Go back to that house! He was frozen. 2023 Southern California Public Radio - All Rights Reserved, Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes, Southern California's Snow-Capped Mountains Are Beautiful. Pin on Wonderland Murders - Pinterest In Too Deep - LA Weekly On Mulholland Drive, silently watching as the city falls down and taking a naturalist's notes. How students with Asperger's cope at university. Addled synapses played him a picture: Eddie Nash. Later, in the Sixties, the canyon attracted writers and artists, rock stars and gurus. Mr. Meanwhile, Jeana called Holmess answering service and left the number. Holmes wouldnt tell. In the meantime, here's an interview with Bren: 1. Barbara's cousin tells me this info. I had to take them there., I took them there. He has a fascinating style and I liken him to Raymond Carver if Carver had decided to write about L.A.'s slumming angels. She survives and is questioned by Nico and Cruz in her hospital bed. We closed up the office and went to the beach. For many months he took me out to dinner, introduced me to his mother and other relatives. Nash was on the job day and night, wearing a tall white chefs hat, waiting tables himself. (Taken from Wikipedia on Wonderland Murders). He was very upset about the business. Why would I confront her? McCourt drove up the hill on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, across Mulholland Drive, over the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains, down into the Valley. John was carrying two suitcases when he met her. All Rights reserved. Sharing the house with Miller and DeVerell was Ronald Launius, 37. Who talks about this person. He graduated from UCLA with majors, variously, in physical therapy, pediatric physical therapy, medicine and political sciences. Susan Launius Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family British bus driver stops to give loose sheep a lift. There was "a lot of screaming going. They were stupid. Then Holmes hit on a more direct way to make money. On the . He refused anyway. Laurie was nineteen; she came from a small town outside Vegas. Hard Candy, a 3-D thriller. The Seven Seas was a bus-stop joint across Hollywood Boulevard from Manns Chinese Theaters. We went to a motel, had a nice reunion. Ten inches long! After bathing at Sharons, Holmes had come here, to this motel in the Valley. Joy Audrey Miller, 46, who rented the house, had a record of six arrests -- three for peddling dope -- and had been under surveillance since Jan. 7, 1980, by narcotics officers who saw her selling drugs in front of the house at least eight times, affidavits said. Behind him was his partner, Mac McClain. John was a shy and lonely kid who kept to himself and had perfect attendance at Sunday school. . There were two-way mirrors in the bedroom, anything you wanted would be made available. As much as I like "Boogie Nights", it remains a fairly superficial movie. 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. 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. Why did you choose to publish the book on Lulu.com. Mystery Of A Massive Library Fire Remains Unsolved After More - NPR Like all porn actors, John had been paid per day and had signed away the rights to his own films. March 3 (UPI) -- A Kentucky man who stopped to buy some breakfast said he lost his appetite when he won $50,000 from a scratch-off lottery ticket. Soon after, Detectives Lange and McClain called the hospital. Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. We did it in the van. Susan Goldberg, MBA Expand search. Charles Manson was deranged and messianic but John Holmes only cared about himself and didn't care who got hurt - or killed - in his never-ending quest to feed drugs and self-esteem into his wasted system. Drinking, driving. Wonderland Gang - WikiMili, The Best Wikipedia Reader Amerson says Holmes spent most of his time playing cards and shooting darts. Can I come in?, They went to the bathroom. They used cans of spray paint. He told us certain things. The man in the suit was Los Angeles Police Department detective Tom Lange. He went out of his life denying, said Sharon Holmes, (saying) I had no involvement., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Texas congressman who broke with GOP is censured, Hong Kong court convicts activists behind Tiananmen vigil, Election conspiracies fuel dispute over voter fraud system, Desperate mountain residents trapped by snow beg for help; We are coming, sheriff says, Newsom, IRS give Californians until October to file tax returns, Californias snowpack is approaching an all-time record, with more on the way. 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. 