They mix poorly, and yet they're inexorably linked. Learn more about merges. Blond and bearded, Launius had served federal time for drug smuggling. I think they call it a taxi cab. Apparently, Holmes had made good his promise and stopped doing drugs. Eddie Nash was fifty-two years old, six feet tall, gray haired, strong and wiry. 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. Susan Flores, the mother of Paul Flores, the sheriff's prime suspect in the investigation into the disappearance of Kristin Smart, spoke to KSBY News on Tuesday for her first-ever media interview. Liberace called him Booper, treated him like a son, a lover, a pet. german apple cake recipe milk street. One of the customers was Scott Thorson. The attack was allegedly masterminded by organized crime figure Juan Nel 8kfollowers More information Removing Bodies From Wonderland- This Day in History: Jul 1,1981: The Wonderland murders Murder Stories John Holmes Forensic Psychology Laurel Canyon Unsolved Serial Killers True Crime (Taken from Wikipedia on Wonderland Murders). The complex had ten free-standing cabana apartments, built around a courtyard. Sydney Pollack's adaptation of Horace McCoy's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" National Park Service: 'Never push a slower friend down' in a bear encounter, March 2 (UPI) -- The National Park Service offered some sage advice for park visitors who encounter bears: "Never push a slower friend down. The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation Presents. Theyd sold a pound of baking soda for a quarter of a million dollars. Eruption, a porn remake of Double Indemnity. Launius was a reckless thief and he went after wealthy targets, not just down-and-dirty drug dealers and bikers, so I'd look for possible victims with either have money or look like they have money, who turned up dead after a home invasion. The fifty-two-year-old former jurist had been arrested after he allegedly punched his eighty-two-year-old mother and threatened to kill someone if she didnt give him keys to a car. He said he was told he would be killed and people in the book would be killed if (Holmes) didnt do what (Nash) wanted. You could walk up, whisper something in his ear, and hed make it available. The setup, the robbery, Nashs threat to kill his whole family, Sharon included. What's different Later it was reported that Holmes interrupted his fast, ate a meal, then continued his fast. He remained addicted to coke. Hed say, Count this. Were talking $56,000 in two boots.. I suspect that Launius may have been involved in other violent crimes. John Holmes, who was tried for and acquitted of the crimes, never told his wife the names of the assailants, she said. Anywhere on Los Feliz Boulevard adjacent to Griffith Park. Frequently he brought him girls. I stood there against the wall. Is this your brother? Wearing jewel-bedecked livery, he would chauffeur Liberace onto the stage in a glittering mini-Rolls-Royce open the door, take his masters fur coat. Captain Conan 10y. Amerson says Holmes spent most of his time playing cards and shooting darts. By Steve Helling. How could you do this thing! Eddie Nash screamed. arcane traps mousehunt; digital readout for sliding table saw What he was famous for was his penis. The Malibu was idling. Diles smacked Holmes, threw him across the room, shoved him against a wall. Ill pick you up.. How do other people see you? They told him to make good. Then, in the summer of 1985, John tested positive for AIDS. Are you awake? Holmess eyelids fluttered. He couldnt walk. He was known as Eddie Nash. Youve got to be joking. He meant nothing to me in that way.. Her husband, Ron, 37, of the Topanga Canyon area of Los Angeles, was one of the victims. There are other suspects that we feel are involved. Susan Launius | Susan Lanius (unlucky) wife of Ron Lanius pl | Flickr Wonderland Gang - WikiMili, The Best Wikipedia Reader He wanted witness protection, a new name, money, a home. 1947 was a pivotal year in L.A.'s history. He wanted to make a million dollars so we could just leave and be done with it.. Their association ended in one of the most brutal mass murders in the history of Los Angeles. He walked through the door, flopped on the bed, passed out. He had set it up with the other people, the people that lived at Wonderland. He stroked us, jacked us around. There were piles of cocaine in front of