Naman Shrestha
MGM+’s ‘The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood’ is a true crime docu-series that delves deep into the unbelievable murder case of 1981 on Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles, California. When the Wonderland Gang members and their associates were found brutally killed in their house, a complicated and decades-long investigation ensued. Covering one of the most famous and gruesome murder cases in Hollywood, the show features insightful interviews with the victims’ loved ones and the officials connected to the investigation.
Wonderland Gang Members Were Ambushed in Their Wonderland Avenue Property
Rumor has it that in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Wonderland Gang was considered one of the most powerful and influential criminal organizations in the Southern California underworld. The group of drug dealers was based on a rented townhouse at 8763 Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles’ Laurel Canyon neighborhood and dealt with the LA cocaine trade at the time. Led by Ronald Lee “Ron” Launius, the Wonderland Gang also included William Raymond “Billy” DeVerell, Billy’s girlfriend Joy Audrey Gold Miller, Tracy Raymond McCourt, and David Clay Lind. Out of them, Joy was also the leaseholder for the property.
In the early morning hours of July 1, 1981, while three of the Wonderland Gang members, Ron, Billy, Joy, David’s girlfriend Barbara Richardson, and Ron’s wife Susan Launius, were in the townhouse, an unknown number of individuals broke into the property and bludgeoned the inhabitants to death with hammers and metal pipes. When the police entered the gruesome crime scene, even they were left unsettled by what they saw and how they found the victims. Upon further inspection, they learned that Susan was still alive and breathing so they rushed her into the hospital, where she healed and recovered but could not recollect the events of the fateful night. Moreover, due to the injuries she suffered, a part of her skull had to be removed surgically.
While Barbara was found on the living room floor, Joy and Billy were found in the bedroom. The Launius couple was discovered on their bed. Blood spatters were all over the wall and areas near the bodies, and the entire place was ransacked. The detectives taped the perimeter and combed the entire property in hopes of finding incriminating evidence that would lead them to the perpetrator/s responsible for the horrific multiple murders.
Burglary at a Nightclub Owner’s Residence Seemed to be Connected to the Wonderland Gang Massacre
When the investigators interviewed a few neighbors residing in the area, some of them claimed that they heard yelling and screaming around 3 am on July 1, 1981, but nobody found it suspicious because the Wonderland Gang members were known for having drug-fueled parties with lots of loud noises and screaming every once in a while. Thus, at the time of the murder, the neighbors were under the impression that it was just another night at the townhouse. As the detectives dug deeper into the circumstances of the crime, they uncovered a potential connection to the June 29, 1981, burglary at the property of Eddie Nash, a nightclub owner and a reputed crime figure.
It all seemed to have begun when the porn star, John Curtis Holmes, who was reportedly indebted to the gang, was made to help them out in robbing Eddie’s cash, drugs, and other valuable possessions from his residence. On June 29, 1981, the gang sneaked in with the help of John who was also an associate of Eddie. Upon entering the property, the first thing they did was hold his bodyguard, Gregory Dewitt Diles, at gunpoint while they stole his valuables, including thousands of dollars. Since the Wonderland Gang also stole from a safe he had hidden under his bed, which only a few knew about, including John, Eddie was suspicious that the pornstar might be involved in the burglary.
Once he was sure that John was responsible, Eddie sent Gregory to capture him and bring him back to the property. John was reportedly punched and threatened until he finally gave up the names of the rest of the people involved in the robbery. Thus, the police had enough reasons to suspect that Eddie might have put a hit on the gang members in retaliation. However, when the palm print of John Holmes was discovered at the crime scene, the police linked him to the murder instantaneously and, in March 1982, took him into custody on the charge of four counts of murder.
Despite a Couple of Suspects, the Case of the Murders Remains Unsolved
During his trial, while the prosecution tried their best to prove that John decided to get back at the Wonderland Gang for not giving a fair share of the loot from the burglary, the defense argued that John was actually one of the victims who was forced to grant them entry to the property of the gang members before the murder. On June 26, 1982, he was acquitted of the charges against him, but he spent more than 100 days in jail for a different charge — refusing to cooperate with the police. Continuing his porn career after getting released, John Holmes was hospitalized due to AIDS. At the time, detectives visited him in hopes of getting a few of their questions about the murders answered, but unfortunately, he was in no condition to answer them. On March 13, 1988, he passed away in the hospital.
Just a month after his demise, his first wife, Sharon Gebenini Holmes, revealed that on the fateful morning, John Holmes was covered in blood spatters when he knocked on her door. At the time, she stated that he told her all about his involvement in letting three individuals into the house on Wonderland Avenue. He stood by and watched while they bludgeoned five people inside the property, as per her claims. However, she said that her husband never revealed the identity of the attackers. Another prime suspect in the case was none other than Eddie Nash, whose house was inspected a few days after the murders. The detectives came across over $1 million worth of cocaine and several other stolen items from the Wonderland Gang members’ townhouse.
After collecting enough evidence against him, the police finally arrested him in 1990, alongside his bodyguard Gregory, who was charged with being a participant in the murders. However, it led to a mistrial. A year later, the second trial resulted in the acquittal of both the suspects. In 1997, Gregory was declared dead of liver failure. Again, in 2000, Eddie Nash was taken into custody for drug trafficking and money laundering, bribing the sole holdout juror of his first trial and having a hand in planning the murders of the gang almost a couple of decades earlier. In September 2001, he pleaded guilty to the drug and money charges, bribing and ordering his associates to get back the belongings the Wonderland Gang had stolen and kept with themselves. Thus, he did not plead guilty for planning the murders. For the rest of the crimes, he was sent to prison for four and a half years, in addition to getting a $250,000 fine.
Read More: David Clay Lind: What Happened to the Wonderland Gang Member?
