Accident car um he stammered. 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. According to legend largely of his own making Holmes was born in New York and lived with a rich aunt whod been married fifteen times. Though the movie, when it began to appear at theaters around the country, was branded as obscene and closed down almost everywhere it played, its producers contested the charges in the courts and eventually won. When I refused, he said, Dont come back to California or I will have two men waiting at the airport to kill you, and I will have your parents killed. Shed never seen him look scared before. Finally, he replied: The murders . Writer and documentary producer. The police wanted to know who killed the Wonderland Gang. Thread marks found on walls, skulls, skin. He served in the signal corps, spending three years in Nuremberg, Germany. Allan MacDonell October 2, 2003. Nashs and Diless attorneys maintain their clients innocence and question the credibility of witnesses for the prosecution. -, Press J to jump to the feed. Bob Gregory, 62, went missing the same day as Sands. Here's Where To Maximize The View (And Snap A Great Picture), A Los Angeles Family Seeks Answers And Accountability After Black Mom Dies In Childbirth, A Brief History Of Why It Does Occasionally Snow In LA. Suddenly, Johnny Carson was telling Deep Throat jokes on The Tonight Show. . Id like you to meet Mr. John Holmes, hed say. The Wonderland slayings remain, for all intents and purposes, an unsolved mystery and mysteries without a resolution tend to tantalize and give birth to myth and conjecture. Later, in the Sixties, the canyon attracted writers and artists, rock stars and gurus. He chewed gum and overacted. With all the publicity from the murders, John Holmes had achieved almost mainstream celebrity. The murders, he said. Jeana sat in the front seat, Thor in her arms. Four inches around!, Thats great, said Sharon, turning a page of her magazine. A gate was unlocked, and Holmes walked up the stairs to the entrance with the gunmen concealed behind him. Then you guys take him down.. From then, wrote Schuyler, in a letter to a judge many years later, Ed Nasrallah began a courtship that was as old-fashioned as they come. Holmes slept fitfully for a few hours, Sharon Holmes said, and moaned about blood and pain. I watched them beat them to death., It was them or me. Jeana said nothing. True Crime Writer in Las Vegas. There never was a sexual relationship between us. A few months later, Jeana moved into the guest room of the house. She reached up and took Johns chin in her hand, turned his head side to side. The Wonderland Gang. How could you do this thing! Eddie Nash screamed. . The buckle depicted a mother whale swimming in the ocean, her baby nursing beneath. But Deputy District Attorney Ronald Coen said the prosecution would not attempt to prove Holmes actually killed the victims but was an accessory to the crime. He beat the shit out of me, then walked back up to the room. 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. I think they call it a taxi cab. They made a run to McDonalds for hamburgers. SIMON: For more than 40 years, people have been reading and performing Susan Cooper's poem "The Shortest Day" to celebrate the winter solstice. She tells them (in a near comatose state) that she does not remember anything. Submissions should outline a mystery and provide a link to a more detailed review of the case such as a Wiki article or news report. At the same time, Holmes was acting as an informant on matters of porn and prostitution for Sergeant Tom Blake, an L.A. vice detective. Um, I lifted the trunk of the car, and I gave myself a nosebleed yesterday. Jeana said nothing. What really cracks me up is people believe he was a dope dealer. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. I used to be a Web Developer in the Newsroom, now I spend my time in coffee shops researching murder. Join now Sign in . We played our favorite songs, walked, talked. This is Susan Launius. Gov. Jeana was afraid to look at John. He tried to think. Which movie about the entire John C. Holmes story accurately captures the Holmes milieu- "Wonderland" or "Boogie Nights" ? Do you agree with that assessment? Caring about employees. The jury found him innocent. When Amerson raised their rent to $400, they got their own place in Encino. Usually, they smoked freebase and had sex. Sports promoter Vic Weiss was found murdered in the trunk of his Rolls Royce in a Hollywood hotel parking lot in 1979. Recently, Holmes had been drifting from job to job, trying to find a niche. Memorial has already been merged. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Florida woman runs ultra-marathon distances for 23 consecutive days. Holmes was telling people that doctors had removed sixteen feet of his large intestine. He was sweet. These are my tools, I use them to make a living. Holmes thought Nash was the most evil man hed ever met, but he couldnt quite figure him out, so he respected him. Too bad youre so young, he said finally, then left. Then Nash was arrested with three others on federal charges of racketeering, arson and mail fraud. Finally he said, Ive got to tell you Ive been doing something else, and I think I want to make it my lifes work.. She was the sole survivor of the attack - suffering severe head injuries, amnesia, and a severed finger. This time, the gang decided not to wait for his return. After mustering out of the army, at age nineteen, Holmes went to work as an ambulance driver, and soon thereafter he met Sharon Gebenini. One of the customers was Scott Thorson. He did not testify at his trial, and his later secret testimony before the Los Angeles County Grand Jury remains sealed. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. 