Her husband, Ron, 37, of the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles, was one of the victims. A bloody mess. Suzanne Launius's birthday is 03/24/1951 and is 71 years old.Suzanne calls Hawthorne, CA, home.Susan Launius are some of the alias or nicknames that Suzanne has used. In time, Holmes became known as the Errol Flynn of porn. It was a big ordeal for him, says Laurie. The Holy Roller was up in the balcony, waving a Christian flag, praying and hollering, singing We Shall Overcome. She said John had cut some coke with an old tarot card and she believed it was a sign from the devil. She was twenty, an army brat. Daniel von Seckendorff on LinkedIn: #microsoftedge #bing #openai #gpt4 Soon after, Detectives Lange and McClain called the hospital. In the still unpublished official version of his life, Holmes is quoted as saying that he was held at gunpoint at another house while the killers, whose names he did not know, went to the home on Wonderland Avenue. When you met with Eddie, you met at his place, on his terms. If you're enjoying this article, you'll love my daily morning newsletter, How To LA. The case against Holmes was built largely on two pieces of evidence: An admission that Holmes allegedly made to Los Angeles Police Detective Frank Tomlinson after his arrest in Miami in December, 1981, and a bloody palm print left by Holmes on the rail of a bed on which one of the victims, drug dealer Ronald Launius, died. Holmes went to work for a construction company, painting a hotel down the strip. Then another. Sharon sat on the wood-covered commode. Six months later, on September 8th, 1988, Diles and Nash were charged with the murders on Wonderland Avenue. On weekends they went to swap meets and yard sales. He told us certain things. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. How do other people see you? Shed driven out from Miami with her father and younger sister. The daughter had a kid and a job. The Malibu was idling. He couldnt walk. They made him beg for his life. runs a close second. Overdue book returned to Massachusetts library after 56 years. He just stared. Sharon went to the bedroom, laid down, read a magazine. Shed never seen him look scared before. He was very possessive. Mrs. Launius, whose husband, Ronald, was killed in the attack, told the court doctors removed a large portion of her skull during surgery following the beating. He was known as Eddie Nash. In the meantime, here's an interview with Bren: 1. . When I refused, he said, Dont come back to California or I will have two men waiting at the airport to kill you, and I will have your parents killed. He was in so much pain, you couldnt touch him. Sharing the house with Miller and DeVerell was Ronald Launius, 37. Theyll never steal from anyone again!, Thorson was excused, and Nash closed the door. In jail, Holmes went on a hunger strike. Unbeknownst to Sharon, Holmes had recently started in porn, following an encounter with a professional photographer named Joel in the bathroom of the poker parlor in Gardina. Except for the . I viewed his body nekked, you know, and then I watched them put the lid on the box and put it in the oven. John was gone now more and more, making films in Europe, San Francisco and Hawaii, doing private tricks, traveling to film openings across the country. . Her lover was Billy DeVerell. Thorson had driven from Lake Tahoe to score from Nash. Thats probably why he always came back. A poster for the 1977 John Holmes film The Jade Pussycat., NBA 'Investigating,' Team Suspends Ja Morant After Allegedly Flashing Gun on Social Media, Alex Murdaugh Juror Says Cellphone Video, 'Big Liar' Testimony Led to Guilty Verdict, She Used the Bathroom And Became a Target of the Culture War, Here's How LaRussell and Intuit are Helping Independent Artists Understand How to Achieve Their Financial Ambitions, Alex Murdaugh Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murder of Wife and Son, Glastonbury Co-Organizer Promises Female Headliners in 2024 After All-Male Top Billing This Year, See the Beths Deliver Refreshing 'Expert in a Dying Field' Mini-Set on 'CBS Mornings', Netflixs Sex/Life Is Back to Satisfy Your Softcore Desires. Ron Launius had an extensive criminal history before coming to a bloody end. After a while, I said I didnt want to go out on the beach anymore. I come back to Wonderland. In 1974, Sharon became the resident manager of a ten-unit apartment court in Glendale. 'We'll probably find a real motive,' he said. That house, she thought. He was picking on a kid that didnt know any better. 