Michael Lane pleads not guilty in fatal assault

By Cara McCoy

Published Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010 | 10:56 a.m.

Updated Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010 | 2:08 p.m.

A British motivational speaker charged with murdering a Las Vegas woman whose body was stuffed in a trash can and in the attempted murder of a transsexual he allegedly solicited on Craigslist for sex pleaded not guilty today to the charges against him.

Michael Lane, 37, appeared today in front of Judge James Bixler on charges of murder with a deadly weapon and robbery with a deadly weapon in connection with the death of 44-year-old Ginger Candela, whose severed body was found in a garbage can filled with bleach in her garage on Nov. 30.

He also pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm in a separate case in which he is alleged to have used Candela's SUV to try and run over a transsexual who authorities say he solicited on Craigslist for sex.

Prosecutors have said they could seek the death penalty against him and will likely convene a review committee in the coming weeks to weigh a capital murder charge.

A trial date in both cases was set for Jan. 10, 2011, in Clark County District Court. Lane was indicted in both cases last week by a Clark County grand jury.

Candela died from strangulation, with blunt head trauma as a significant contributing factor, the Clark County Coroner’s Office said.

Her body was found cut in half and stuffed into a trash can filled with bleach, according to a police report. Authorities said they believe she died about two weeks before she was found.

Lane told police the two were meditating in her bedroom when he decided to kill her, which he did by strangling her with an electric cord after striking her with a frying pan, according to an arrest report.

Investigators estimated Candela had been dead for about two weeks by the time missing persons detectives found her body.

Lane appeared to be living at her home in the 3100 block of Westfield Street at the time of her death and remained there for a time after allegedly killing her, authorities said. On Nov. 24, he allegedly solicited a transsexual for sex on Craigslist and then, after an argument, attempted to run the person over with a vehicle.

That vehicle was registered to Candela, and he was still using it at the time of his December arrest at a motel in California, which he had checked into using Candela’s credit cards, police said.

He is being held without bail in the Clark County Detention Center.