you. Holmes went to work for a construction company, painting a hotel down the strip. In the end, both Diles and Nash went to jail. How do you handle this conflict? Nolan Miller Nancy J. Kraft, nee Launius, 69, of Smithton, Illinois, born Friday, August 4, 1939, in East Saint Louis, IL, died Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at Memorial Hospital in Belleville, IL. Sharon sat on the wood-covered commode. There was one hitch. When I come home at night, the tools stay on the job., You are having sex with other women, said Sharon. She tells them (in a near comatose state) that she does not remember anything. pillsbury company net worth; does gotomeeting work in china; tanner mark boots website Laurie was standing at the door when Lange and McClain appeared down the corridor. Tell me where you are. With the preliminary hearing transcript, the Wonderland groupies for lack of a better term can get a glimpse into what really went down on the night of July 1, 1981, in the words of those who were there: Susan Launius, the sole survivor of the attack; David Lind, a slick, smooth-talking hood who was one of the trigger men in the robbery of reputed mobster Eddie Nash that preceded and instigated the murders; and Tracy McCourt, the petulant wheelman in the Nash heist. 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. Everybody was just shocked.. His last film was The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empress, starring Ilona Ciccolina Staller, a member of the Italian Parliament. Names of mobsters, drug dealers, prostitutes, pimps. The Story Of The Gruesome And Unsolved Wonderland Murders - All That's The man who owned the house was named Adel Nasrallah. Holmes slept fitfully for a few hours, Sharon Holmes said, and moaned about blood and pain. We sat on the rocks, the moon was just right. Now she shook her head slowly, walked around the car to the passenger side. COOPER: (Reading) And when the new year's sunshine . It was 8:30 Monday morning. Holmes was doing sex pictorials, dancing in clubs. Wonderland murders - Wikipedia Together, the womens descriptions of what Holmes told them largely corroborate the Los Angeles Police Departments theory of what happened on Wonderland Avenue. He was picking on a kid that didnt know any better. This is a man who pimped out his underage girlfriend to Eddie Nash in exchange for drugs and that's just the beginning of his sins. On Mulholland Drive, silently watching as the city falls down and taking a naturalist's notes. . DeVerell, Launius and McCourt, all heroin addicts, were out cold. GitHub export from English Wikipedia. Armed guards in the lobby, in the hallway. Ron Launius had an extensive criminal history before coming to a bloody end. The judge in the case was Everett E. Ricks Jr. They were stupid. As much as I like "Boogie Nights", it remains a fairly superficial movie. John, theyre coming, Laurie said in a stage whisper. John was into Save the Whales. Replies analysing and speculating over the mystery and possible explanations are encouraged. Lt. Ron Lewis discounted speculation that the slayings could be 'random killings' such as the Tate-LaBianca murders committed by the Manson Family in 1969. Court records and pllice statements indicated two of the four victims were under prosecution for dealing in cocaine, heroin and Quaaludes. . Susan Goldberg, MBA on LinkedIn: There's a Mental Health Crisis At Work They did hits off Eddies pipe, eyed the door. Dismiss. Alex Murdaugh Found Guilty of Murdering Wife and Son There was a security system at the house. Her brother was in town; something weird was going on. At the house, Holmes told his wife, Nash pored over Holmes address book, and stopped when he came to the pages that listed addresses in Ohio, where Holmes was born and where his mother and other relatives still lived. Their attorneys question the credibility of prosecution witnesses and maintain their clients innocence. During the dispute, Sherrill shot and killed Moore and Launius helped Sherrill dispose of the body and conceal evidence. Four bodies. You said something about blood., Holmess eyes bulged. Holmes was to run it. Holmes remained in jail, however, on his outstanding burglary case. Her new boss, a pediatrician, had shut down the office for the afternoon, and shed gone to the market, planned a special dinner for her husband. Yeah, well, uh, he said. I was just taken