10 Dec 2013. Recently, Holmes had been drifting from job to job, trying to find a niche. One of the customers was Scott Thorson. Nobody had gotten it yet, but it was still in the back of our minds. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. He and Sharon settled into a strange hybrid of domesticity. He has just published his latest project about one of Los Angeles's most well known murder cases in the 80s. For the last several years, Nash had rarely left his white-stone ranch house in Studio City. 'We have interviewed her but we're not going to say anything about it.'. Then she ran into a woman preaching fire and brimstone on a corner. He could repair anything, liked sketching and working in clay. What he was famous for was his penis. March 3 (UPI) -- A New Brunswick couple who initially thought a burglar had broken into their home discovered the invader was actually a panicked deer. master splinter death. I played in the water. One summer day in 1968, Sharon came home a little early from work. Drugs, inattention, back taxes and lawyers fees had depleted his fortune. Then what?, I leave the sliding door unlocked this one, said Holmes, pointing to the floor plan, here, in the back. Shed gotten a job at a nursing home and was paying her mom rent, trying to rebuild her life. During recesses in the trial, Nash would go out to his car and smoke freebase. You sound close., Well, I, I, ah, came with a friend. Lind and his girlfriend had come down three weeks earlier from Sacramento to stay at Wonderland. Accident car um he stammered. James M. Eisenman, a Century City attorney who represents Holmes estate and his second wife, said he doubts Sharon Holmes story. The bodies were discovered by workmen next door; theyd heard faint cries from the back of the house: Help me. In the end, Deep Throat was massively consumed by an enthusiastic public. Get em, boys!. The Seven Seas was a bus-stop joint across Hollywood Boulevard from Manns Chinese Theaters. I watched them beat them to death., It was them or me. He would have to take them to the house.. Twenty minutes later, Holmes walked into the room. The first man to win the X Rated Critics Organization Best Actor Award, Holmes was an idol and an icon, the most visible male pom star of his time. Joy Audrey Miller, 46, held the lease. As the 1980s began, and Holmes became more heavily involved in cocaine, his absences grew longer. There were seven of them meeting in the house on Wonderland Avenue, a jaundiced stucco box on a steep, winding road in the hills above Hollywood. Sharon stood with arms crossed. March 2 (UPI) -- A Florida woman earned a Guinness World Record when she completed 23 ultra-marathon runs -- 31.1 miles -- in a 23-day period. But its one thing to tell someone something, says Lange. Girls' Singles. Three hours later, everyone was finally awake. Diles smacked Holmes, threw him across the room, shoved him against a wall. Los Angeles, Column: Did the DOJ just say Donald Trump can be held accountable for Jan. 6? He always had large quantities of coke, heroin, Quaaludes and other drugs at the house. It began, according to Thorsons book, Behind the Candelabra, when Liberace ordered him to have cosmetic surgery. Susan Boyle: my relief at discovering that I have Asperger's What's different He was supposed to be doing sales and preproduction, writing and editing, in addition to acting. Id usually fall asleep on the couch.. He was dying. The Story Of The Gruesome And Unsolved Wonderland Murders - All That's Then I leave. On his sixteenth birthday, Holmes joined the army. Wonderland Gang - WikiMili, The Best Wikipedia Reader Up to this time, Holmes had been doing mostly photo layouts, stag films and 8-mm bookstore loops. Hed say, Count this. Were talking $56,000 in two boots.. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people living and working in L.A. who have never given thought to writing a screenplay. Net Worth in 2021. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics from Emory . A Prison Interview With Scott Thorson, Wonderland Murders - Yahoo! News While Holmes was in jail, Amerson had started a company called John Holmes Productions. When I come home at night, the tools stay on the job., You are having sex with other women, said Sharon. They did hits off Eddies pipe, eyed the door. . But I had no reason to confront her. The day after the robbery, someone who knew Nash apparently spotted Holmes in Hollywood, wearing a piece of jewelry that had been stolen from Nashs home, he told his wife. One day in 1970, Holmes met Hawaiian producer Bob Chinn. Tell me where you are. A girl from the dorm recommended him. (Taken from Wikipedia on Wonderland Murders). Hed have me