Wonderland Gang
Encyclopedia
The Wonderland Gang was a group of drug dealers involved in the Los Angeles
cocaine
trade during the late 1970s and early 1980s; their homebase was located on Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon
area. On July 1, 1981 four members of the gang died in the Wonderland murders
. LAPD detectives were on record as saying the crime scene was more bloody and gruesome than that of the Tate-LaBianca murders.
The Wonderland Gang mainly trafficked in the burgeoning cocaine trade of the era, but despite its role as being the most influential and feared cocaine distributorship of its time in Los Angeles, most of its members were heroin addicts. Drugs were regularly dealt from Miller and DeVerell's residence at 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon
area of Los Angeles. The two bedroom split-level house was leased in Miller's name. Miller and her live-in boyfriend DeVerell were the usual residents, with Ron Launius and his wife, Susan, as houseguests. Pornographic
film actor John Holmes
was a frequent visitor who would purchase cocaine from the Gang. 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. Bringing with him his girlfriend Barbara "Butterfly" Richardson, the pair slept on the living room sofa during their stay at the Wonderland house.
of the lymph nodes, a common sign of narcotics abuse.
veteran
of the Vietnam era
, Ronnie Lee Launius had been convicted of smuggling heroin from Vietnam back to the United States
in the corpses of dead American
soldiers. 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. In May 1974, he was arrested for and charged with the 1973 murder of a reputed police drug informant who had been killed over a botched drug deal. After a key witness for the prosecution died in an unrelated police shootout, the murder charges against Launius were dropped. That same year, however, Launius was convicted of smuggling heroin and cocaine across the US/Mexico border and eventually served three years out of an eight year sentence in a federal prison.
Launius and his wife Susan were married in Carson City, Nevada
on April 16, 1971. He is buried in Lodi, California.
, David Lind was a biker gang member and heroin addict
who befriended Launius when the two men served in prison together. In 1981, at Launius' behest, Lind traveled to Los Angeles to join the Wonderland gang and assist them in running drugs. At the time of the Wonderland murders, Lind had been incarcerated several times for burglary
, forgery
, assault
, and assault with intent to commit rape
. 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. Lind died of a heroin overdose in 1995.
s were images of a flower
, a mushroom
, a butterfly
, and Minnie Mouse
. Both Richardson and Lind were said to be police informant
s in the Sacramento
area not long before they traveled to Southern California. Richardson possessed intravenous drug injection site scars as reported in her official autopsy.
But like any modern business enterprise, the Gang was diversified. In addition to drug distribution, the Gang gained additional revenues through burglaries, and armed robberies of rival drug dealers. It was this last line of business that ultimately led to the sudden and violent end of the Gang.
, conspired to launch a brutal home invasion and robbery upon Eddie Nash
, a reputedly powerful organized crime
figure. During this invasion, Launius shoved a gun barrel down Nash's throat, and Lind shot Nash's bodyguard, Gregory Diles, in the back. Racial epithets were also hurled at Nash and Diles.
The robbery was an inside job
set up by John Holmes, who was a close associate of Mr. Nash. Nash regularly referred to Holmes as "my brother". Early in the morning of the robbery, Holmes visited Nash's mansion ostensibly to party and to buy drugs. But on his way out, he left a patio door unlatched.
Holmes actually went to Nash's three times that morning. The first time, he forgot to unlatch the patio door. The second time he returned to the Wonderland hideout but some of the Gang members were extremely intoxicated from the heroin to which they were addicted. After the gang
members revived, Holmes was worried that the patio door may have been locked again, so he returned to Nash's a third time, purchased some crack cocaine
, unlatched the door, and notified the Gang
that the home was ready for invasion.
Launius, Deverell, and Lind performed the invasion
and robbery
, whilst McCourt waited outside in a stolen Ford Granada
and served as lookout. To avoid leaving any identifying traces, the men had previously dipped their fingers in a product known as "Liquid Band-Aid
" so as to not leave any fingerprint
s behind.
