and Classified Ad Photos!

Thank you for listening to the latest episode of Shill Kill, where I introduced my Classified Theory on the Keddie Murders after providing a review of Monero (XMR). Shill Kill pairs a crypto and a crime each time!

Although it’s an educated guess, much of what I have had to say cannot be denied. Were Lake and Ng responsible for the murders? It’s my belief that they were the two killers who caused the bloodbath on April 11th, 1981. In the episode, I paint the picture of how it could have all played out given the “evidence” provided. Below is a map with all the details I talked about on the episode. Classified Ad photos, too! Please share if you feel it’s worthy of your investigative itch!

As I said in the episode, the biggest twist is the name itself. The Keddie Murders. This case is about two killers traveling to do what they do and then learning things along the way. Two opportunistic and sadistic killers with only thieving and murder on their minds. Keddie was a place near Quincy. And it’s a place they likely didn’t plan to visit or even had known about until bits of info were revealed along the trip.

Consider this:

If you told an honest man where a fat envelope of cash was he’d probably call the police to let them know. If you told the same thing to a thief, he’d go there to get the envelope and anything else he could find along the way.

Charles Ng escaped military custody for stealing weapons and fled to Nor Cal in 1980, meeting up with Lake. In April of 1982 he was captured and sent to prison. 1981 is the only year that Ng was available to commit the Keddie Murders with Lake. Otherwise, he was in prison from 1982–84.

Lake perused magazines, placing ads in survivalist magazines and connecting with the military deserter Ng this way. He also used the classifieds to steal items and abduct people; such as a family in SF in 1984. Lake stole vehicles and used other people’s names and identities at will. He tried to steal a van from a man which has been documented. The GMC Van ad from the Feather River Bulletin was perfect for abductions, ready for off-road excursions. It came with extras, including bed cabinets. The van — likely a 1975 Vandura — also came in the color Hawaiian Blue, which was the popular custom color for the model. At night in the woods, this blue might appear to be green. A green van under a dark night would appear darker, possibly black. That’s my guess about why witnesses had said it was a green van!

Ng couldn’t buy a gun because of his record. A yard sale with a shotgun would be inviting. What other weapons might be laying around?

The two teens hitch-hiking back and forth on the day of the murders is what calls out to me. They were spotted by John’s mother around 3:30 PM on Saturday as they were walking back to Keddie from Quincy. She picked them up to take them back to the cabin and then drove to Quincy for her younger son at baseball tryouts. The two teens — John and his friend Dana — then hitched back to Quincy for a Saturday night in town. The Feather River Bulletin came out every week on Wednesday. After the murders, the mystery lead the front page. The Bulletin says the two boys were spotted at Lawrence and Crescent around 9:30 PM. They probably weren’t able to return to the cabin until about 11:00 PM. This is when I believe they walked in on Lake and Ng inside the cabin. The mother was bound and muffled. Tina was taken out the back door. She was moved out quickly because that’s why they were there. For Tina!

Lake and Ng could have made the trip to Graeagle — Yard Sale — to check out the 12 gauge. The could have also gone up to Greenville to check out a ’78 Van Conversion, the only other van advertised in the Bulletin. If they traveled back from Greenville to Quincy, they could have crossed paths with the teens hitching to Quincy after John’s mother had dropped them at the cabin. Sometime around 4:00 PM. It’s my theory — The Classified Theory — that Lake and Ng picked up the boys, driving them to Quincy. By doing this, they could have learned that one of them, John, lived in cabin 28 with his mom and sister and so forth. If Lake learned the girl was twelve years old then his admission on his dungeon video a few years later fits for me that Tina was the reason for him to be there. Lake had said he was attracted to girls “as young as twelve” in the video filmed by Ng. And how might he know that for sure if he had never abducted a twelve year old before? Think about it: How would someone know they liked a certain food if they never tasted it before? When Lake admits this on his video, he’s saying that he’s already been with a girl as young as twelve. He didn’t go on to say “ten or eleven.” He said “as young as twelve” and left it at that.

If in fact Lake and Ng picked up the teens and learned these details then they would have had the information on what to do next. If they also knew the boys would be in town late on a Saturday night then they would know where to go and abduct a twelve year old — as Lake desired — and a woman in a rather remote area. Lake wanted women slaves, too; and this was the first attempt at his “Miranda.” The mother was bound and alive at the time the boys walked in on the scene. Tina was rushed out the back door. Either Lake or Ng returned through the back door and everyone was killed.

Thus, if the killers purchased the GMC van in Quincy after dropping off the boys they would have left their first vehicle in Quincy and taken the van to Keddie later on. They wouldn’t have had any problem knowing where to go and what to look for because they already knew what was waiting for them in Keddie. Furthermore, if they had stuck around Quincy and spotted the boys still there then they knew they had time to commit the crime. For as much as they could see, the boys might just as well be stuck in Quincy until they could hitch another ride back to Keddie. The killers had a plan because of the information they had learned. The boys wouldn’t have known the “green van” that neighbors had reported was the vehicle of the same two men who had given them a ride to Quincy hours before. This was because Lake and Ng switched vehicles. When the boys walked in the cabin an argument ensued. It was a total surprise. The boys weren’t tipped off as to who was inside, although they probably wondered whose van it was parked near the cabin. Lake wanted a girl and a woman slave, and that’s what he got when he first showed up with Ng. Whether they were aware the three younger boys were in another room or not is anybody’s guess. But again, they were not there for anything else. If Lake and Ng had done what they had planned, they would have left Keddie, possibly with both the mother and girl. They would not have waited for the two boys to show back up and kill them. They would have been gone in the night.