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. Launius is also known to have been an associate of Horace McKenna, a former CHP officer and strip club/nightclub owner with connections to prostitution, drug-smuggling, and gambling in the L.A. area. He said, They stuck a gun to my head and they made me go back in (to the Wonderland Avenue house) and open the door. Thats what he told me. Drugs, inattention, back taxes and lawyers fees had depleted his fortune. You just had to ask, and hed give., According to court testimony, Nash had a fancy for young girls, whips and a game with a revolver called Russian roulette. Lind and his girlfriend had come down three weeks earlier from Sacramento to stay at Wonderland. . He picked wire out of dumpsters and sold the copper. Ill never forget that as long as I live, she said. WEARS WAR has moved to a new website! - WordPress.com John was doing a lot of drawing. Holmes went to work for a construction company, painting a hotel down the strip. People are after John, and they think youre with him. John kept his porn money and spent it on himself. They were always looking for an opportunity. Nash was extremely hospitable. It was owned by the pediatrician she worked for; she and Holmes lived rent-free in an adjacent house. 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. The murder weapon was a steel pipe with threading at the ends. Listen, he said, grabbing her elbow. Susan Launius Wiki, Biography, Age, Wife, Family, Net Worth The attack was allegedly masterminded by organized crime figure Juan Nel 8kfollowers More information Removing Bodies From Wonderland- This Day in History: Jul 1,1981: The Wonderland murders Murder Stories John Holmes Forensic Psychology Laurel Canyon Unsolved Serial Killers True Crime He had made a name for himself during the Vietnam War when he was dishonorably discharged from the army for smuggling drugs back to the United States in the bodies of dead servicemen. They did hits off Eddies pipe, eyed the door. She came to the farm to find out if a certain man was with me. No one but Holmes has ever been charged in the murder case. Though elaborately secure, the house was paint-cracked and rust-stained, an eyesore in a trendy neighborhood. Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son His drug of choice was freebase; sometimes he mixed the crack with heroin. Jeana was tucked into another hotel in the Valley. Do you find the threat of earthquakes preferable to the threat of hurricanes and long winters? They made him beg for his life. 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. Go!. He dunked his head, put a steaming washcloth over his face. Only Launius' wife Susan survived the attack, allegedly masterminded by organized crime figure and nightclub owner Eddie Nash. Jewelry stores, convenience stores, private homes they would try anything, as long as it meant money or drugs. He took over the kitchen. On the afternoon of Wednesday, July 1st, 1981, Eddie Nash was again consuming drugs at an alarming rate. It was amazing, the haphazard way in which people would come and go. I watched them beat them to death., It was them or me. Not since she was home. The bodies were discovered by workmen next door; theyd heard faint cries from the back of the house: Help me. The letters "IC" pronounced properly can say "icy" meaning very cold. Suddenly, Johnny Carson was telling Deep Throat jokes on The Tonight Show. There never was a sexual relationship between us. Then she ran into a woman preaching fire and brimstone on a corner. In the end, Deep Throat was massively consumed by an enthusiastic public. Aftermath Lind and McCourt were both away from the scene at the time of the murders, so they were able to survive unharmed. She was an associate of the Wonderland Gang, hanging around the Wonderland apartment, where she was savagely beaten by criminals with lead pipes on the night of 1 July 1981. How could he rent a car? . He even had the Holy Rollers sister smoking., In the morning, they went out to get food. Shed never seen him look scared before. After she left him, according to a court affidavit, I took the children to Oklahoma to my aunt and uncles farm, together with my parents. He remained addicted to coke. Now it was December 4th, 1981. Not only did the Black Dahlia murder occur in '47 but the town was full of soldiers returning from the war with scarred psyches. Holmes rolled down his window, McCourt rolled down his. Another officer commented, upon hearing of Launius' death, "I suppose they won't need many pall bearers". A look at years past when snows creeped into our citified neighborhoods, away from the mountains and foothills. Updated on November 15, 2022 10:05 AM. A day or two later, Holmes gave a compressed, but similar account of what happened to Sellers, she told The Times. Nash was very upset. Holmes' Confession in Bathtub: Told Wife of Role in 4 Murders 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. The floor plan before them showed a three-bedroom, high-end tract house on a cul-de-sac in the San Fernando Valley. Everybody was just shocked.. Remember me?. Now it was December 4th, and she hadnt seen Holmes in two weeks. 