The robbery
was a seemingly successful haul for the Gang
, as they made off with more than $1,200,000 worth of cocaine
, heroin, quaaludes, cash, antique guns
, and jewelry. But the events of the next two days would prove this to be a Pyrrhic victory
.
Around 3:00 in the morning on July 1, two days after the Nash robbery, John Holmes and a number of unidentified men entered the Wonderland house and bludgeoned to death Launius, Deverell, Miller, and Richardson; the weapons were believed to be hammers and/or lead pipes. Ron Launius' wife, Susan, suffered severe brain damage
in the attack but ultimately survived and recovered, although she was left with permanent amnesia
regarding the night of her attack. Neither Lind nor McCourt were present for the attack, as Lind was consuming drugs with a prostitute in a motel and McCourt was at his own home.
Although neighbors would later report having heard screams, no phone calls were placed to the police until 4:00 in the afternoon on July 1, 12 hours later, when furniture
movers working at the house next door to Wonderland heard Susan Launius moaning and went to investigate. When questioned, neighbors said that the drug-fuelled Wonderland parties often included loud, violent screaming and disruptive noise, so that when they heard the murders occurring, they simply believed that another party was taking place. The house was notorious for round-the-clock mayhem and debauchery.
Los Angeles County prosecutors made the decision to charge John Holmes with four counts of capital murder. David Lind was the lead witness for the prosecution, which was led by District Attorney Ron Coen. But Lind could testify to no more than the fact that the Gang had robbed Mr. Nash's house. In his testimony, Lind alleged that the entire Nash robbery was, in fact, concocted by John Holmes, as well as the Wonderland murders. As lurid as this testimony was, Lind had no testimony directly relevant to the commission of the Wonderland murders themselves, and there was no forensic evidence tying Holmes to the murder. Holmes' court appointed lawyers, Earl Hanson and Mitchell Egers, painted a successful defense about Holmes being the innocent victim who was forced against his will by the real killers to lead them to the Wonderland Avenue house. On June 25, 1982, Holmes (having never taken the witness stand to testify on his own behalf) was found not guilty of all charges.
The Holmes trial was a milestone in American jurisprudence, as it was the first criminal trial in which videotape was introduced into evidence and played at the trial. The jury found no connection between the gruesome and bloody crime scene video and Holmes, however.
In 1989, a new witness came forward, Scott Thorson
, the former boyfriend of Liberace
. Based on his deposition, formal charges were filed against Eddie Nash
and Gregory Diles, his bodyguard. In court, Thorson testified that on the afternoon of June 30, 1981, he was partying at Nash's home when John Holmes was brought in and taken to another room. Thorson claimed that while he was standing in the doorway to the other room, he saw Holmes beaten severely by Nash and Diles until he confessed to his complicity, and that he identified the Wonderland gang as the perpetrators of the robbery.
Nash and Diles were tried in 1990 in an unusual proceeding in which two separate juries observed the same trial. The Nash jury returned a hung verdict, voting 11-1 to convict, and the Diles jury also returned a hung verdict, but with an 11-1 vote to acquit. As in the Holmes trial, David Lind recounted his testimony regarding the robbery of Nash.
In 1991 Nash and Diles were retried in a similar dual-jury proceeding, and this time they were both found not-guilty by 12-0 verdicts.
Nash later admitted to having bribed the lone holdout juror in his first trial, and to having ordered his associates to retrieve stolen goods from the Wonderland Gang. He denied having ordered the murders and received four-and-a-half years in prison for unrelated charges. Police also suspected Diles' younger brother, Samuel, as being one of the assailants in the Wonderland Murders, however he was never charged.