I believe they wanted to abduct the mother. But time wasn’t on the killer’s side. Tina was a must-have. The mother was secondary. This attack might have been their first attempt at such a thing after talking about it for awhile.

The muffled screams heard by a neighbor is when they were binding the mother — she had material in her mouth and they used medical tape. The boys were probably hitching back to Keddie at that very time. Otherwise, it would have been much louder if the attack happened when all victims were inside before the killers arrived.

If Lake and Ng did buy the van in Quincy (at Ken’s Tires) or possibly the one in Greenville for twice the price, they are the killers.

Here’s a Map of things that happened on the day of and after.

— Classifieds ran in the Feather River Bulletin (Countywide Classifieds). These classifieds were virtually the only major classifieds for locals in Plumas and other counties back in 1981. There were no other affordable, local options within reach of northern counties to my knowledge. Feather River Bulletin was based in Quincy and had several partner papers that carried the same classifieds. Hence… the Countywide name.

— Yard Sale in Graeagle ended on April 11th at 5PM, hours before the murders. (Shotgun for sale. BB gun among other misc. items, possibly?)

— Ad for the ’78 Van Conversion may have been worth a call and visit. If Lake and Ng did check it out, that would put them back on the path back to Wilseyville at minimum or even Ukiah where authorities would eventually raid Lake’s place and capture Ng in 1982. They had several illegal weapons on their person. Both were murderous thieves. Ng was a kleptomaniac.

— Ad for the 1975 GMC Van. Likely a Vandura in Hawaiian Blue. At night in a wooded area like Keddie without street lamps, this blue could appear green. Ad features many attractive things to killers such as Lake and Ng, who were later known for abducting people; even families and infants. (Bed cabinets, etc.) *Sample picture.

This is the only Ad in The Feather River Bulletin Autos that did not have a phone number. You had to see this in person! Ken’s Tires back then was in Quincy. First ran in the April 1st, 1981 edition. (By April 15th, the murders and missing Tina lead the news.)

The only other van available in the Autos was the Van Conversion, advertised at the same time. The yard sales and autos were placed in columns next to one other in the paper.

— Lake and Ng traveled many miles to abduct people. Case in point, a family in SF in 1984. (As soon as Ng was released from prison in 1984, he reunited with Lake and got to work stealing autos, identities, classified ad items and such.)

— The only time Ng was available to commit murders and abductions prior to his 1984 release from Leavenworth Prison was in 1981. (He first met Lake in 1980 and in April of 1982 — one year after Keddie — he was captured.)

— Lake met Ng through a survivalist magazine ad. Ng used advertisements to hunt people, such as a gay man in SF. The reason they were at the family’s apartment they had abducted from SF was because of a classified ad for stereo equipment. Ng had originally been busted by the military for stealing weapons. A 12 gauge shotgun at a Yard Sale is too enticing to pass up for someone who couldn’t buy a weapon legally. If a seller has a shotgun, what other weapons are laying around?

— While in prison, after his final capture, Ng drew sketches of a “Remains Dept.” It’s my belief that Tina’s remains were meant to be found, even though they were in a remote place that only survivalists like Lake and Ng could traipse around in. I believe Ng made the call about her “remains.”

The composite sketch of the Keddie suspects. (Looks like the 5'6 in Ng and the taller Lake. For certain, it doesn’t look more like the supposed two suspects who died years ago!)

What might the sketch have been if the artist had any training? Spot on!

In the early 80’s, Lake didn’t have his beard like he sported in his haunting videos that were later unearthed by investigators near his dungeon in Wilseyville. Here’s what he looked like around the time of Keddie, along with Ng…

Do you think these two are responsible for Keddie? It’s a known fact that they had killed about twice as many people because of the buried notebooks found near Lake’s dungeon property. A majority of other unknown victims would have had to been killed prior to 1984–85. Ng was only able to be with Lake for a short period of time after they had first met. Ng was a fugitive and Lake was harboring a fugitive. The clock was always ticking on their opportunities to hunt and kill. Which is probably why Lake had a cyanide pill stitched into his clothing! He knew his time was coming!

So…

If they killed three at Keddie in 1981 and one later to be scattered at Feather Falls, then that higher number makes more sense given the available time frame for Lake’s sadistic servant, Charles Ng, to serve his sick interests.

Then again, it’s merely an educated guess! Thanks for listening!

End note:

Lake swallowed a cyanide pill while in police custody, going out like the coward he was. Charles Ng is still rotting in prison. Although he deserves to be executed like yesterday, it would be quite a thrill to bind him to this case!

Ng’s famous line was: “No gun, no fun.”

Did Ng want that Winchester? Did Lake want that Van? Did they road trip to Quincy in April of 1981?