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. They came even though, at the time, there was no music industry in Los Angeles. They took back his key to Wonderland, and Launius punched him out, then hit Holmes with his own blackthorn walking stick. susan launius interviewduskull evolution arceus. Sharon sat on the wood-covered commode. Susan Launius | Historica Wiki | Fandom He began spilling to Blake in 1973, after he was arrested on a movie set. The armed intruders robbed Nash and his 300-pound body guard, Gregory Diles, of $10,000, two plastic sacks of cocaine and other property. I didnt know what was going to happen, but I knew what might, she says. Anyway, Launius, Billy Deverell, and David Lind were robbing a ritzy house in L.A. Done. He went white. he didnt know what the truth was anymore; about himself, about anything, Sellers said. It was obvious from his comments that Ricks, a hard-liner, considered Eddie Nash a plague. Facilitating a sense of purpose. Kurrus Funeral Home - 2008 Obituaries John C. Holmes, the worlds premier pornographic film star, sobbed as he sat in a steaming bathtub early one morning in July, 1981. Police, however, believe that Holmes actually took part in the fatal beatings. Her husband watched from the closet. Sometimes he worked around the apartments as the handyman and gardener. Dismiss. Jeana packed her bag, gathered up Thor, put Johns gun in her pocketbook. Launius' years of operation: 1972-1973 (after he returned from Asia and before prison), 1978-1981. Get the fuck out of here! he screamed. Tom Mix and Harry Houdini once lived there among the quail and scrub pine and coyotes. Susan Goldberg, MBA on LinkedIn: There's a Mental Health Crisis At Work The Interviews 25th Anniversary. Eddie Nash was a drug lord. 26th Hall of Fame. Following his arrest in Miami, Holmes was tried for the murder of the Wonderland Gang. Nashs house was raided three times. Tell the cops what they want to know, cause otherwise Johns going to be dead in a few days. . According to one eyewitness, Diles once chased a man out of the Kit Kat and emptied his .38 revolver into the mans car. She wasnt happy. The bride wore white. Since the late Sixties, Holmes had traded on his natural endowment. Holmes went on to make more than 2,000 movies. Finally, on the afternoon of November 22nd, 1982, Holmes relented and testified. When we came back, the door was locked, says Jeana. He greeted reporters, had dinner with his lawyer, then called Sharon. He just stared. Nash shut the bedroom door. They sat around a glass table in the breakfast nook. The word in the industry was that he had colon cancer. Ill teach them a lesson! Its like being married to a hooker., And so began the loops and the stags, and then Johnny Wadd was born. Lets talk about your latest book, Long Time Money and Lots of Cocaine. Why did you package the transcript of John Holmes preliminary hearing in the Wonderland murders? By 1978, Holmes was freebasing cocaine all the time. SIMON: For more than 40 years, people have been reading and performing Susan Cooper's poem "The Shortest Day" to celebrate the winter solstice. A bloody mess. 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. They watched some more TV. Nash and Diles were well known on Sunset Strip. The actors wife paused. Names of mobsters, drug dealers, prostitutes, pimps. 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. 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 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. This time, the gang decided not to wait for his return. The color drained from his face. When Amerson raised their rent to $400, they got their own place in Encino. Holmes was stealing luggage off conveyers at L.A. International, buying appliances with his wifes credit cards, fencing them for cash. In addition, more than 3,000 pages of court and police documents and newspaper reports were reviewed. Just recently, he had begun training to be a uniformed security guard. On October 25, 1994, Susan Smith told . She was thin, blond, foulmouthed, a heroin addict with seven arrests. Armed guards in the lobby, in the hallway. Wearing jewel-bedecked livery, he would chauffeur Liberace onto the stage in a glittering mini-Rolls-Royce open the door, take his masters fur coat. Eddie Nash assumed he deserved a certain amount of respect, says one denizen. When expanded it provides a list of search options that will switch the search inputs to match the current selection. Recently, however, Holmess biggest commodity had been trouble. He was also in Liberaces Las Vegas act. 