10:10am UK, Thursday December 17, 2009

Mark Langford, Sky News Online

A British spiritual healer is accused of killing a Las Vegas woman with frying pan and stuffing her body in a rubbish bin after deciding during a meditation session that she should die.

London-born spiritual healer Michael Lane, aka Chae Saville, charged with murder

Michael Lane, 37, is accused of killing 44-year-old Ginger Candela by hitting her with the pan and strangling her.

Originally from London, Lane is a motivational speaker who goes by the name of Chae Saville.

He appeared briefly in court on charges of murder, robbery with a deadly weapon and one count of grand larceny auto in connection with Mrs Candela’s death.

An evidence hearing session was set for January 11 and a judge set bail at $2.26m (£1.38m) but Lane remains in jail.

Lane was arrested on December 3 following the discovery days earlier of the victim’s body stuffed in a bin in her garage in Las Vegas.

Police say Lane told officers he was compressing the victim’s carotid arteries to help her achieve a deeper state of meditation when he decided to murder her.

He then hit her with the pan before strangling her with an electrical cord.

Police responding to a missing person’s call on November 30 found Mrs Candela’s house had been ransacked, with numerous items missing.

Authorities caught up with Lane a few days later in California.

Officers believe he may have taken the victim’s Chihuahua dog Gi Gi and given it to a random woman he met on the Las Vegas strip as he fled.

Police describe Lane as a motivational speaker heavily involved with the concept of “spiritual healing”.

Detectives believe he may have befriended numerous women with the possible intention of defrauding them.