off my feet. His family had owned several hotels before the creation of Israel in 1948. jaydubya2009 10y. Susan Goldberg, MBA Expand search. The Top 5 newsletter catches you up with LAs top 5 stories in just 3 minutes. Oh, shit, she thought, but she didnt say anything. Police sources said Vlick, who is charged with plssessing drugs and stolen property, is a 'fringe guy' in organized crime circles. Salary in 2020. Officers made casts of the victims' wounds to help determine the weapon or weapons used in the attack. Inside were his drugs, his glass pipe, baking soda and a petri dish for cooking cocaine powder into rock base, a bottle of 151 rum and cotton swabs for lighting the pipe. Not only did the Black Dahlia murder occur in '47 but the town was full of soldiers returning from the war with scarred psyches. I knew the whole picture, says Sharon. John swung and knocked his stepfather out. It began, according to Thorsons book, Behind the Candelabra, when Liberace ordered him to have cosmetic surgery. Net Worth in 2019. Memorial has already been merged. He came in, sat on a couch. This button displays the currently selected search type. John? In truth, Holmes was operated on for hemorrhoids. The bride wore white. Jewelry, wads of money. All Marriage & Divorce results for Ronnie Launius. Wake him? So much blood! Holmes was having a nightmare. Do you find it challenging to make new friends here? So, how much is Susan Launius worth at the age of 70 years old? Though Holmes had left Wonderland at midnight, he had stayed at Eddie Nashs for six hours, smoking up the $400 hed taken to spend, helping himself to a little more of Nashs largess. Wed have dinner with other people at the hotel, go to movies. or learn more. His defense was simple: John Holmes was the sixth victim of the Wonderland murders, and Eddie Nash was evil incarnate. Ladies and gentlemen, his lawyer told the jury at the outset, unlike some mysteries, this is not going to be a question of Who done it? This is going to be a question of Why arent the perpetrators here? . He dunked his head, put a steaming washcloth over his face. He beat the shit out of me, then walked back up to the room. The case against Holmes was built largely on two pieces of evidence: An admission that Holmes allegedly made to Los Angeles Police Detective Frank Tomlinson after his arrest in Miami in December, 1981, and a bloody palm print left by Holmes on the rail of a bed on which one of the victims, drug dealer Ronald Launius, died. but who will buy LA's Los Feliz Murder House? - The Independent Susan Launius's income source is mostly from being a successful . It was owned by the pediatrician she worked for; she and Holmes lived rent-free in an adjacent house. Holmes went on to say that he wanted to be best in the world at something, and that he thought pornography was it. Read 'The Shortest Day' To Celebrate The Winter Solstice : NPR It sounds silly, but you know how you can meet someone for the first time and its like you know them already?, After the film, John and Laurie, who looked like Jeana, began dating. True Crime Writer in Las Vegas. His black club was like a Hollywood Harlem, jazz and pinkie rings and wide-brimmed straw hats. He introduced him to all his guests. Laurel Canyon had long been a prestige address, an earthy, woodsy setting just minutes from the glitter and rush of Tinseltown. There is a substantial audience out there hungry for information on the Wonderland murders. To get better results, add more information such as Birth Info, Death Info and Location even a guess will help. The Wonderland case was still open. to tell them who it was, Sharon Holmes said. He told me that he had set up the robbery. Sharons first act was to move Jeana out of Karen and Davids and into a garage apartment in the complex. A gate was unlocked, and Holmes walked up the stairs to the entrance with the gunmen concealed behind him. When you met with Eddie, you met at his place, on his terms. When he became established as a porn star, Holmes said, he had a half dozen agents pulling in work for him. Diles leveled a gun at his head. The buckle depicted a mother whale swimming in the ocean, her baby nursing beneath. Susan Launius, who lay wounded with severe head injuries for hours before being discovered in the house by neighbors last July 1, testified during Holmes' preliminary hearing that she could only recall seeing 'shadowy figures.'