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Huangting Gong/Desert
Image via Getty Images/CUHRIG/Orange County District Attorney's Office

Double murder, desert body burning, and ‘Bling Ring’-level theft: How an unhinged man has basically thrown himself in prison

The things some people are capable of is terrifying.

They say the odds of encountering a killer in your life without even knowing it are pretty high. Obviously there isn’t really a lot of statistical data to prove this little fact, but it’s a scary thought nonetheless — we just don’t know what some people are capable of.

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Take Southern California resident Huangting Gong for instance. A 30-year-old man who pretty much threw himself in prison when he decided to kill a husband and wife in cold blood before burning their bodies in the desert. The announcement was made on Tuesday, November 12 by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office that Gong was being charged for the grisly double homicide of Kuanlun Wang, 37, and his wife, Jing Li Wang, also 37.

As well as two counts of murder, the other charges against Gong include felony counts of kidnapping, arson of a property, and first-degree burglary. For all of this he could receive a maximum prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole, or even the death penalty.

What did Huangting Gong do?

According to the District Attorney’s office, Gong met with the husband, Kuanlun, in the desert on October 12. It was there that he shot him dead and stuffed the body into a Tesla owned by Kuanlun. He then went to the Wang home, and upon his arrival he brutally attacked Jing Li Wang with a hammer, and forced her to give him the password to her phone. 

He then put Jing Li in her own Tesla and drove her out to the desert before shooting her and burning her body. He returned back to the home to retrieve Kuanlun’s body (which was in the other Tesla) and drove it to a different desert where he did the same thing.

Death Valley, California
Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images

Gong also returned to the Wang residence on October 14 and allegedly stole $250,000 worth of jewelry, shoes, handbags, and watches from the home. 

Gong was arrested on November 5 at LAX as he returned from a trip to Seattle. Speaking on the horrific nature of the crimes, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer had this to say: 

“Depravity does not adequately describe the callousness involved to kill a human being and then drive around in the victim’s own car with his body inside in order to carry out the rest of his plan […] No one deserves the fate of being executed and then set on fire in the middle of the desert in a desperate attempt by a killer to cover up his crimes. We are committed to pursuing justice for the victims and their loved ones.”

How was Gong caught?

Alarm bells were first raised concerning the Wangs on October 15, when a family member reported Kuanlun missing after not hearing from him for several days, which was apparently very unusual. They also reportedly saw Gong on surveillance footage from the home’s patio on October 14th.

The family member who reported the Wangs’ disappearance also informed police that Gong owed the couple $80,000 from a business deal. The family member had spoken with Gong, who told them that Kuanlun and Jing Li were supposed to “meet with another business associate” to receive the money owed, but that they didn’t show up.  Means, method, motive — seems he had them all.

Huangting Gong is scheduled for arraignment December 2.


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Author
Image of Jordan Collins
Jordan Collins
Jordan is a freelance writer who has been featured in a number of publications. He has a Masters in Creative Writing and loves telling that to anyone who will listen. Aside from that he often spends time getting lost in films, books and games. He particularly enjoys fantasy from The Legend of Zelda to The Lord of the Rings.