The Wonderland murders occurred on 1 July 1981 at 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles, when Eddie Nash's henchmen used striated lead pipes to kill four members of the Wonderland Gang and wound one more. The murders were retaliation for the gang's armed robbery of Eddie Nash at his home.
Background[]
Wonderland Gang[]
The Wonderland Gang was a gang of drug dealers based out of an apartment on 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles, with Ron Launius serving as its leader. Launius has a fondness for antique guns and frequently showed them off to friends such as David Lind. When he learned that his friend, the porn legend John C. Holmes, knew the notorious gangster Eddie Nash, he gave Holmes a pair of stolen antique guns to take to Nash so that Nash could fence them and the Wonderland Gang could split the loot. (Nash had befriended Holmes because of Holmes' notoriety as the porn film phenomenon Johnny Wadd.) Holmes took the guns to Nash, but Nash said that the guns were too rare to be sold, and the guns would be recognized right away and everyone involved would be apprehended. Rather than return the guns to Holmes, Nash kept them for himself. Attempting to get back in the gang's good graces after being beaten up, Holmes suggested robbing Nash's home. Ron Launius was reluctant to go along with the robbery at first, but after Holmes detailed what was in the home, he became eager to participate. Holmes volunteered to draw them a map to plan the robbery, since he had visited Nash's house frequently. Holmes then visited Nash to buy drugs, and on the way out left the kitchen door unlocked to give the Wonderland gang easy access.
Robbery of Eddie Nash[]
The robbery of Nash's mansion
On 29 June 1981, gang members Launius, Lind, Deverell, and their associate Tracy McCourt left the Wonderland apartment in a car after Holmes entered the apartment and told the gang members to "hit him". Launius, Lind, and Deverell entered the house with guns, and Launius jumped Nash as Lind struggled with Nash's henchman Greg Diles. After Launius threw Nash, Nash fell against Lind, who accidentally fired his shotgun; Diles was grazed by the shotgun blast, suffering a flesh wound on his back. The gang hurled racial epithets at Nash and Diles and forced Nash to give up the combination to his safe, stealing his money; they then proceeded to rob large quantities of drugs and jewelry from his house. The gang left with $1.2 million, and they split it up between them. Holmes would be upset with his take, as it was less due to his loss of the guns in the first place (even though they were retrieved). Nash would discover Holmes' involvement in the robbery due to the fact that he was the only person who knew about the safe, and he told Holmes that he would kill every person in his little black address book, starting with his mother, if he did not give up the people who robbed Nash.
Murders[]
Holmes beating Launius with a pipe
At 3:00 AM on 1 July 1981, John C. Holmes rang the doorbell of the apartment, and Deverell answered through the PA, refusing to let him in. Eventually, he was annoyed by Holmes' buzzing, and he decided to let him in. When he opened the door, Greg Diles immediately began beating him with a striated lead pipe, and another criminal started to beat Joy Miller and Barbara Richardson with pipes as they slept on the couches. Diles held a gun to Holmes' head and made him watch, taunting him and telling him that he caused the entire situation to happen. He then proceeded to savagely beat Ron Launius in his bed, and Diles forced Holmes to use the pipe to beat Launius, jokingly saying that Johnny was making another one of his "movies", and he watched as Holmes - who had frequently been publicly humiliated by Launius - beat Launius as his head exploded. Susan Launius was severely beaten in her bed, but she narrowly survived, albeit with amnesia, head injuries, and the loss of a finger.
Aftermath[]
Lind and McCourt were both away from the scene at the time of the murders, so they were able to survive unharmed. The perpetrators would never serve prison time for their crimes, with Diles, Holmes, and Nash being acquitted; Holmes died of AIDS in 1988, Diles died of liver failure in 1997, and Nash was released from prison for extortion during the early 2000s, going on to live as a free man. The police would describe the Wonderland murders as more bloodier and gruesome than the Tate-La Bianca murders of 1969.