The next morning, while in a motel room, Dawn sees a newscast that states four people were murdered at a rowhouse on Wonderland Avenue, the same one she had earlier been at with Holmes. Release Dates 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 case sounds like something out of ''L.A. [citation needed]. Aside from their drug dealings, some of the occupants were known for committing robberies and burglaries throughout Los Angeles. Company Credits The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a popular holiday destination known for Old Hollywood's rich and famous intrigues. Trending. Lind accidentally fires his gun, wounding Nash's bodyguard, Greg Diles. Crime, Mystery & Thriller, Drama, Made in Europe. 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. Thorson claimed to have witnessed Nash order Diles to beat Holmes, and said Nash threatened to kill Holmes and his family, until Holmes identified the people behind the robbery. : Anyone can read what you share. [citation needed]. She was the sole survivor of the attack suffering severe head injuries, amnesia, and a severed finger. However, he died in 1988. | Nash and Diles faced a mistrial in 1990, and were acquitted in 1991. Movers who were working next door had heard audible moans coming from the Wonderland house and soon discovered a seriously injured Susan Launius laying on the bed next to her deceased husband. She seems like a real person, and you wonder how she was dragged into a situation -- and a movie -- like this. He spent considerable time in the Colorado prison system, but when he was free he operated a successful mobile phone franchise. "[4] On Metacritic it has a score of 43% based on reviews from 36 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". The wild details Thorson shares strain credulity. Recent examples include Paul Schrader's ''Auto Focus,'' in which the celebrity (and victim) was the ''Hogan's Heroes'' star Bob Crane, and Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato's ''Party Monster,'' in which the celebrity (who in real life pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter) was the New York club kid Michael Alig. [5][11] Miller was a heroin user who had fallen in with the Wonderland Gang through her self-immersion in drug culture. While prosecutors were attempting to paint Holmes as one of the willing participants of the murders, Holmes attorneys were able to prove that Holmes was not involved with the murders, but rather a victim who was forced to allow the assailants entry into the home to carry out the attack. WONDERLAND Directed by James Cox; written by Mr. Cox, Captain Mauzner, Todd Samovitz and D. Loriston Scott; director of photography, Michael Grady; edited by Jeff McEvoy; production designer,. Running time: 104 minutes. [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. After a key witness for the prosecution died in an unrelated police shootout, the murder charges against Launius were dropped. Hes seen some things. And I took a Lear jet into Burbank and I met with Eddie Nash., When Thorson arrived, however, Nash had neither drugs nor money. After the trial, Holmes would serve out his jail time. 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. 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. They had discovered that an untold amount of cocaine and other valuables were stolen, totaling about $1 million. In Mr. Cox's film the particulars of the crime -- five people attacked with lead pipes in a house in Laurel Canyon, four of them fatally -- remain in some doubt, as does the extent of Holmes's responsibility. Holmes is unhappy with the cut he is given, even though he did not take part in the robbery and he's in debt to the gang. As they were handcuffing both men, Lind accidentally shot Diles in the back after Launius bumped into him, injuring the bodyguard. Unaware of Nashs illicit line of work, Liberace had, through Thorson, invested in some of the nightclubs Nash owned in L.A. at the time. They bring their loot back to the Wonderland apartment to divide everything up. 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. The high quality of most of the acting makes this otherwise pointless and indulgent movie at least watchable, and Lisa Kudrow's performance in particular provides a glimpse of the better movie you wish it were. Victim two, Ron Launius was bludgeoned to death on his bed. http://us.macmillan.com/author/barbar. When asked to elaborate, the policeman explained: "A trash can only has two handles". Scott Thorson, who was buying drugs at Nash's home, wrote in his memoir My Life with Liberace (1988) that Nash had ordered Diles to bring Holmes to Nash's house, which Diles did after finding Holmes walking around Hollywood wearing one of Nash's rings. Facebook gives people the. New Charges in 19-Year-Old Drug Killings in Hollywood, https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/21/us/new-charges-in-19-year-old-drug-killings-in-hollywood.html. One such occurrence happened on June 29, 1981. Their relationship is an enigma much deeper than all the grisly cop-show business: she clearly despises everything her husband has become but has never entirely abandoned him, perhaps clinging in vain to the hope that he may one day snap out of it. This film is rated R. WITH: Val Kilmer (John Holmes), Lisa Kudrow (Sharon Holmes), Kate Bosworth (Dawn Schiller), Dylan McDermott (David Lind), Josh Lucas (Ron Launius), Tim Blake Nelson (Billy Deverell), Eric Bogosian (Eddie Nash), Ted Levine (Sam Nico), Franky G. (Louis Cruz), Christina Applegate (Susan Launius), Natasha Gregson-Wagner (Barbara Richardson), Janeane Garofalo (Joy Miller), Carrie Fisher (Sally Hansen) and Faizon Love (Greg Diles). Hed sent Thorson on June 30th to collect their cut of the clubs door money, and Thorson had combined errands and ordered a pound of cocaine from Nash for himself. Mr. Lucas, playing the crown prince of the Laurel Canyon drug scene, is all nerves and teeth, showing some of the same sharp-faced ferocity he brought to ''A Beautiful Mind,'' in which he played John Nash's graduate-school rival. 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. [5], 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. 