make these peanut-butter chocolate-chip brown-sugar butter cookies. When I got out, he said, Lets go, and we drove toward home. Susan A. Murphy Launius, then 30, while not an official member of the gang, was married to gang member Ron Launius and had a drug habit. After leaving California, Jeana and John had gone to Vegas, then Montana, then headed south, visiting the Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert. And the AIDS thing was just starting to come out. Tossing and moaning, punching and kicking. The master, the giver of hospitality. She survives and is questioned by Nico and Cruz in her hospital bed. He offered the police secrets. Nash was found guilty of possessing two pounds of cocaine for sale. Susan Launius, who lay wounded with severe head injuries for hours before being discovered in the house by neighbors last July 1, testified during Holmes' preliminary hearing that she could only recall seeing 'shadowy figures.'. Schuyler said that Ed loved her son exceedingly and that he offered to fix it up for you to take him to a top brain surgeon. Launius' estranged wife, Susan, who was visiting, survived the assault but suffered severe head injuries. Liberace called him Booper, treated him like a son, a lover, a pet. A California cop called him "one of the coldest people I ever met." The house at 8763 Wonderland rented for $750 a month.. Holmes told his wife that he rode with three armed men to the address on Wonderland Avenue. Thorson had been addicted to cocaine for several years. Mrs. Kraft was a former registered nurse at Memorial Hospital, former administrator at Memorial Convalescent Center and owner of Toddle Town Inc, comprised of Toddle Town, Toddler House and Learning Journey. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Ronnie Launius (29045828)? Two years later, Ricks was ordered held against his will for psychiatric observation. Why did you choose to publish the book on Lulu.com. Called the Wonderland Killings, the brutal murder of 4 people in a Laurel Canyon home gained even more noteriety when authorities discovered that porn star John Holmes had played a mysterious role in the case.Age and Occupation: 46. Based on my research, "Wonderland"arrives closest to the truth but in both films an apologist's tone creeps in with reference to Holmes. We had a big fight. According to the law, he had to talk. All three of them are sleeping in the same bed. Id like you to meet Mr. John Holmes, hed say. He worked for others for a time, then opened Beefs Chuck, a hotdog stand on Hollywood Boulevard. Nancy J. Kraft, nee Launius, 69, of Smithton, Illinois, born Friday, August 4, 1939, in East Saint Louis, IL, died Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at Memorial Hospital in Belleville, IL. His black club was like a Hollywood Harlem, jazz and pinkie rings and wide-brimmed straw hats. Why would I confront her? The Sellers would stay there. He excused himself, left the room and unlocked the sliding door. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. Your tax-deductible financial support keeps our stories free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. I said, John, how could you? One of Nashs friends and overnight guests was, according to a law-enforcement official, an Israeli with a military background, the so-called reputed godfather of the Israeli Mafia. A report by the California State Department of Justice revealed that the Israeli Mafia was active in California during the late Seventies and early Eighties and was involved in drugs, arson, extortion, gunrunning and a number of murders, including the death and dismemberment of two Israeli nationals at the plush Bonaventure hotel in downtown L.A. During his six or seven years of heavy drug use, said the attorney, Nash lost over a million a year directly attributable to drugs. Through his attorney, Nash has consistently denied any involvement in the Wonderland Avenue killings. He meant nothing to me in that way.. I said yes. Holmes refused to testify. I have been fascinated by the Wonderland case ever since co-producing the documentary Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmesin 1999. Lulu Press offers a very affordable set-up with generous royalties. Now it was midnight in the parking lot at the Safeway in Glendale. March 3 (UPI) -- A 7-year-old Louisiana boy with a firm grasp of baseball rules is seeking a Guinness World Record as the world's youngest umpire. So much blood! Holmes was having a nightmare. On Mulholland Drive, silently watching as the city falls down and taking a naturalist's notes. He wanted to be in charge. Lt. Ron Lewis discounted speculation that the slayings could be 'random killings' such as the Tate-LaBianca murders committed by the Manson Family in 1969. We were real friendly. jaydubya2009 10y. Could Ron Launius (victim of the Wonderland Murders of 1981 - reddit Susan Launius is beaten but not killed. They made a run to McDonalds for hamburgers. He knew he was dying. (Wikipedia article on Wonderland Murders). Now Holmes owed the Wonderland Gang, too. Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. How could you do this thing! Eddie Nash screamed. Susan Launius, who lay wounded with severe head injuries for hours before being discovered in the house by neighbors last July 1, testified during Holmes' preliminary hearing that she could. He dunked his head, put a steaming washcloth over his face. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In a recent interview with The Times, Sharon Holmes, who divorced the late actor in 1984, described for the first time the story her husband told her less than three weeks after the July 1 killings. signs you are both hiding your feelings. He wore the buckle when he and Sharon sold bumper stickers door-to-door. . He panicked, walked in circles around the doctors office, threw his briefcase down. Teenage Cowgirls, Liquid Lips, China Cat and Tapestry of Passion. Miller, De Verell and Launius needed drugs every day. All the sugar helped him come down. First, however, Thorson had to lose thirty pounds. My husband hired a girl to follow us. He felt like he was an example.. The final victim was Barbara Richardson, 22, Sacramento, Calif. Court records revealed that a codefendant in Miss Miller's narcotics case was John 'Ricco' Vlick, 53, who lives in a wood-shingled house only two blocks from the scene of the killings. Youd be left in a room for hours, and then youd be called in. . You talk to Nash, whatever, you tell him you got to take a piss. I think they call it a taxi cab. All Rights reserved. At 98 and facing cancer, Bob Dole reckons with legacy of Trump and ponders future of GOP. After a while, the weather report came on. Holmes' Confession in Bathtub: Told Wife of Role in 4 Murders He moved to a modest condo in Tarzana and set about rebuilding, taking college business courses at night. John? Nobody knew wherewe lived. Everybody was just shocked.. He told us everything initially, right after it happened. She didnt know what to do. Listen. Come with us, Sharon., It can be the three of us, Sharon, like old times.. Launius' years of operation: 1972-1973 (after he returned from Asia and before prison), 1978-1981. Haltingly, Holmes confessed to his wife that he had played a central role in four brutal murders earlier that month in a drug dealers hillside home in Laurel Canyon. There was one hitch. Wednesday afternoon, July 1st, two days after the robbery. He wasnt specific, but it really didnt matter anyway. Some heard a woman's screams coming from the house Tuesday morning, but ignored them in the belief someone was playing a joke, partying or having a nightmare. Things started to click. His eyes blinked rapidly. They had a few questions for John Holmes. He had ties to the criminal underworld and was known to be dangerous -- it just so happened that he crossed someone even more dangerous than himself, and lost his life for it. Remarks by neighbors in the trendy, secluded area above the Sunset Strip and court records revealed the occupants of the stucco house on Wonderland Avenue lived in Southern California's 'fast lane' -- a lifestyle surrounded by drugs, flashy cars and trouble with police. Edit your search. At 98, Bob Dole reckons with legacy of Trump, ponders future of GOP I believe that cocaine paranoia created within him the desire to stay within that closed environment that he had control over. Sharon had gone so far as to stop physical relations, but she couldnt bring herself to kick him out. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. It was a simple ceremony. Holmes slept fitfully for a few hours, Sharon Holmes said, and moaned about blood and pain. Do you find it challenging to make new friends here? Laurel Canyon had long been a prestige address, an earthy, woodsy setting just minutes from the glitter and rush of Tinseltown. There were two-way mirrors in the bedroom, anything you wanted would be made available. The door was open. Then one day Harold threw John down the stairs and came after him. here. Susan Lanius (unlucky) wife of Ron Lanius played by Christina Applegate in the movie Wonderland. Finally he came out and said, You know what? The video boom was just beginning, and Holmes became a kind of Marlon Brando of porn. That we