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10 Mysterious Facts about the Wonderland Murders

On 1^st July 1981, four unsolved murders occurred in Los Angeles, California, in the United States. The Wonderland murders which are also known as the Four on the Floor Murders or the Laurel Canyon Murders took place on that fateful day. It is believed that the assailants were targeted to murder five people in the known drug house of the Wonderland Gang.

Ron Laurius, William 鈥淏illy鈥� Deverell, and Joy Miller were present in the Wonderland Gang House during the murders. Ron, William, Miller, and the girlfriend of an accomplice, Barbara Richardson died from the attack due to extensive blunt-force trauma injuries.

The crime was allegedly masterminded by an organized crime figure and nightclub owner Eddie Nash. One person who survived the attack, was Launius鈥檚 wife, Susan.

Three suspects, Eddie Nash, his henchman Gregory Diles and porn star John Holmes were arrested in connection to the Wonderland murders. However, they were all acquitted of their involvement in the murders.

Here are the 10 Mysterious Facts about the Wonderland Murders;

1. The Victims were Involved in Robbing Nash 2 Days before their Murders

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Eddie Nash, a nightclub owner and prominent member of organized crime, was the victim of a savage house invasion and armed robbery on June 29, 1981, carried out by Launius, Deverell, Lind, and McCourt. Gregory Dewitt Diles, Nash鈥檚 bodyguard, was shot and hurt as a result of the incident.

Since porn actor John Holmes had visited Nash鈥檚 home three times on the morning of the attack, Nash had reason to believe he was involved (at which times Holmes left the sliding door open). Gregory Diles is said to have seen Holmes roaming about Hollywood wearing one of Nash鈥檚 rings and brought him back after Nash sent him to be retrieved for questioning.

In Nash鈥檚 home to buy narcotics, Scott Thorson, a former Liberace partner, claimed to have seen Holmes being tied to a chair and repeatedly punched. They also threatened harm to his family until he revealed the identity of the attackers.

2. The Number of Unidentified Men who entered the Wonderland House is still unknown

On 1^st July 1981, two days after the Nash robbery, all hell broke down at the Wonderland Avenue townhouse. This was the location where the five who were suspected to have robbed Nash lived.

At around 3:00 AM, an unknown number of unidentified men gain access to the house where Launius, Deverell, Miller, and Barbara were. They bludgeoned the four to death with the weapons used by the killers believed to be hammers and metal pipes.

3. One of the Victims had gone to Visit Her Boyfriend the same Day of the Murder

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On the fateful day of the murders, one of the victims found herself at the right place but at the wrong time. Barbara Richardson, who was the girlfriend of Lind had come to visit him at their home not knowing what was coming up.

That night, she was sleeping on the couch in the living room where her bloodied body was found. She might have been the first victim to have come into contact with the killers.

4. The Three Other Victims were Brutally Bludgeoned

The murders of the Wonderland victims were so gruesome that the scene was messy with the blood and their insides. Barbara Richardson was found murdered in the living room where she was sleeping on the couch and the others were upstairs.

Joy Miller was found on her bed while William 鈥淏illy鈥� Deverell was found at the foot of the bed. He was in an upright position while leaning against the TV stand. A hammer was found on the bedside.

Ron Launius had been beaten to death on his bed while his wife was gravely beaten. She was found beside him on the floor.

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5. Susan Suffered Severe Brain Damage but Survived

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Of the five victims who were in the house at that moment, one of them was lucky as she survived the bludgeoning. Susan, the wife of Ron Launius was hit in the head and suffered severe brain damage during the attack.

However, she managed to survive and recover though she was left with permanent amnesia on the night鈥檚 attack. Part of her skull was surgically removed, and she lost part of one of her fingers.

6. Neighbors Heard the Distress Screams but Thought it was Normal

No calls to the police were made until 4:00 p.m. on July 1, more than twelve hours after the incident. This was when furniture movers working at the home next door to the crime scene heard Susan wailing and went to investigate. Neighbors would subsequently claim to have heard screams at about 3:00 a.m.

Neighbors claimed that the Wonderland Gang鈥檚 drug-fuelled parties frequently involved loud, violent yelling and disruptive noise. So when they heard the killings occurring, they simply assumed another party was going place. The mansion was infamous for round-the-clock mayhem and revelry.

7. Lind and McCourt Survived the Attack

Two people who were part of the Wonderland Gang narrowly survived the attack as they were not available at the house. Lind and McCourt were not at the home during the attack as they were on their errands.

Lind was in a motel with a prostitute consuming drugs while McCourt was at his home. In 1995, Lind died of a heroin overdose and McCourt died in 2006.

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8. One of the Suspects was Willing to Testify but his Defense Lawyers Presented him as a Victim

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Holmes was the focus of an early murder-related theory. He was detained and accused of four counts of murder in March 1982. This was after his left palm print was discovered at the site on the headboard of the Launius.

To show that Holmes was a willing participant who betrayed the gang after not receiving a fair share of the proceeds from the Nash heist, the prosecutor, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Ron Coen, made his case.

Earl Hanson and Mitchell Egers, Holmes鈥� court-appointed defense attorneys, were successful in portraying Holmes as one of the victims. They stated that he had been coerced by the real murderers to grant them access to the house before the murders.

9. Holmes鈥� First Wife Revealed he had Returned home in Blood-soaked Clothes

Holmes’s first wife, Sharon Gebenini revealed that Holmes knew the residents of the Wonderland Avenue townhouse. He had been there just before the killings took place. She did not provide the police with any other information.

One month after Holmes passed away in April 1988, Gebenini said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times that Holmes had arrived at her house the morning of the killings with blood all over his clothes.

She described how he escorted three goons to the heavily guarded drug home on Wonderland Avenue. He then led them inside and watched as they beat the five occupants to death. She claimed that Holmes never divulged the identities of the other three attackers.

10. Nash was Acquitted of the Wonderland Murders but later Confessed to Sending his Men to Retrieve his Stolen Property

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In 1990, Diles and Nash were both charged with participating in the killings in a California state court. Thorson testified against the defendants, but the jury returned an 11-1 verdict of not guilty. Nash and Diles were found not guilty in a second trial that took place in 1991. In 1997, Diles passed away from liver failure.

Nash was arrested and charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in 2000. This followed a four-year joint investigation by local and federal authorities. Nash was accused of running a drug trafficking and money laundering operation, planning to commit the Wonderland murders, and buying the lone dissenting juror in his first trial.

In September 2001, Nash, who was already in his seventies and afflicted with emphysema and other conditions, consented to a plea deal. In his first trial, he acknowledged using $50,000 to bribe the lone holdout, and he pleaded guilty to both the RICO and money laundering charges.

Despite denying planning the murders, he nevertheless acknowledged ordering his associates to recover stolen stuff from the Wonderland Avenue home. This might have led to violence including deaths. Nash was ultimately given a four-and-a-half-year prison term as well as a $250,000 fine.

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