Brenda Sue O'Connor's remains were sent to family after a short invocation by a Sheriff’s Chaplain. Credit: Calaveras County Sheriff's Office
On April 19, 1985, Lonnie Wayne Bond Sr., his girlfriend Brenda Sue O'Connor, their 1-year-old son, Lonnie Wayne Bond Jr., and a family friend, Robin Scott Stapley went missing from Wilseyville, Calif.
Two months later on June 2, when Charles Ng and Leonard Lake were arrested for shoplifting, police quickly realized Lake bore no resemblance to the photo on his driver's license—which read Robin Scott Stapley. The license plate on Lake's vehicle was also registered to Bond Sr., but the VIN on the car was registered to Paul Cosner, who had disappeared from San Francisco in November 1984. A utility bill found in the car led detectives to a remote property in Wilseyville.
The property soon revealed Lake and Ng as serial killers. As the investigation continued, the bodies of Bond Sr. and Stapley were found buried in a shallow grave about a mile from Lake's property. Police also unearthed over 40 pounds of burned and crushed human bone fragments corresponding to a minimum of 11 bodies. In 1985, these remains were interred in a San Andreas Crypt along with over 1000 unidentified pieces of human remains.
Last week, the Calaveras Cold Case Task Force team confirmed the remains of Brenda Sue O’Connor from those remaining in the crypt. O’Connor’s remains were prepared for transport back to her family on Thursday, April 10. Lonnie Jr., has not been found, yet.
Identification of remains
Lake and Ng raped, tortured and murdered at least 11—possibly 25 or more—men, women and children at the Wilseyville cabin, often disposing of their victims’ remains on the property or nearby. At the time, the remains that were found but unidentified were interred in a San Andreas Crypt.
In 2021, given advancements in DNA technology including genetic genealogy, the Calaveras Cold Case Task Force (California) undertook the enormous task of reexamining the remains to facilitate the possibility of identification.
O’Connor’s remains were identified due to advanced analysis by the California Department of Justice, extensive state-of-the-art forensic work by private laboratories, and the use of forensic investigative genetic genealogy. Cold Case Task Force members spent over three years confirming the identification.
“These additional investigative efforts have finally provided answers to the family of Brenda O’Connor, and the return of Brenda’s remains will signify the first reunification of Brenda with her family in a heartbreaking yet necessary reunion. It is our hope that Brenda can finally rest in peace,” the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office’s said in a statement.
In January 2025, the Calaveras Cold Case Task Force and partners used genetic genealogy to successfully identify remains from the Wilseyville property as Reginald “Reggie” Frisby. Frisby, who was born in 1956 in New York, had never been reported missing and was previously not considered or suspected to be a potential victim of the Wilseyville Serial Killers.
“The purpose of the reexamination project was, is, and will continue to be to identify remains while providing closure to victims’ families,” said the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office’s in a statement.
At the conclusion of the project, any unmatched DNA will be submitted to the Missing Persons DNA Database for comparison and with hope of future identification.