. Jeana packed her bag, gathered up Thor, put Johns gun in her pocketbook. Now it was December 4th, 1981. . In the end, Deep Throat was massively consumed by an enthusiastic public. When asked by Holmes' attorney what she remembered after that, she replied, 'nothing.'. Youre probably going to be saving him.. Later, the women dyed Johns hair black. I was working as a computer programmer. Didn't expect my day to start by downloading #microsoftedge or willingly going to #bing to see #openai's new #gpt4 model. At the moment that Diles barged through the door with Holmes in tow, Thorson was with Eddie in his bedroom, doing hits. A sign on the box, written in blue Magic Marker, said, FOR DISTRIBUTION AT BOX OFFICE. Sharon stood with arms crossed. Thorson, who was waiting to be sentenced on a drug-related armed robbery, had sought a deal with police. We have estimated Susan Launius's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets. A stairway, leading from the garage to the front door, was caged in iron. Lets face it, Amerson says, John was a product. Or perhaps he had flown from Las Vegas. One woman survived the attack. There were seven of them meeting in the house on Wonderland Avenue, a jaundiced stucco box on a steep, winding road in the hills above Hollywood. Now, in the breakfast nook, a tall, gaunt man with curly hair and a sparse beard pointed to the floor plan he had sketched. Jeana was doing freebase too, almost every night. At home, Harold picked on John. The master, the giver of hospitality. I didnt want to believe Id fallen for a line again, Jeana says. Built in 1925, in the then fashionable Spanish Revival style, it sits in the leafy hills above the Los Feliz neighbourhood, at the fringes of Griffith Park and with a panoramic view of the city. how much does a cfl general manager makeduskull evolution arceus He quickly racked up a rap sheet, including gun and drug charges. Twenty minutes later, Holmes walked into the room. Once, he rammed his own hand into a harvesting machine. Help me. A fifth victim was carried out alive. . I said yes. His mistress, Jeana, whod been with him since she was fifteen, was turning tricks to support his habit. Sharon, a registered nurse, rummaged through a well-stocked medicine cabinet, brought out iodine and cotton swabs. Web Design & Digital Marketing Theres no mystery. He had twenty-seven fan clubs; people wrote for locks of his pubic hair. . Jeana sat in the front seat, Thor in her arms. Ten inches long! Change your mind. Chris caught up. Ricks cited Nashs need for delicate surgery to remove a sinus tumor. She was a teenager, and her parents had just divorced. He moved to a modest condo in Tarzana and set about rebuilding, taking college business courses at night. The Seven Seas was a bus-stop joint across Hollywood Boulevard from Manns Chinese Theaters. Her daughter was born by emergency C-section. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. Ron Launius was born in 1944 in Shawneetown, IL. March 2 (UPI) -- A Minnesota police officer came to the rescue of a raccoon he spotted running around with a jar stuck over its head. What he may have been referring to was the imprisonment, that very same morning, of Eddie Nash, on charges of dealing drugs. He showed up at the house in the early evening. Her husband, Ron, 37, of the. Dear reader, we're asking you to help us keep local news available for all. Holmess half brother and his wife lived there; this little community was the personal fiefdom of John Holmes. Susan Launius - Net Worth March 2023, Salary, Age, Siblings, Bio 26th Hall of Fame. Police, however, believe that Holmes actually took part in the fatal beatings. I wouldn't doubt it. Miss Miller's shiny white 1969 Mercedes 280 SL was used to deliver narcotics to her customers, detectives said. Things at the house were always hopping, someone was always showing up with a scam. He took a lounge singers approach to sex, deliberately gentle, ostentatiously artful, a homely guy with a pinkie ring and a big dick who was convinced he was every womans dream. The day after the robbery, someone who knew Nash apparently spotted Holmes in Hollywood, wearing a piece of jewelry that had been stolen from Nashs home, he told his wife. She was an associate of the Wonderland Gang, hanging around the Wonderland apartment, where she was savagely beaten by criminals with lead pipes on