A Los Angeles-area man who officials say killed a couple and burned their bodies and vehicles has been charged with murder, kidnapping, arson and burglary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huangting Gong, 30, of Glendale, is accused of killing Jing Li and Kuanlun Wang, both 37, whom he was said to owe $80,000, in the Southern California desert on Oct. 12 and then stealing nearly $250,000 worth of luxury watches, handbags and clothing from their home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gong was arrested Nov. 5 at Los Angeles International Airport upon his return from Seattle. He was booked into the Orange County Jail, where he was held without bail, police and prosecutors said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo one deserves the fate of being executed and then set on fire in the middle of the desert,\u201d Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spitzer\u2019s office said the charges have been filed with \u201cspecial circumstances\u201d enhancements, meaning that if he is convicted, Gong would face a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Attempts to find contact information for Gong were unsuccessful. It was not clear Tuesday evening whether he has retained counsel. The Orange County public defender\u2019s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prosecutors did not detail why Gong owed Wang $80,000. They said that on Oct. 12, he shot Wang in the head, put the body in Wang\u2019s Tesla and drove it to the home Wang shared with Li in the Orange County city of Brea, about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There, Gong struck Li with a hammer and demanded the code to unlock her phone, the DA\u2019s office alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He used Li\u2019s Tesla to take her to the San Bernardino desert, where he shot her and burned her body, it alleged. He returned to the couple\u2019s home to pick up Wang\u2019s body, drive it to the Riverside County desert and burn it, the DA\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gong then drove each victim\u2019s Tesla to separate desert areas and burned them, the DA\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He returned to the couple\u2019s home and stole $250,000 worth of goods, including watches, handbags, shoes and clothing, the DA\u2019s office alleged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDepravity does not adequately describe the callousness involved to kill a human being and then drive around in the victim\u2019s own car with his body inside in order to carry out the rest of his plan,\u201d Spitzer said in Tuesday\u2019s statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gong was expected in California Superior Court in Santa Ana for a hearing Dec. 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n