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. We want to hear it. ''There was dope, porn, sex and drugs and organized crime, and John Holmes and all of these types of things that made it kind of a draw back then,'' said Tom Lange, a retired Los Angeles police detective who investigated the case, and who was later assigned to the O. J. Simpson case. Holmes volunteers to draw them a map to plan the robbery, since he has visited Nash's house frequently. 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. The first time, he forgot to unlatch the patio door; the second time, he did so but returned to the Wonderland hideout only to find some of the gang members were extremely high on heroin. 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. On June 29, 1981, the Wonderland Gang, comprising Ron Launius, Billy DeVerell, David Lind, Tracy McCourt,[13] and their associate, John Holmes, conspired to launch a home invasion and robbery upon Eddie Nash, a reputedly powerful organized crime figure who usually referred to himself in the third person as "The Nash". [11] Nash asked to pray for his children but was instead forced to open his safe. FILM REVIEW; A Film Stud Who Loses His Luster Is Sent to Graze on Seedy Pastures, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/03/movies/film-review-a-film-stud-who-loses-his-luster-is-sent-to-graze-on-seedy-pastures.html. Ms. Kudrow plays Sharon Holmes, John's estranged wife, to whom he turns when things become really desperate. On June 29, 1981, the Wonderland Gang, comprising Ron Launius, Billy DeVerell, David Lind, Tracy McCourt, and their associate, John Holmes, conspired to launch a home invasion and robbery upon Eddie Nash, a reputedly powerful organized crime figure who usually referred to himself in the third person as "The Nash". Holmes, Nash, and Diles were each tried for the murders. The Wonderland Case, Explained O n July 1, 1981, four people were found murdered inside a Los Angeles home in a sensational case combining "dope, porn, sex and drugs and organized crime," as a retired LAPD detective once told The New York Times. 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. Holmes actually went to Nash's three times that morning. Lind had spent the night with a male prostitute, leading to his survival. [citation needed], Adult-entertainment legend John Holmes, famous at the time for his portrayal of the detective character Johnny Wadd in a series of pornographic films, was a frequent visitor who would purchase or scrounge cocaine from the gang. An art deco masterpiece located in the heart of Hollywood, it was a popular venue for many dazzling stage For decades, the city of Los Angeles has prevailed as the motion picture epicenter of the world. He is from . Specifically at the time of the murder, Lind testified in court that he was at a motel in the San Fernando Valley, consuming drugs with a male prostitute. Barbara Lee Richardson was born in Sacramento, California in 1958, and she became the girlfriend of Aryan Brotherhood biker David Lind. John Holmes and the Wonderland Murders also did a segment that was released in 2000 around the time of Nash's trial. As a result, she suffered permanent amnesia and had a part of her skull and portions of a finger surgically removed. I flew in from I believe I was in Tahoe with Liberace, he says. Launius wife, Susan, had also been badly bludgeoned but survived with severe head injuries. The murder victims belong to a group of addicts and small-time dealers whose endless, hectic parties gain a certain sleazy cachet from Holmes's presence. [citation needed], Although the Wonderland Gang was mainly known for its drug sales, which concentrated on cocaine and the occasional heroin deal, the gang also gained revenues through burglaries and armed robberies of rival drug dealers. He is perhaps best-known as Liberaces former lover. Following the robbery, Holmes ended up back at Nash's home. That is what they are paid to do of course; why anyone else should care is the real unsolved mystery. Ah, you must be Barbara. Scott Thorson, who was buying drugs at Nash's home, wrote in his memoir My Life with Liberace (1988) that Nash had ordered Diles to bring Holmes to Nash's house, which Diles did after finding Holmes walking around Hollywood wearing one of Nash's rings. I had never touched drugs until I met Liberace, he says. Launius' brazen and fearless nature led both to his dominance of his chosen profession as well as his demise, stemming from the events leading up to his death in the Wonderland Murders. I was scared, he says. All Rights reserved. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 34% based on 101 reviews. In 2003, a film titled Wonderland was based on the events surrounding the murders. The killings. Barbara works at Animal Rescue. Public Records & Background Search Barbara A Richardson, age 73, Brooklyn, NY Background Check [17], Around 3:00 AM, on July 1, two days after the Nash robbery, it is believed Holmes, Diles, and a number of unidentified men entered the Wonderland house and bludgeoned to death Launius, DeVerell, Miller, and Richardson; the weapons were believed to be either hammers or striated metal pipes. 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Join Facebook to connect with Brbara Richardson and others you may know. Launius and Susan Murphy, were married in Carson City, Nevada on April 16, 1971. He is currently single. Wonderland (2003) Natasha Gregson Wagner as Barbara Richardson. . Barbara Richardson was born on 1951. 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). 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". [20], 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. [5], Roger Ebert gave the film a mediocre review, granting it two out of four stars, and saying: "True crime procedurals can have a certain fascination, but not when they're jumbled glimpses of what might or might not have happened involving a lot of empty people whose main claim to fame is that they're dead. [19] Holmes died on March 13, 1988, from AIDS complications in Los Angeles. Holmes died on March 13, 1988, from AIDS complications in Los Angeles. Hed been robbed at gunpoint two days before. Still, the film is absorbing without being especially affecting, partly because it assembles an impressive group of actors who seem to revel in the ambient scuzziness, including Carrie Fisher, Janeane Garofalo, Tim Blake Nelson, Faizon Love and Josh Lucas. We don't have much information about He's past relationship and any previous engaged. 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