After Holmes' death in March 1988 from AIDS
, his first wife, Sharon Holmes, came forward and stated that at around 5:00 a.m. on the morning of the murders, Holmes came to her house soaked in blood, claiming that as punishment for his involvement in Nash home invasion two days prior, he was taken to the house on Wonderland Avenue and forced at gunpoint to watch the massacre taking place which was committed by three of Nash's henchmen, but otherwise not participating in it. However no forensic evidence was ever produced that either Nash or Holmes was involved, with the exception of Holmes' handprint in blood on the bed where the body of Ron Launius was found.
's mansion is Nash himself. Susan Launius is the only remaining survivor of the infamous Wonderland Gang.
The other assailants who participated in the bludgeoning attack on the Wonderland Gang have neither been identified or prosecuted; their fate and whereabouts are unknown.
about the Wonderland Murders, Wonderland, starred Val Kilmer
, Kate Bosworth
, Dylan McDermott
, Carrie Fisher
, Josh Lucas
, Christina Applegate
, and Lisa Kudrow
. It was directed by James Cox
. Kilmer plays the role of John Holmes.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
trade during the late 1970s and early 1980s; their homebase was located on Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, California
Laurel Canyon is a canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was first developed in the 1910s, and became a part of the city of Los Angeles in 1923 ....
area. On July 1, 1981 four members of the gang died in the Wonderland murders
Wonderland Murders
The Wonderland murders, also known as Four on the Floor or Laurel Canyon Murders, occurred in Los Angeles in 1981, when four people were killed in a drug-related scenario involving porn star John Holmes and was allegedly masterminded by Los Angeles businessman and drug dealer Eddie Nash.-Robbery...
. LAPD detectives were on record as saying the crime scene was more bloody and gruesome than that of the Tate-LaBianca murders.
Members
Members of the gang included:- Ronnie ("Ron") Lee Launius (b. May 18, 1944 d. July 1, 1981) (leader)
- William Ray ("Billy") DeVerell (b. February 14, 1937 d. July 1, 1981)
- Joy Audrey Gold Miller (b. May 14, 1935 d. July 1, 1981) (DeVerell's girlfriend)
- David Clay Lind (b. October 24, 1938, d. November 16, 1995)
- Susan A. Launius (b. 1951; survived attack) (wife of Ron Launius)
- Tracy Ray McCourt (b. February 20, 1949, d. October 18, 2006)
The Wonderland Gang mainly trafficked in the burgeoning cocaine trade of the era, but despite its role as being the most influential and feared cocaine distributorship of its time in Los Angeles, most of its members were heroin addicts. Drugs were regularly dealt from Miller and DeVerell's residence at 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon
Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, California
Laurel Canyon is a canyon neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was first developed in the 1910s, and became a part of the city of Los Angeles in 1923 ....
area of Los Angeles. The two bedroom split-level house was leased in Miller's name. Miller and her live-in boyfriend DeVerell were the usual residents, with Ron Launius and his wife, Susan, as houseguests. Pornographic
Pornography
Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
film actor John Holmes
John Holmes (pornographic actor)
John Curtis Holmes better known as John C. Holmes or Johnny Wadd , was one of the most prolific male porn stars of all time, appearing in about 2,500 adult loops, stag films, and pornographic feature movies in the 1970s and 1980s...
was a frequent visitor who would purchase cocaine from the Gang. Lind, ordinarily a resident of the Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
area, came to Los Angeles in the summer of 1981 at Launius' behest, to aid in their growing drug distribution business. Bringing with him his girlfriend Barbara "Butterfly" Richardson, the pair slept on the living room sofa during their stay at the Wonderland house.
Billy Deverell
Billy Deverell, one of the oldest members of the gang, acted as Launius' right hand man and a voice of reason. Lind characterized him as an otherwise noble individual who had been lured into the drug world because of the easy money, and indicated that Deverell experienced periods of self loathing for his actions, during which he expressed a desire to leave drugs behind. In addition to dealing drugs, Deverell was also a heavy heroin user and had been arrested thirteen times in relation to his habit. The autopsy performed on him after his murder turned up numerous injection scars on his inner forearms, in addition to hyperplasiaHyperplasia
Hyperplasia means increase in number of cells/proliferation of cells. It may result in the gross enlargement of an organ and the term is sometimes mixed with benign neoplasia/ benign tumor....
of the lymph nodes, a common sign of narcotics abuse.