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). Miller, De Verell and Launius needed drugs every day. The three went back to Sharons house. All Rights reserved. Nash liked having him around. Can religion save us from Artificial Intelligence? He sent flowers, presents, photos of them with the dog. People are after John, and they think youre with him. John said he felt like he was chosen to get AIDS because of who he was, how he lived. A girl from the dorm recommended him. She was living in Hollywood while her autistic son attended the Belle Dubnoff School for Brain-Damaged Children. In the face of a drier future, that iconic piece of Americana is on its way out in Southern California. The murder weapon was a steel pipe with threading at the ends. Nash knew the Wonderland people. How do other people see you? After a while, the weather report came on. Holmes let his hair grow, started wearing three-piece suits. Ricks even came in from his sickbed to sentence Nash. Hed have me make these peanut-butter chocolate-chip brown-sugar butter cookies. He was held in the county jail for contempt. What does the print-on demand delivery system offer over other, similar systems like iUniverse.com? His black club was like a Hollywood Harlem, jazz and pinkie rings and wide-brimmed straw hats. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Susan Goldberg, MBA Expand search. Nash had clubs of all kinds; he catered to all predilections. jaydubya2009 10y. When Detectives Bob Souza and Tom Lange entered the home, nestled in the hip L.A. enclave of Laurel Canyon, they found pills and pipes scattered all over the flooralong with four dead bodies whose. But its one thing to tell someone something, says Lange. barry mcguigan, daughter funeral; susan launius interview Hed have Jimmie, the cook, prepare these elaborate spreads. The Seven Seas was a bus-stop joint across Hollywood Boulevard from Manns Chinese Theaters. He told me that he had set up the robbery. Bring me their eyeballs! Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Invalid memorial. german apple cake recipe milk street. Nobody ever came over, says Laurie. And then, just as we got to this intersection, he slammed on the brakes. During the dispute, Sherrill shot and killed Moore and Launius helped Sherrill dispose of the body and conceal evidence. Jewelry, wads of money. She didnt know what to do. He received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and mathematics from Emory . There was one hitch. In the end, the most damaging evidence the prosecution could produce was a palm print on a headboard above one of the victims. When we came back, the door was locked, says Jeana. He told us everything initially, right after it happened. His old friend was happy to pick them up. The poor girl was emaciated, Sharon says. Why? Susan A. Murphy Launius, 30, while not an official member of the gang, was married to gang member Ron Launius and had a drug habit. You had an accident in the Malibu?. . After bathing at Sharons, Holmes had come here, to this motel in the Valley. Main Menu. In 1981, Ron Launius and his gang of thieves and drug dealers, with assistance from porn star John Holmes, robbed the home of businessman and gangster Eddie Nash. Tell you its all clear. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. No one but Holmes has ever been charged in the murder case. But Holmes kept calling. I marketed him. I gave you everything!. Holmes talked a while, looked Jeana up and down. When asked by Holmes' attorney what she remembered after that, she replied, 'nothing.'. Id usually fall asleep on the couch.. It is debatable about $3,000. At night, she baby-sat for David and Karen. The house at 8763 had passed from a raucous group of women neighbors recall naked women being tossed from the first-floor balcony to the members of the Wonderland Gang. Holmes, meanwhile, had gone back to making films. It was dark, and there wasnt any traffic. When he got out of jail, Holmes was jubilant. A porn documentary of his life, made in 1981, was called Exhausted. He thinks Im famous.. Hed been with three governors, two of their wives and one senator, who was really a freak., Holmes said he owned ten different businesses, that he was a gourmet cook, that he had written twenty-nine books, including a how-to manual combining cooking and sex. Dear reader, we're asking you to help us keep local news available for all. All Marriage & Divorce results for Ronnie Launius. here. An ex-convict whod served time for burglary, forgery and assault to commit rape, Lind had been invited to town, he would later tell a court, to practice his profession, committing crimes. Eddie Nash was fifty-two years old, six feet tall, gray haired, strong and wiry. 02:26. Gregory DeWitt Diles, six feet four, 300 pounds, barged through the front door of the house on Dona Lola, dragging John Holmes by the scruff of his neck. runs a close second. Like aliens or something. 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. In your opinion, what's the best alternate route to the 405? Suzanne Launius's birthday is 03/24/1951 and is 71 years old.Suzanne calls Hawthorne, CA, home.Susan Launius are some of the alias or nicknames that Suzanne has used. With the release the same year of The Devil in Miss Jones and Behind the Green Door, porn became part of popular culture. The man was a poster child for sociopathic behavior. His attorney told reporters that hed changed his mind because of certain arrangements that had been made and certain circumstances that had arisen. She was a teenager, and her parents had just divorced. One summer day in 1968, Sharon came home a little early from work. Thorson, who was waiting to be sentenced on a drug-related armed robbery, had sought a deal with police. After Holmes negotiations for an immunity deal with police and prosecutors fell apart, the actor made plans to leave town with Sellers. 'I was laying down on the bed. He drove a forklift at a meatpacking plant in Cudahy until his lung collapsed from working in the freezer. At the moment, on this evening of June 28th, 1981, Wonderland Avenue was quiet. . She didnt know where. [5] Barbara Richardson [ edit] Sharon had watched through the window as he picked them from the neighbors front yard. Armed guards in the lobby, in the hallway. This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Now he never went anywhere without his brown Samsonite briefcase. He was known as Eddie Nash. A doctor of dubious practice prescribed a salad of different drugs to aid the weight loss.