The Wonderland murders were the subject of two Hollywood films. The killings. Aside from their drug dealings, some of the occupants were known for committing robberies and burglaries throughout Los Angeles. The story eventually moves on to two city detectives investigating the crime, Sam Nico and Louis Cruz, and their contact with Holmes. David was dating a 22-year old woman, Barbara Richardson who sometimes went by the name 'Butterfly.' It was in prison that David Lind met Ron Launius. Looking for Barbara Richardson in Georgia? We want to hear it. Synopsis. But there is no doubt that for those who may have known the story, they cannot help but get an eerie feeling each time they enter the house. Release Dates The house was notorious for round-the-clock mayhem and debauchery. He was very distraught, Thorson says. They were probably considered dirtbags and drug dealers and Who cares? he says. Mr. Holmes was accused of playing a role in both crimes and being the link between the two camps. (Holmes, who had starred in hundreds of films by that time, is the subject of a 1989 Rolling Stone feature by Mike Sager about his involvement in these events, The Devil and John Holmes.) Nash asked me to step out of his bedroom, Thorson says. Eddie Nash had died in 2014. Lind's position in the drug underworld was and remains murky due to allegations by rival drug dealers that he worked as a police informant. Crime, Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Made in Europe. When questioned, neighbors said the drug-fueled Wonderland parties often included loud, violent screaming and disruptive noise, so when they heard the murders occurring, they simply believed another party was taking place. The body of Barbara "Butterfly" Richardson, David Lind's girlfriend, was lying on the ground near the couch she had been sleeping on, covered in blood. Holmes then visits Nash to buy drugs, and on the way out leaves the kitchen door unlocked to give the Wonderland gang easy access. Employees of the VA hospital where Holmes lived out his last days recalled seeing Holmes give incoherent answers or not even responding to the questions at all due to the severity of his illness. Launiuss wife Susan was gravely injured and is the only known survivor of the attack. Police believed the brutality of the killings suggested a crime of rage and revenge. The house located on 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Laurel Canyon. In the years following the Wonderland murders, McCourt was reported to have moved to Colorado. The ''Wonderland murders,'' named after the site, 4763 Wonderland Avenue, where the killings took place on July 1, 1981, proved a potent mix of seamy celebrity, drugs and violence. Thorson testified against Nash in 1990, telling the jury Nash had ordered Holmes to take Diles to recover his drugs and money. The weapons used by the killers were believed to be a combination of hammers and metal pipes. Victim two, Ron Launius was bludgeoned to death on his bed. After the trial, Holmes would serve out his jail time. Ron Launius In Mr. Cox's film the particulars of the crime -- five people attacked with lead pipes in a house in Laurel Canyon, four of them fatally -- remain in some doubt, as does the extent of Holmes's responsibility. And I took a Lear jet into Burbank and I met with Eddie Nash., When Thorson arrived, however, Nash had neither drugs nor money. After the sun came up, police found a bloody crime scene inside a house 8763 Wonderland Avenue, the known residence of the Wonderland Gang, a group of drug dealers. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. For something to become a really big media event, you need the idea that it could happen to anybody, he says. In 1981, at Launius' behest, Lind traveled to Los Angeles to join the Wonderland gang and assist them in running drugs. [citation needed], Launius was known for remaining composed under pressure. The wild details Thorson shares strain credulity. And so there is this sense that no one was innocent in this crime., At the same time, Thorson, who is familiar with the struggle of addiction, points out that even a houseful of drug dealers deserves justice. In the years following the Wonderland murders, McCourt was reported to have moved to Colorado. David Clay Lind was a biker, heroin addict, and member of the Aryan Brotherhood who befriended Launius when the two men served time in prison together. Federal prosecutors have reached back to history here to revive a sensational murder case, unveiling an indictment that alleges that a former nightclub owner, his bodyguard and a pornography actor arranged the killings of four people in the Hollywood Hills nearly two decades ago. So, how much is Barbara Richardson worth at the age of 71 years old? Still, the film is absorbing without being especially affecting, partly because it assembles an impressive group of actors who seem to revel in the ambient scuzziness, including Carrie Fisher, Janeane Garofalo, Tim Blake Nelson, Faizon Love and Josh Lucas. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He said hed have them all on their knees, teach them a lesson, and that theyd never steal from him again, Thorson said on the stand. Thats what got me hooked, Thorson says. Company Credits Accounts vary as to how and why Holmes arrived there; according to some sources, Holmes went there himself to try to make himself appear innocent,[16] whereas others claim Holmes was kidnapped by Nash's henchmen when they recognized him walking around wearing some of Nash's jewelry. As First Lady of New Mexico, she formed the New Mexico Immunizations Coalition in April 2003. ''Wonderland,'' directed by James Cox, is part of a curious, somewhat unsavory subgenre of movies that involve washed-up, sort-of-famous people and death by bludgeoning. The film stars Val Kilmer, Kate Bosworth, Dylan McDermott, Carrie Fisher, Lisa Kudrow, Josh Lucas, Christina Applegate, Tim Blake Nelson, and Janeane Garofalo. [5][11] Miller was a heroin user who had fallen in with the Wonderland Gang through her self-immersion in drug culture. Barbara Richardson's net worth The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes. He took me into his bedroom and he said that he had just been robbed of close to a million dollars worth of cocaine, jewelry and drugs., A short time later, Nashs body guard, Gregory Diles, came into the room, dragging the famous porn star John Holmes, a friend of Nashs whom Nash had discovered was responsible for letting the robbers into his house. Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. Holmes, Nash, and Diles were each tried for the murders. Reportedly, at the time of his death, police investigators throughout California, largely in the Sacramento area, had 27 open homicide cases they believed were perpetrated by Launius. One of Nashs bodyguards was seriously injured as a result of a gunshot. Holmes volunteers to draw them a map to plan the robbery, since he has visited Nash's house frequently. His associate, David Lind, once said of him: "You could put a gun to his head and his pulse would never break 70". Jurors in Mr. Nash's first trial, in 1990, deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction; and the federal authorities now say the hold-out juror, a woman who at the time was 18 years old, was paid a bribe on May 15, 1990, by an associate of Mr. Nash. Release Calendar Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Scott Thorson, who was buying drugs at Nash's home, wrote in his memoir My Life with Liberace (1988) that Nash had ordered Diles to bring Holmes to Nash's house, which Diles did after finding Holmes walking around Hollywood wearing one of Nash's rings. Their cause of death was blunt force trauma. The film itself didnt have a scene that was based on the Wonderland Murders, but there was once a scene that was loosely based on the robbery of Nash. On June 29, 1981, the Wonderland Gang, comprising Ron Launius, Billy DeVerell, David Lind, Tracy McCourt,[13] and their associate, John Holmes, conspired to launch a home invasion and robbery upon Eddie Nash, a reputedly powerful organized crime figure who usually referred to himself in the third person as "The Nash". Holmes actually went to Nash's three times that morning. After a key witness for the prosecution died in an unrelated police shootout, the murder charges against Launius were dropped. At 62, Thorson has had a fever-dream of a life so far, bizarre in more ways than most people would care to fathom. Launius was known for remaining composed under pressure. On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. Matt Damon played him opposite Michael Douglas in the 2013 HBO movie Behind the Candelabra, based on Thorsons tell-all book by the same name about his relationship with the famous pianist. Just days after the attack, the Los Angeles Police Department investigated the murders and searched the house for evidence. He is a member of famous with the age 71 years old group. View Barbara Richardson results in Pennsylvania (PA) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Originally, McCourt was designated to take part in the home invasion itself, but a day or so before the event, conspirator David Lind (who derisively referred to McCourt as "Titmouse Tracy") took away McCourt's handgun, and McCourt was relegated to driving duty. Mr. Cox is not really interested in the truth behind the murders or in generating sympathy for anyone touched by them. This discovery would lead to Holmess arrest in March of 1982. Barbara Lee Easton (married Walter Richardson in 1977 after graduating from Sacramento Cordova high school in 1976) Richardson, who was 22 at the time of her death, was associated with David Lind. I was scared, he says. And I was there when they brought him back and they were all covered in blood. Later, Thorson adds, I heard Nash give the orders: Kill everyone thats there.. I know Matt Damon. Mr. Holmes died in 1988 of an illness related to AIDS, and Mr. Diles died in 1995. Miller and her live-in boyfriend, Billy DeVerell, were the usual residents; Ron Launius and his wife, Susan, were house guests. Lind claimed she was his girlfriend, though he was 20 years older than her, and she was married. He tells Holmes he will kill every person listed in the book, starting with Holmes' mother, if Holmes does not give up the men who robbed him. Mr. Nash, 71, was arrested at noon on Friday at his condominium in Tarzana, a suburb northwest of Los Angeles. Kilmer plays the role of John Holmes, a famous pornographic film star and suspected accomplice in four grisly murders committed in a house at 8763 Wonderland Avenue, in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles. 1976 J John Weg 95 followers More information Wonderland victim. . Today, Thorson is the last person alive with firsthand knowledge of the notorious massacre, at least among those who are willing to admit to it. His associate, David Lind, once said of him: "You could put a gun to his head and his pulse would never break 70". Another officer, Billy Ward, intervenes in the investigation. Originally, McCourt was designated to take part in the home invasion itself, but a day or so before the event, conspirator David Lind (who derisively referred to McCourt as "Titmouse Tracy"[citation needed]) took away McCourt's handgun, and McCourt was relegated to driving duty. As of January 2017, Susan Launius is both the sole survivor of the Wonderland murders and the only living member of the Wonderland Gang. It was this last line of "business", particularly the armed robbery of Eddie Nash, that ultimately led to the group's sudden and violent end. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes. We will discuss the Wonderland House and the infamous murder that took place nearly 40 years ago and how it might be haunted even to this day. Nash was eventually sentenced to 37 months in prison after a RICO conviction that included conspiracy to commit the Wonderland murders, but no one who swung the blunt metal objects the pipes or the hammers was convicted. Her latest book is Wish, a middle grade novel published by FSG. Holmes was acquitted in 1982, but died in 1988 from complications related to AIDS. Crime author Michael Connelly, creator of the Audible podcast The Wonderland Murders & the Secret History of Hollywood, also struggled to trust what he was hearing from Thorson but found his stories checked out. The house located on 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Laurel Canyon. [citation needed], Adult-entertainment legend John Holmes, famous at the time for his portrayal of the detective character Johnny Wadd in a series of pornographic films, was a frequent visitor who would purchase or scrounge cocaine from the gang. Ron Launius, Billy DeVerell,. Lind and Launius had become friends while in prison and promised to deal drugs together upon their release. | The Wonderland Murders Crime Scene Photos The living room where the first victim, Barbara Richardson was found. David Lind, ordinarily a resident of the Sacramento area, came to Los Angeles in the summer of 1981 at Launius' behest, to aid in their growing drug-distribution business. Recalling his experiences with Liberace and Nash, he talks as if hes recounting the plot of a movie youre already familiar with, dropping names and referring to tangential events without context. Barbara Richardsons income source is mostly from being a successful . Instead he treats the episode as a chance to show off his mastery of fast-cutting, atmospheric style, which is impressive, but also a little annoying. Public Records & Background Search Barbara A Richardson, age 73, Brooklyn, NY Background Check All five occupants were known for dealing drugs while using themselves. Detectives were questioning Holmes about what happened, with the latter giving little to no information about the incident. But a lot of that happened back then., Over Zoom, Thorson has a plasticky sheen and eyebrows that look painted on the appearance of someone whos been under the knife. David Clay Lind was a biker, heroin addict, and member of the Aryan Brotherhood who befriended Launius when the two men served time in prison together. [Liberace] then threw me out later because he said he created a monster., Liberace is also the reason Thorson found himself at the home of big-time L.A. drug dealer Eddie Nash in the wee hours of July 1st, 1981. The two of them became heavy drug users, later becoming police informants, and they travelled to Los Angeles in 1981 to join Ron Launius ' Wonderland Gang. Lind's position in the drug underworld was and remains murky due to allegations by rival drug dealers that he worked as a police informant. Their relationship is an enigma much deeper than all the grisly cop-show business: she clearly despises everything her husband has become but has never entirely abandoned him, perhaps clinging in vain to the hope that he may one day snap out of it. However, the spirits of the occupants who had been savagely murdered on that July night may also still be out and about. FILM REVIEW; A Film Stud Who Loses His Luster Is Sent to Graze on Seedy Pastures, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/03/movies/film-review-a-film-stud-who-loses-his-luster-is-sent-to-graze-on-seedy-pastures.html. Ah, you must be Barbara. Prior to the robbery, Nash was visited on three separate occasions throughout the day by John Holmes, known at the time as one of the most popular adult film stars. [6], Reportedly, at the time of his death,[5] police investigators in California, largely in the Sacramento area, had 27 open homicide cases they believed were perpetrated by Launius. "[6], Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 21:09, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wonderland_(2003_film)&oldid=1141795244, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 21:09. The three were tried on slaying charges and ultimately acquitted in state court trials, the last of which was in 1991. John Holmes died of medical complications due to AIDS on March 13, 1988, aged 43. The Wonderland Gang was a group of drug dealers involved in the Los Angeles cocaine trade during the late 1970s and early 1980s; their home base was located on Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles, California. Launius is buried at Lodi Memorial Park and Cemetery in, DeVerell is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Covina Hills) in, Miller is buried at Mount Sinai Memorial Park in, Richardson is buried at Saint Marys Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum in, David Lind died of a heroin overdose on November 16, 1995, aged 55. [5], Barbara Lee Easton (married Walter Richardson in 1977 after graduating from Sacramento Cordova high school in 1976) Richardson, who was 22 at the time of her death, was associated with David Lind. Mr. Holmes, who was staying at the Wonderland residence, was accused of opening the door to let the killers in and participating in the murders. John Holmes and the Wonderland Murders also did a segment that was released in 2000 around the time of Nash's trial. On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. [5][11] Holmes claimed this did nothing to reduce her opiate usage. The Wonderland Gang was a group of drug dealers involved in the Los Angeles cocaine trade during the late 1970s and early 1980s; their home base was located on Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles, California. They bring their loot back to the Wonderland apartment to divide everything up. Launius, 36, was a Vietnam Veteran who had been dishonorably discharged after the Air Force discovered he had been smuggling heroin back to the states from overseas in the body bags of . A decade earlier, he was tried and later convicted on unrelated charges and had spent time in prison. She tells them (in a near comatose state) that she does not remember anything, only shadows. Ron Launius [18], Although neighbors would later report having heard screams, no phone calls were placed to the police until 4:00 PM on July 1, over 12 hours later, when furniture movers working at the house next door heard Susan Launius moaning and went to investigate. 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