Nash was eventually sentenced to 37 months in prison after a RICO conviction that included conspiracy to commit the Wonderland murders, but no one who swung the blunt metal objects the pipes or the hammers was convicted. Pin on Wonderland Murders, True Crime Explore Save From i.pinimg.com John Holmes Wonderland victim. Technical Specs. Barbara Richardson is on Facebook. But he would eventually tell a court the same story of what hed seen at Nashs house although not until several years after the murders. He is buried at Santa Rosa Memorial Park in, Tracy McCourt died of unspecified causes on October 18, 2006, aged 57. The autopsy performed after his murder identified numerous injection scars on his forearms, in addition to hyperplasia of the lymph nodes a common sign of narcotics abuse. The house was notorious for round-the-clock mayhem and debauchery. That year, however, Launius was convicted of smuggling heroin and cocaine across the US/Mexico border and eventually served three years of an eight-year sentence in a federal prison. Facebook gives people the. I was just very young, I was very frightened. Two of the suspected robbers, Ronald Launius and William Deverell, lived at the Wonderland residence and were killed there with two women, Barbara Richardson and the owner of the home, Joy Miller. We have estimated Afraid that he is wearing out his welcome, he persuades his hosts to rip off a local nightclub owner named Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian), and then he betrays them by helping Nash take revenge. It was this last line of "business", particularly the armed robbery of Eddie Nash, that ultimately led to the group's sudden and violent end. He spent much of the last seven years there since a 2014 sentencing for credit card fraud and identity theft, actions driven by his longtime drug addiction. The objective of the robbery was to steal a hoard of cash, heroin, and cocaine that Holmes claimed was in a safe embedded in Nash's bedroom floor, as well as to retrieve some antique guns the Wonderland Gang had stolen from another businessman and then subsequently, using Holmes as an intermediary, sold to Nash in exchange for drugs. He took me into his bedroom and he said that he had just been robbed of close to a million dollars worth of cocaine, jewelry and drugs., A short time later, Nashs body guard, Gregory Diles, came into the room, dragging the famous porn star John Holmes, a friend of Nashs whom Nash had discovered was responsible for letting the robbers into his house. It's a pleasure to be here this morning to take your questions and comments about. Ron Launius, Billy DeVerell, Barbara Richardson, and Joy Miller had all been beaten to death with metal objects. Barbara Lee Easton (married Walter Richardson in 1977 after graduating from Sacramento Cordova high school in 1976) Richardson, who was 22 at the time of her death, was associated with David Lind. 1976 J John Weg 95 followers More information Wonderland victim. After the sun came up, police found a bloody crime scene inside a house 8763 Wonderland Avenue, the known residence of the Wonderland Gang, a group of drug dealers. Neither Lind nor Holmes seems to be a very reliable informer or an especially admirable character, and the movie, though fascinated by the druggy, amoral milieu, holds each man at arm's length. He was very distraught, Thorson says. For something to become a really big media event, you need the idea that it could happen to anybody, he says. The police investigation that followed uncovered two versions of the events leading up to the brutal murders - both involving legendary porn actor John Holmes. Followed around by his patient girlfriend, Dawn (Kate Bosworth), and her pet chihuahua, he pinballs around Los Angeles County looking for drugs and finding trouble. I flew in from I believe I was in Tahoe with Liberace, he says. It was said that they were carrying hammers and pipes as weapons. Matt Damon played him opposite Michael Douglas in the 2013 HBO movie Behind the Candelabra, based on Thorsons tell-all book by the same name about his relationship with the famous pianist. He is not homophobic. 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. ''Wonderland'' is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). All the other characters in in the movie are psychologically transparent: they are addicts and criminals motivated by need, greed and revenge, but Ms. Kudrow, looking sorrowful and severe, remains tantalizingly opaque. Filming & Production Holmes had entered the home while the doors were unlocked. He is also a newly free man, speaking to Rolling Stone from Las Vegas in his first interview since getting paroled from Nevada State prison. She is also the New Mexico chairperson of Read Across America. The home at one point was up for rent for the price of $3,000 a month. After the trial ended in a hung jury, they were retried the following year and were later acquitted. The house located on 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Laurel Canyon. The killings occurred in an era of notorious Los Angeles criminals, including the Skid Row Slasher, the Hillside Strangler and the Night Stalker. While at the crime scene, he is picked up by Nico and Cruz. He tells Holmes he will kill every person listed in the book, starting with Holmes' mother, if Holmes does not give up the men who robbed him. 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. Mr. Cox is not really interested in the truth behind the murders or in generating sympathy for anyone touched by them. [citation needed], DeVerell was an overhead crane operator and heroin user who had been arrested 13 times in relation to his addiction, which is part of the reason why he stayed in the gang. The case sounds like something out of ''L.A. Prosecutors believed Nash had forced Holmes to help Diles murder the people in the house on Wonderland Avenue as revenge for a robbery. "[6], Last edited on 26 February 2023, at 21:09, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wonderland_(2003_film)&oldid=1141795244, This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 21:09. Barbara Richardson The house located on 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Laurel Canyon. When Liberace insisted that Thorson as his son get cosmetic surgery to look like him, the doctor gave him a nose job, sculpted cheekbones, and a chin implant (which he later had removed); he also started Thorson on a weight-loss plan that included pharmaceutical cocaine, quaaludes, and Demerol. At 62, Thorson has had a fever-dream of a life so far, bizarre in more ways than most people would care to fathom. The Wonderland House might seem like an ordinary home in the Los Angeles suburbs. Miller had two adult daughters and was the ex-wife of a Beverly Hills attorney. Barbara Lee Richardson was born in Sacramento, California in 1958, and she became the girlfriend of Aryan Brotherhood biker David Lind. View the profiles of people named Barbara Ann Richardson. [1] She graduated magna cum laude from Wheaton College in 1971, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.