Benjamin Ashford|California man allegedly shot couple and set their bodies, Teslas on fire in desert

A Southern California man is Benjamin Ashfordaccused of murdering a couple, setting their bodies and cars on fire in the desert and then stealing nearly $250,000 worth of luxury watches, handbags and clothing from their home, prosecuting authorities said.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday that Huangting Gong, 30, of Glendale, has been charged with two felony counts of murder, one felony count of kidnapping, two felony counts of arson of property and two felony counts of first-degree burglary.

“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,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a news release Tuesday.

“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," Spitzer continued. "We are committed to pursuing justice for the victims and their loved ones.”

As of Wednesday, it is unclear if Gong has legal representation.

What is Huangting Gong accused of doing?

Authorities learned of Gong's alleged crimes on Oct. 15, when a family member of 37-year-old Kuanlun Wang contacted the Brea Police Department after not hearing from him for multiple days, which "was very unusual," Spitzer's office said. The family member told police that Wang had disclosed that Gong, a business associate, owed him $80,000, the state government agency's release continued.

Due to the family member not being able to reach Wang, she contacted Gong on Oct. 12, who told her Wang and Wang's wife, 37-year-old Jing Li, did not show up for a trip to New York City to meet another business associate who could pay Wang the $80,000 he owed him, the DA's office said. Wang's family were unaware of a planned trip to New York, according to the release.

After surveillance video from Oct. 14 showed a man on Wang's patio, the family member contacted Gong again who denied that it was him in the footage, the DA's office said. Once the family member reached out to Gong, her access to the security video system was suddenly cut off, according to the state government agency.

Huangting Gong arrested at Los Angeles International Airport

Prosecutors allege that Gong met Wang on Oct. 12 in the desert, shot him in the head, placed the body in Wang's own Tesla and then drove the car to Wang's home in Brea, according to the DA office's release.

Once at the Brea home, authorities accuse Gong of attacking Jing Li with a hammer and striking her while he forced her to divulge her phone's password, the DA's office said. After allegedly attacking Li, Gong put her inside her own Tesla, took her to a desert area in San Bernardino, shot her there and then burned her body, according to the Spitzer's office.

After burning Li's body, Gong then retrieved Wang's body from the couple's home in Brea and disposed of him in a separate desert area in Riverside County, the DA's office alleges. Gong then burned Wang's body, took the couple's Teslas to a third desert area and set them on fire, the state government agency said.

Once Gong disposed of the bodies and two Teslas, he is accused of coming back to the couple's home on Oct. 14 and stealing nearly $250,000 worth of luxury items, according to the release. The Brea Police Department arrested Gong at the Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 5 when he came back from a trip to Seattle, Spitzer's office said.

DA: Huangting Gong could face death penalty

In addition to the initial offenses, Gong has been charged with two felony special circumstances enhancements for committing multiple murders, another enhancement for killing during the commission of a kidnapping and two final felony enhancements for discharging a firearm causing death, according to the DA office.

In special circumstances murder cases, the Orange County DA's Office assembles a committee after the preliminary hearing is held to determine if the death penalty should be on the table. Spitzer will make the ultimate decision whether to pursue death following the process, his office said.

If Spitzer decides not to pursue the death penalty, then the maximum sentence for Gong would be life without the possibility of parole, according to the release. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 2 at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana, California.

The last execution to take place in California was of Clarence Ray Allen on Jan. 17, 2006, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Allen was sentenced to death in 1982 for plotting the murders of Bryon William Schletewitz, Douglas Scott White and Josephine Linda Rocha while he was behind bars for the 1974 killing of Mary Sue Kitt.