Joy Miller
Billy Deverell's girlfriend, and the individual who actually rented out the Wonderland house. A divorced mother with adult children, Joy was a heroin user who had fallen in with the Wonderland gang through her self-immersion in drug culture. By the time Holmes had become involved with the group, Miller had been treated for breast cancer and had a double masectomy. Holmes claimed this did nothing to reduce her opiate usage.Ron Launius
A United States Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
of the Vietnam era
Vietnam veteran
Vietnam veteran is a phrase used to describe someone who served in the armed forces of participating countries during the Vietnam War.The term has been used to describe veterans who were in the armed forces of South Vietnam, the United States armed forces, and countries allied to them, whether or...
, Ronnie Lee Launius had been convicted of smuggling heroin from Vietnam back to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the corpses of dead American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soldiers. 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. In May 1974, he was arrested for and charged with the 1973 murder of a reputed police drug informant who had been killed over a botched drug deal. After a key witness for the prosecution died in an unrelated police shootout, the murder charges against Launius were dropped. That same year, however, Launius was convicted of smuggling heroin and cocaine across the US/Mexico border and eventually served three years out of an eight year sentence in a federal prison.
Launius and his wife Susan were married in Carson City, Nevada
Carson City, Nevada
The Consolidated Municipality of Carson City is the capital of the state of Nevada. The words Consolidated Municipality refer to a series of changes in 1969 which abolished Ormsby County and merged all the settlements contained within its borders into Carson City. Since that time Carson City has...
on April 16, 1971. He is buried in Lodi, California.
Susan Launius
While not an official member of the gang, Susan Launius was married to gang member Ron Launius and had a drug habit. She was the only survivor of the brutal Wonderland attack the night of July 1, 1981. Having suffered severe head-injuries and amnesia following the attack, Launius still resides in southern California.David Lind
A member of the Aryan BrotherhoodAryan Brotherhood
The Aryan Brotherhood, also known as The Brand, the AB, or the One-Two, is a white supremacist prison gang and organized crime syndicate in the United States with about 20,000 members in and out of prison...
, David Lind was a biker gang member and heroin addict
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
who befriended Launius when the two men served in prison together. In 1981, at Launius' behest, Lind traveled to Los Angeles to join the Wonderland gang and assist them in running drugs. At the time of the Wonderland murders, Lind had been incarcerated several times for burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
, forgery
Forgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
, assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, and assault with intent to commit rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
. 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. Lind died of a heroin overdose in 1995.
Barbara Richardson
Like Susan Launius, "Butterfly" Richardson was not an official member of the Wonderland Gang. Richardson was a girlfriend of David Lind's at the time of their arrival at the Wonderland house, however, they were apparently not exclusive. She was the youngest of the group at 22 years old. Her four tattooTattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s were images of a flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
, a mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
, a butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
, and Minnie Mouse
Minnie Mouse
Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an animated character created by Ub Iwerks and Walt Disney. The comic strip story "The Gleam" by Merrill De Maris and Floyd Gottfredson first gave her full name as Minerva Mouse. Minnie has since been a recurring alias for her. Minnie is currently voiced by actress Russi...
. Both Richardson and Lind were said to be police informant
Informant
An informant is a person who provides privileged information about a person or organization to an agency. The term is usually used within the law enforcement world, where they are officially known as confidential or criminal informants , and can often refer pejoratively to the supply of information...
s in the Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
area not long before they traveled to Southern California. Richardson possessed intravenous drug injection site scars as reported in her official autopsy.
