Officials say a California man who owed couple $80K killed them and burned their bodies in the desert

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.

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.

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.

"No one deserves the fate of being executed and then set on fire in the middle of the desert," Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement Tuesday.

Spitzer's office said the charges have been filed with "special circumstances" enhancements, meaning that if he is convicted, Gong would face a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

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's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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's 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.

There, Gong struck Li with a hammer and demanded the code to unlock her phone, the DA's office alleged.

He used Li's Tesla to take her to the San Bernardino desert, where he shot her and burned her body, it alleged. He returned to the couple's home to pick up Wang's body, drive it to the Riverside County desert and burn it, the DA's office said.

Gong then drove each victim's Tesla to separate desert areas and burned them, the DA's office said.

He returned to the couple's home and stole $250,000 worth of goods, including watches, handbags, shoes and clothing, the DA's office alleged.

"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," Spitzer said in Tuesday's statement.

Gong was expected in California Superior Court in Santa Ana for a hearing Dec. 2.