It Takes Two to Kill: Leonard Lake & Charles Ng

Serial killers usually act alone. But sometimes, two broken personalities collide — and the result is catastrophic. 

In the launch episode of our new series, It Takes Two, Simon Ford and Jacques Morrell investigate Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, a sadistic duo who turned a remote cabin in California into a chamber of horrors.

We explore their warped backgrounds, the psychology of killer partnerships, and the devastating human toll of their crimes. What happens when one man’s fantasies meet another’s lack of restraint? Together, Lake and Ng became far deadlier than either would have been alone. 

👉 This autumn, It Takes Two uncovers the world’s most infamous killer couples. And don’t miss our new companion series, The A–Z of Psychopaths — bite-sized deep dives into the darkest minds in history.

Glossary of Key Psychological Terms

Folie à deux (Shared Psychotic Disorder): A rare condition where two people share the same delusional belief. Usually, one is the dominant “inducer” and the other the more dependent “acceptor.” The belief often weakens when the pair is separated.

Interpersonal Complementarity: The way people naturally “fit” together along dominance and submission lines. A controlling, dominant personality often attracts and sustains a submissive, dependent one. In killer pairs, this can stabilise and reinforce violent behaviour.

Moral Disengagement: The mental tricks people use to excuse cruelty. These include diffusing responsibility (“we did it together”), using euphemisms (“the Miranda Project”), or dehumanising victims so empathy is switched off.

Closed-World Effect: When a pair isolates itself socially, shutting out external reality checks. In this closed environment, their beliefs and fantasies intensify unchecked.

Mutual Radicalisation: Each person’s worst idea sounds normal when the other repeats it back. This echo effect accelerates extremism, reinforcing violence as “shared purpose.”

Co-offending Momentum: Research shows that once people commit violence together, they’re far more likely to do it again. Each successful crime lowers the psychological barrier to the next.

PCL-R (Hare Psychopathy Checklist): A 20-item scale used by forensic psychologists to assess psychopathy. Traits include grandiosity, manipulation, lack of empathy, impulsivity, and criminal versatility. A score of 30 or more (out of 40) indicates psychopathy in the U.S.

Acknowledgeements
Song, Oh, California!, by David Ackles, provided to YouTube by Rhino/Elektra.

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