Tracy McCourt
Little is known about McCourt other than he was the driver of the vehicle that carried the Wonderland Gang to Eddie Nash's home the night of the robbery. In the years after the Wonderland murders, McCourt was reported to have moved to Colorado. In 2001, he reportedly had been wanted by the Colorado Springs Police Department for "assault with a deadly weapon and failure to comply on the original charge of distribution of a Schedule II controlled substance".Criminal enterprises
The Wonderland Gang was mainly known for its drug sales, which concentrated on cocaine and the occasional heroin deal.But like any modern business enterprise, the Gang was diversified. In addition to drug distribution, the Gang gained additional revenues through burglaries, and armed robberies of rival drug dealers. It was this last line of business that ultimately led to the sudden and violent end of the Gang.
Nash robbery
On June 29, 1981, the Wonderland Gang, composed of Ron Launius, Tracy Ray McCourt, David Lind, Billy Deverell, Joy Miller, and John HolmesJohn Holmes (actor)
John Curtis Holmes better known as John C. Holmes or Johnny Wadd , was one of the most prolific male porn stars of all time, appearing in about 2,500 adult loops, stag films, and pornographic feature movies in the 1970s and 1980s...
, conspired to launch a brutal home invasion and robbery upon Eddie Nash
Eddie Nash
Eddie Nash is a former nightclub and restaurant manager in Los Angeles, as well as a convicted gangster and drug dealer; he is best known as the alleged mastermind of the Wonderland Murders.-Early life:...
, a reputedly powerful organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
figure. During this invasion, Launius shoved a gun barrel down Nash's throat, and Lind shot Nash's bodyguard, Gregory Diles, in the back. Racial epithets were also hurled at Nash and Diles.
The robbery was an inside job
Inside job
Inside job refers to a crime committed by a person with a position of trust, such as insider trading.Inside job may also refer to:* Inside Job , a 2005 novella by Connie Willis* Inside Job , a 2000 studio album by Don Henley...
set up by John Holmes, who was a close associate of Mr. Nash. Nash regularly referred to Holmes as "my brother". Early in the morning of the robbery, Holmes visited Nash's mansion ostensibly to party and to buy drugs. But on his way out, he left a patio door unlatched.
Holmes actually went to Nash's three times that morning. The first time, he forgot to unlatch the patio door. The second time he returned to the Wonderland hideout but some of the Gang members were extremely intoxicated from the heroin to which they were addicted. After the gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
members revived, Holmes was worried that the patio door may have been locked again, so he returned to Nash's a third time, purchased some crack cocaine
Crack cocaine
Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...
, unlatched the door, and notified the Gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
that the home was ready for invasion.
Launius, Deverell, and Lind performed the invasion
Invasion
An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by another such entity, generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a...
and robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, whilst McCourt waited outside in a stolen Ford Granada
Ford Granada (North America)
The Ford Granada was a mid-size car built and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1975–1982, along with its sister models, the Mercury Monarch, and Lincoln Versailles. The Granada was touted by Ford as a rival to the similarly sized Mercedes-Benz 280 of the time. The Granada and...
and served as lookout. To avoid leaving any identifying traces, the men had previously dipped their fingers in a product known as "Liquid Band-Aid
Band-Aid
Band-Aid is a brand name for Johnson & Johnson's line of adhesive bandages and related products. It has also become a genericized trademark for any adhesive bandage in Australia, Brazil, Canada, India and the United States....
" so as to not leave any fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
s behind.
The robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
was a seemingly successful haul for the Gang
Gang
A gang is a group of people who, through the organization, formation, and establishment of an assemblage, share a common identity. In current usage it typically denotes a criminal organization or else a criminal affiliation. In early usage, the word gang referred to a group of workmen...
, as they made off with more than $1,200,000 worth of cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
, heroin, quaaludes, cash, antique guns
Antique guns
An antique firearm is, loosely speaking, a firearm designed and manufactured prior to the beginning of the 20th century. The Boer War is often used as a cut-off event, although the exact definition of what constitutes an "antique firearm" varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction...