were on the right track, that this is indeed what had happened, that this was the motivation, that this was how it came down. When he did coke, says Jeana, hed do it until it was all gone, and then hed scrape the pipe and smoke all the resin he could find, and then hed take a bunch of Valium. He was held in the county jail for contempt. By the mid-Seventies, Nash held thirty-six liquor licenses, owned real estate and other assets worth over $30 million. It was 8:30 Monday morning. She was later unable to identify her attackers. Holmess half brother and his wife lived there; this little community was the personal fiefdom of John Holmes. Updated on November 15, 2022 10:05 AM. barry mcguigan, daughter funeral; susan launius interview The house at 8763 Wonderland rented for $750 a month. Others looked like theyd been sucking on the pipe a little too long. Big Rosie, the manager, let Jeana work the switchboard and clean rooms in exchange for rent. Editors picks Jeana sat very still on the edge of the bed, watching a TV that was mounted on the wall. He looked like a guy in a dive bar in El Paso, according to a neighbor. Four inches around!, Thats great, said Sharon, turning a page of her magazine. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Facilitating a sense of purpose. Arriving back at Wonderland just after dawn, Holmes announced the coast was clear. Her left leg is paralyzed because of the head injuries. When Detectives Bob Souza and Tom Lange entered the home, nestled in the hip L.A. enclave of Laurel Canyon, they found pills and pipes scattered all over the flooralong with four dead bodies whose. YouTube: Susan Wojcicki, YouTube's chief executive and one of the most prominent women in Silicon Valley, is stepping down from her longtime role leading the internet's most popular video service. In Too Deep - LA Weekly John Holmes didnt go to his grave with anything but a very bad case of AIDS. She was the sole survivor of the attack - suffering severe head injuries, amnesia, and a severed finger. Nash knew the Wonderland people. Chris caught up. There was a lot of traffic, all day, all night, says a neighbor. Captain Conan 10y. We were like a normal couple. Ron Launius was born in 1944 in Shawneetown, IL. Ill never forget that as long as I live, she said. Holmess character, said Al Goldstein in Screw magazine, was a thin, bony, trench-coated shamus, outrageously horny, bedding down with client and quarry alike. In Goldsteins opinion, it was a goofy, crudely made series, but it was wildly successful. Then he designed a massive gold and diamond ring in the shape of a dragonfly, and a gold belt buckle, measuring eight by five inches. Wonderland murders | Historica Wiki | Fandom He wanted me to view his body and make sure that all the parts were there, says Laurie. Above all, he said, he loved his work: A happy gardener is one with dirty fingernails, and a happy cook is a fat cook. How long have you lived in Los Angeles, and which neighborhood do you live in? Then you guys take him down.. Everybody at the hotel got to know us, Jeana says. Take care of him, Sharon said. John kept his porn money and spent it on himself. John tried to make a deal with the cops. They lived in London, Paris, Michigan, Florida. In Too Deep. Ill have them on their knees! Nash ranted to Thorson. She is the sole survivor of the brutal Wonderland attack the night of July 1, 1981; she suffered severe head injuries, amnesia, and a severed finger following the attack. Holmes was crumpled on the floor. He chewed gum and overacted. . You want to play baseball? hed ask his ever-present guests, lighting his butane torch, offering a hit off his pipe. Theyd sold a pound of baking soda for a quarter of a million dollars. Abraham Lincoln : TV NEWS : Search Captions. Borrow Broadcasts : TV Following his arrest in Miami, Holmes was tried for the murder of the Wonderland Gang. She couldnt call Sharon. They threw brown bags of dope off the balcony. Barbara's cousin tells me this info. When asked by Holmes' attorney what she remembered after that, she replied, 'nothing.'. His body was recovered near Mount Islip. In the weeks before the killings, Coen told the jurors, Holmes ferried property stolen by the Wonderland Avenue gang to Nashs heavily secured home in Studio City, where he exchanged it for drugs. He beat the shit out of me, then walked back up to the room. He quickly racked up a rap sheet, including gun and drug charges. The couple ended up in Miami, at a small run-down hotel on Collins Avenue. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click

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