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. They wanted to see Holmes. There was a garage on the first floor; the second and third floors had balconies facing the street. I'll sidestep Nathanael West's blistering "Day of the Locust" to applaud some more recent works like Michelle Huneven's "Jamesland" and the Nina Zero private eye novels by Robert Eversz. Miller, De Verell and Launius needed drugs every day. At trial, his lawyer argued that the $1 million worth of coke was not for dealing, that it was strictly for personal use. In California Valley Girls, for instance, he had one scene. Why? Would Jeana want to be the live-in baby sitter? Jeana leaned out the window, and they hugged. Theyll never steal from anyone again!, Thorson was excused, and Nash closed the door. My husband hired a girl to follow us. He quit the ambulance service and got work stirring vats of chocolate at a Coffee Nips factory in Glendale. At 98, Bob Dole reckons with legacy of Trump, ponders future of GOP Sydney Pollack's adaptation of Horace McCoy's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" After a while, the news. When asked by Holmes' attorney what she remembered after that, she replied, 'nothing.'. -, Press J to jump to the feed. Hed say, Count this. Were talking $56,000 in two boots.. He did not testify at his trial, and his later secret testimony before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury remains sealed. Like aliens or something. Now it was midnight in the parking lot at the Safeway in Glendale. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. He wasnt specific, but it really didnt matter anyway. Where are you calling from? Too many. Everybody was down there. You talk to Nash, whatever, you tell him you got to take a piss. He lost his virginity at the Florida house, when he was six, to his Swiss nursemaid, Frieda. Could Ron Launius (victim of the Wonderland Murders of 1981 - reddit Captain Conan 10y. Ronald S. Coen, now a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, argued that the fatal beatings were intended to avenge the humiliating armed robbery of Los Angeles nightclub owner Adel Nasrallah, also known as Eddie Nash. Susan Launius is beaten but not killed. With all the publicity from the murders, John Holmes had achieved almost mainstream celebrity. Holmes drove to Nashs again to make sure the sliding door was still open. Launius was a reckless thief and he went after wealthy targets, not just down-and-dirty drug dealers and bikers, so I'd look for possible victims with either have money or look like they have money, who turned up dead after a home invasion. Holmes slept fitfully for a few hours, Sharon Holmes said, and moaned about blood and pain. After a preliminary hearing in January, Ed Nash and Greg Diles were bound over for trial this summer on four counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder in connection with the July 1st, 1981, killings. Now Holmes owed the Wonderland Gang, too. Now, in an exclusive interview with the Observer, . Ventura County is a wussy answer. Joy Audrey Miller, 46, held the lease. Record information. He was freebasing one hit of coke every ten or fifteen minutes, swallowing forty to fifty Valium a day to cut the edge. In truth, Holmes was operated on for hemorrhoids. Nils Grevillius, who's been working on a book on the Wonderland murders, talks in one interview about a robbery committed by the Wonderland Gang (the same robbery, in fact, that Launius got the antique guns that he tried to fence via John Holmes, which ultimately led to the murders). Dickman and Throbbin, a lampoon of Batman and Robin. You said something about blood., Holmess eyes bulged. The Story Of The Gruesome And Unsolved Wonderland Murders - All That's He took a lounge singers approach to sex, deliberately gentle, ostentatiously artful, a homely guy with a pinkie ring and a big dick who was convinced he was every womans dream. National Park Service: 'Never push a slower friend down' in a bear encounter, March 2 (UPI) -- The National Park Service offered some sage advice for park visitors who encounter bears: "Never push a slower friend down. Liberace called him Booper, treated him like a son, a lover, a pet. He stroked us, jacked us around. Are you awake? Holmess eyelids fluttered. I was involved. Sharon was a nurse at USC County General, working on a team that was pioneering open-heart surgery. The 100 Best Albums of 2022. Ron Launius was born in 1944 in Shawneetown, IL. They came even though, at the time, there was no music industry in Los Angeles. You little Jeana stood, walked away. Hed come home from one of his movie premires, take off his boots, peel down his socks and take out a wad of large bills. Shed gotten a job at a nursing home and was paying her mom rent, trying to rebuild her life. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. His clothes were ripped, he was bloody from head to toe. The couple ended up in Miami, at a small run-down hotel on Collins Avenue. Even Near The Hollywood Sign, Authorities ID Man Arrested In Killing Of LA Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell As Husband Of Housekeeper, Another Missing Hiker Has Been Found Dead In San Gabriels As Search For Actor Julian Sands Continues. Nobody knew wherewe lived. All Marriage & Divorce results for Ronnie Launius. A host of musicians, actors and artists make their homes in the rustic canyon. After Holmes negotiations for an immunity deal with police and prosecutors fell apart, the actor made plans to leave town with Sellers. This means absolutely nothing to me. Finally he said, Ive got to tell you Ive been doing something else, and I think I want to make it my lifes work.. In the car were De Verell, Launius, McCourt and a man named David Lind, a friend of Launiuss. . signs you are both hiding your feelings. I said No and I meant it., Over the next year, Nasrallah brought her grape leaves, hummus, pots of Turkish coffee. Eruption, a porn remake of Double Indemnity. Holmes was to run it. Dont worry.. A look at the notorious convicted murderer's life in prison after she drowned her two sons in 1994. Videos . He beat the shit out of me, then walked back up to the room. John swung and knocked his stepfather out. I loved him. Though Holmes had left Wonderland at midnight, he had stayed at Eddie Nashs for six hours, smoking up the $400 hed taken to spend, helping himself to a little more of Nashs largess. I've always found the Wonderland story so intriguing. Soon after, the courtship of Jeana began. During the dispute, Sherrill shot and killed Moore and Launius helped Sherrill dispose of the body and conceal evidence. He moved to a modest condo in Tarzana and set about rebuilding, taking college business courses at night. When he got out of jail, Holmes was jubilant. He said, I had to stand there and watch what they did, Sharon Holmes recalled. 3 children killed, 2 hospitalized in North Texas domestic incident, At least 5 dead following year's first severe spring weather outbreak, 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'True Romance' actor Tom Sizemore dead at 61, Dozens killed, injured as Jakarta fuel depot fire engulfs neighborhood, Governor of Philippine province, 5 others killed in gun attack. Run me a bath, will you? he said. . Bring me their eyeballs! Dismiss. His gay clubs were the first in L.A. to allow same-sex dancing. Though, she didn't survive unscathed. Considering employee opinions. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? First his forehead, then his cheeks, then his neck. Susan Launius's income source is mostly from being a successful . On the day of the robbery Holmes still hadnt come back. She even had to have part of her skull surgically removed as a result of her injuries. Wonderland murders - Wikipedia Sprinklers were ticking water across lawns. He offered the police secrets. He wanted new names for Sharon and Jeana, too. His old friend was happy to pick them up. He thought, Well, if Im going to take a chance, thats enough. . Whos this in Montana? For like three weeks, one of us had to be awake at all times. He was willing, even eager, to murder a helpless woman who was no physical threat to him. I said yes. Teenage Cowgirls, Liquid Lips, China Cat and Tapestry of Passion. There is a substantial audience out there hungry for information on the Wonderland murders. He was known as Eddie Nash. I told where the robbers lived and how to get there. He said, Why not? and I said, Because it makes me feel funny and I cant talk. So he went in the bathroom, and he locked himself in. At an alarming rate.. I didnt want to believe Id fallen for a line again, Jeana says. Apparently, Holmes had made good his promise and stopped doing drugs. Youre probably going to be saving him.. After she left, my husband called on the telephone at the farm and said to come home immediately. She testified in a halting voice that the last thing she recalled was seeing shadowy figures in the bedroom where she lay with her husband. Jeana packed her suitcase, gathered up her Chihuahua. We scattered his ashes over the ocean.. John Curtis Holmes was born to Mary and Edward Holmes on August 8th, 1944, in Pickaway County, Ohio, the youngest of three boys and a girl. I won't do an extensive write-up of the Wonderland Murders, as they've been written about on here before: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/430cdk/four_bloody_unsolved_wonderland_murders/.