, and jewelry. But the events of the next two days would prove this to be a Pyrrhic victory
Pyrrhic victory
A Pyrrhic victory is a victory with such a devastating cost to the victor that it carries the implication that another such victory will ultimately cause defeat.-Origin:...
.
Murders
Following the robbery, John Holmes ended up at Eddie Nash's home. Accounts of how Holmes arrived there vary; according to some sources Holmes went there himself to try and make himself appear innocent, whereas others claim Holmes was kidnapped by Nash's henchmen when they recognized Holmes wearing some of Nash's jewelry.Around 3:00 in the morning on July 1, two days after the Nash robbery, John Holmes and a number of unidentified men entered the Wonderland house and bludgeoned to death Launius, Deverell, Miller, and Richardson; the weapons were believed to be hammers and/or lead pipes. Ron Launius' wife, Susan, suffered severe brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
in the attack but ultimately survived and recovered, although she was left with permanent amnesia
Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
regarding the night of her attack. Neither Lind nor McCourt were present for the attack, as Lind was consuming drugs with a prostitute in a motel and McCourt was at his own home.
Although neighbors would later report having heard screams, no phone calls were placed to the police until 4:00 in the afternoon on July 1, 12 hours later, when furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
movers working at the house next door to Wonderland heard Susan Launius moaning and went to investigate. When questioned, neighbors said that the drug-fuelled Wonderland parties often included loud, violent screaming and disruptive noise, so that when they heard the murders occurring, they simply believed that another party was taking place. The house was notorious for round-the-clock mayhem and debauchery.
Suspects
When the crime scene was discovered by the LAPD, there was no shortage of suspects, as the Wonderland Gang had made many enemies during its reign at the top of the LA cocaine trade. A contract was out on their lives as they had scammed a fellow drug dealer by selling him baking soda of an amount that seemed to be $250,000 worth of cocaine. But in the end police zeroed in on the murders as a "revenge hit" ordered by Nash.Los Angeles County prosecutors made the decision to charge John Holmes with four counts of capital murder. David Lind was the lead witness for the prosecution, which was led by District Attorney Ron Coen. But Lind could testify to no more than the fact that the Gang had robbed Mr. Nash's house. In his testimony, Lind alleged that the entire Nash robbery was, in fact, concocted by John Holmes, as well as the Wonderland murders. As lurid as this testimony was, Lind had no testimony directly relevant to the commission of the Wonderland murders themselves, and there was no forensic evidence tying Holmes to the murder. Holmes' court appointed lawyers, Earl Hanson and Mitchell Egers, painted a successful defense about Holmes being the innocent victim who was forced against his will by the real killers to lead them to the Wonderland Avenue house. On June 25, 1982, Holmes (having never taken the witness stand to testify on his own behalf) was found not guilty of all charges.
The Holmes trial was a milestone in American jurisprudence, as it was the first criminal trial in which videotape was introduced into evidence and played at the trial. The jury found no connection between the gruesome and bloody crime scene video and Holmes, however.
In 1989, a new witness came forward, Scott Thorson
Scott Thorson
Scott Thorson became famous for his relationship with and lawsuit against entertainer Liberace and his testimony against gangster Eddie Nash.-Relationship with Liberace:...
, the former boyfriend of Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
. Based on his deposition, formal charges were filed against Eddie Nash
Eddie Nash
Eddie Nash is a former nightclub and restaurant manager in Los Angeles, as well as a convicted gangster and drug dealer; he is best known as the alleged mastermind of the Wonderland Murders.-Early life:...
and Gregory Diles, his bodyguard. In court, Thorson testified that on the afternoon of June 30, 1981, he was partying at Nash's home when John Holmes was brought in and taken to another room. Thorson claimed that while he was standing in the doorway to the other room, he saw Holmes beaten severely by Nash and Diles until he confessed to his complicity, and that he identified the Wonderland gang as the perpetrators of the robbery.