[2]. At heart it is a standard cop show whodunit, with Mr. Levine and Franky G. as the dogged detectives trying to sort through the distortions and ambiguities. ''Wonderland,'' directed by James Cox, is part of a curious, somewhat unsavory subgenre of movies that involve washed-up, sort-of-famous people and death by bludgeoning. His associate, David Lind, once said of him: "You could put a gun to his head and his pulse would never break 70". Launius and Susan Murphy, were married in Carson City, Nevada on April 16, 1971. I went back to the tape and he didnt say crack. Connelly says. Hes seen some things. David was dating a 22-year old woman, Barbara Richardson who sometimes went by the name 'Butterfly.' It was in prison that David Lind met Ron Launius. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. Barbara Richardson (Barbara Ann Barnett Richardson) See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Connell Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Lind and McCourt were not present at the home due to the murders since Lind was at a nearby hotel consuming drugs with a friend while McCourt was at an apartment that he apparently rented for himself. Since the event occurred in the early morning hours, no phone calls were made to the police until at least 12 hours after the fact. Holmes arrives at the apartment, and they have sex and snort cocaine in the bathroom. Wonderland is a 2003 American crime drama film, co-written and directed by James Cox and based on the real-life Wonderland Murders that occurred in 1981. David Lind died of a heroin overdose in 1995 while Tracy McCourt died of unknown causes in 2006. Connelly thinks the fact that the killings revolved around the cocaine trade help. He did not disclose the names of those responsible. Holmes then visits Nash to buy drugs, and on the way out leaves the kitchen door unlocked to give the Wonderland gang easy access. Police believed the brutality of the killings suggested a crime of rage and revenge. David Clay Lind was a biker, heroin addict, and member of the Aryan Brotherhood who befriended Launius when the two men served time in prison together. The Wonderland Gang was a group of drug dealers involved in the Los Angeles cocaine trade during the late 1970s and early 1980s; their home base was located on Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles, California. In 1990, Nash was charged in California state court with having planned the murders, and Diles was charged with participating in the murders, but both men were acquitted in 1991. Barbara Richardsons income source is mostly from being a successful . 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. : Barbara Richardson crime scene photo via Morgue Murder Files. Afterwards they took John Holmes out by the scruff of the neck, and they made him take [Diles] up to the Wonderland address where they then did the beatings and the killings. Accounts vary as to how and why Holmes arrived there; according to some sources, Holmes went there himself to try to make himself appear innocent,[16] whereas others claim Holmes was kidnapped by Nash's henchmen when they recognized him walking around wearing some of Nash's jewelry. By the time of the Wonderland murders, Lind had been incarcerated several times for armed burglary, forgery, assault, and assault with the intent to commit rape. Lind and his girlfriend, Barbara Richardson, rode down to the Wonderland house on Lind's motorcycle and slept on the living room sofa. Join Facebook to connect with Barbara Ann Richardson and others you may know. However, he died in 1988. [citation needed]. In ''Wonderland,'' which opens today in New York and Los Angeles, the celebrity (and apparent accomplice) is John Holmes, the star of many X-rated movies who died in 1988 and who was acquitted of charges in a multiple homicide in Los Angeles in 1981. Holmes actually went to Nash's three times that morning. I had never touched drugs until I met Liberace, he says. Barbara Flavin was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, March 25, 1949, the daughter of Evelyn Mary (ne Kaplan) and John Francis Flavin. Ratings Friends & Following Menu. [citation needed] Launius' brazen and fearless nature led both to his dominance in the drug trade as well as his demise, stemming from the events leading up to his death in the Wonderland Murders. However, the spirits of the occupants who had been savagely murdered on that July night may also still be out and about. After the members recovered, 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, ensured the door was unlatched, and notified the gang that the home was ready for invasion. I knew that Nash was dangerous and that if he could get a chance to kill me, he would.. Richarson's body was found on the living room floor in front of the sofa. The robbery was an inside job set up by Holmes, who was a close associate of Nash's, and whom Nash regularly referred to as "my brother". TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. [citation needed], Launius was known for remaining composed under pressure. Alice in Wonderland is a 1999 made-for-television film adaptation of Lewis Carroll's books Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871). Launiuss wife Susan was gravely injured and is the only known survivor of the attack. When asked to elaborate, the policeman explained: "A trash can only has two handles". | Originally, McCourt was designated to take part in the home invasion itself, but a day or so before the event, conspirator David Lind (who derisively referred to McCourt as "Titmouse Tracy"[citation needed]) took away McCourt's handgun, and McCourt was relegated to driving duty. [6] 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. On the afternoon of July 1, 1981, Los Angeles police responded to a distress call on Wonderland Avenue and discovered a grisly quadruple homicide. 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 fingerprints behind. The Wonderland Murders Crime Scene Photos The living room where the first victim, Barbara Richardson was found. He is currently single. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. I think if he would have done it in todays time, he would be jailed for it, he says. Liberace and Scott Thorson at La Cage Aux Folles in Hollywood on April 21, 1981 [Police] would have to investigate it, but I think theres a couple people still alive.. Aside from their drug dealings, some of the occupants were known for committing robberies and burglaries throughout Los Angeles. The Hollywood Pantages Theatre is no doubt one of the most extravagant theatres in the world. Federal prosecutors have reached back to history here to revive a sensational murder case, unveiling an indictment that alleges that a former nightclub owner, his bodyguard and a pornography actor arranged the killings of four people in the Hollywood Hills nearly two decades ago. The film stars Val Kilmer, Kate Bosworth, Dylan McDermott, Carrie Fisher, Lisa Kudrow, Josh Lucas, Christina Applegate, Tim Blake Nelson, and Janeane Garofalo. 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