Nash and Diles were tried in 1990 in an unusual proceeding in which two separate juries observed the same trial. The Nash jury returned a hung verdict, voting 11-1 to convict, and the Diles jury also returned a hung verdict, but with an 11-1 vote to acquit. As in the Holmes trial, David Lind recounted his testimony regarding the robbery of Nash.
In 1991 Nash and Diles were retried in a similar dual-jury proceeding, and this time they were both found not-guilty by 12-0 verdicts.
Nash later admitted to having bribed the lone holdout juror in his first trial, and to having ordered his associates to retrieve stolen goods from the Wonderland Gang. He denied having ordered the murders and received four-and-a-half years in prison for unrelated charges. Police also suspected Diles' younger brother, Samuel, as being one of the assailants in the Wonderland Murders, however he was never charged.
After Holmes' death in March 1988 from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, his first wife, Sharon Holmes, came forward and stated that at around 5:00 a.m. on the morning of the murders, Holmes came to her house soaked in blood, claiming that as punishment for his involvement in Nash home invasion two days prior, he was taken to the house on Wonderland Avenue and forced at gunpoint to watch the massacre taking place which was committed by three of Nash's henchmen, but otherwise not participating in it. However no forensic evidence was ever produced that either Nash or Holmes was involved, with the exception of Holmes' handprint in blood on the bed where the body of Ron Launius was found.
Where are they now?
As of January 2007, the sole survivor of the robbery at Eddie NashEddie Nash
Eddie Nash is a former nightclub and restaurant manager in Los Angeles, as well as a convicted gangster and drug dealer; he is best known as the alleged mastermind of the Wonderland Murders.-Early life:...
's mansion is Nash himself. Susan Launius is the only remaining survivor of the infamous Wonderland Gang.
- Ron Launius, DeVerell, Miller, and Richardson all died in the 1981 massacre.
- Susan Launius survived the attack and lives in southern California.
- John Curtis Holmes died in 1988 from medical complications due to AIDSAIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. - David Clay Lind died of a heroin overdose in 1995.
- Gregory Dewitt Diles also died in 1995, from liver failure.
- Samuel Lawton Diles died in 2002 of unspecified causes.
- Tracy Raymond McCourt died of unspecified causes on October 18, 2006.
The other assailants who participated in the bludgeoning attack on the Wonderland Gang have neither been identified or prosecuted; their fate and whereabouts are unknown.
2003 film
In 2003 a crime-dramaDrama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
about the Wonderland Murders, Wonderland, starred Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
, Kate Bosworth
Kate Bosworth
Catherine Ann "Kate" Bosworth is an American actress. Bosworth starred in the television series Young Americans, in which she played Bella Banks. She became known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush. The following year, Bosworth played the teenage girlfriend of porn star John Holmes in...
, Dylan McDermott
Dylan McDermott
Mark Anthony McDermott , better known by his professional name of Dylan McDermott, is an American actor, known for his role as lawyer and law firm head Bobby Donnell on the television legal drama The Practice and his role in the series Dark Blue as Lt. Carter Shaw. McDermott currently stars in FX...
, Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher
Carrie Frances Fisher is an American actress, novelist, screenwriter, and lecturer. She is most famous for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars trilogy, her bestselling novel Postcards from the Edge, for which she wrote the screenplay to the film of the same name, and her...
, Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas
Josh Lucas is an American actor. He has appeared in many films, including Glory Road, A Beautiful Mind, and Poseidon.-Early life:...
, Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate
Christina Applegate is an American actress. She is best known for playing Kelly Bundy on the Fox sitcom Married... with Children. Since then, she has established a film and television career, winning a Primetime Emmy and earning Tony and Golden Globe nominations...
, and Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa Valerie Kudrow is an American actress, best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards...
. It was directed by James Cox
James Cox (director)
James Cox is an American film director. His short film Atomic Tabasco received an honorable mention at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival and a Bronze Medal at the 1999 Student Academy Awards...
. Kilmer plays the role of John Holmes.