the night of 1 July 1981. We were real friendly. They were going underground. So Holmes summoned his wife into the bathroom, drew steaming water into the tub, slipped in, and began to talk. John Holmes recounted how he led three thugs to the tightly secured drug house on Wonderland Avenue, escorted them in, and stood by as they bludgeoned the five people inside, spattering Holmes with blood. Another officer commented, upon hearing of Launius' death, "I suppose they won't need many pall bearers". McCourt drove up the hill on Laurel Canyon Boulevard, across Mulholland Drive, over the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains, down into the Valley. I believe I was watching TV and it seems like a bunch of people were coming in and out,' Mrs. Launius said. Not since she was home. He lost his virginity at age twelve to a thirty-six-year-old woman who was a friend of his mothers. Edward SutterEdward Robert Sutter, 93, of Millstadt, Ill., born March 26, 1919, in Millstadt, Ill., passed away Tuesday, June 26, 2012, at the Columbia Rehab . One summer day in 1968, Sharon came home a little early from work. Recently, Holmes had been drifting from job to job, trying to find a niche. Well, kind of, Video shows Memphis jailers beating Black inmate before his death, Skin lesion removed from President Bidens chest last month was cancerous, doctor says, CPAC shows the GOP has deep divisions heading into 2024, Abortion clinics crossing state borders not always welcome. Marriage & Divorce. Memorial ID. Ronnie Launius - Ancestry.com Nash was a drug dealer and a heavy user. When Holmes returned to his car hours later, two armed men ordered him to drive to Nashs home, he said. John was a shy and lonely kid who kept to himself and had perfect attendance at Sunday school. There never was a sexual relationship between us. 7-year-old baseball umpire seeks Guinness World Record. Inside was a painting by Rembrandt, a jade and ivory collection, sterling silver, jewelry and, most appealing of all, large quantities of money and drugs. Facilitating a sense of purpose. He went fucking crazy, says Amerson. 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. If anything, one of the themes in Eddies life has always been control. She is the sole survivor of the brutal Wonderland attack the night of July 1, 1981; she suffered severe head injuries, amnesia, and a severed finger following the attack. Drugs, inattention, back taxes and lawyers fees had depleted his fortune. Coroner Thomas Noguchi said early autopsy results on the bodies found Wednesday -- 12 hours after the neighbors ignored the screams for mercy -- indicated the victims had been beaten to death. Who talks about this person. Or that show out of New York, you know, A Current Affair. Abraham Lincoln : TV NEWS : Search Captions. Borrow Broadcasts : TV Susan Flores, mother of 'prime suspect' in Kristin Smart case - KSBY Bob Gregory, 62, went missing the same day as Sands. He told us everything initially, right after it happened. His penis, when erect, according to legend, measured between eleven and fifteen inches in length. The daughter had a kid and a job. Reportedly, at the time of his death,[3] police investigators throughout California, largely in the Sacramento area, had 27 open homicide cases they believed were perpetrated by Launius. Diles shoved, Holmes skidded across the carpet. If somebody fucked with him. Firefighters hoist horse stranded in backyard swimming pool. With all the publicity from the murders, John Holmes had achieved almost mainstream celebrity. He knew he was dying. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. By the time Johns half brother was born, John was spending most of his time in the woods, hunting, trapping, fishing, staying away from Harold. I will kill your whole family! There was shouting, laughing, rock & roll twenty-four hours a day.. She hadnt seen him in three months. Nash was leafing through a little black book that Diles had taken from Holmess pocket. They opened the security gate, and the four of us went up the stairs, and when the door opened, they forced their way inside. But here we are. At Holmes murder trial, Tomlinson testified that Holmes told him that after the robbery had occurred at Ed Nashs house, that Nash had made (Holmes) tell him who the people were that robbed him. In the meantime, here's an interview with Bren: 1. Id like you to meet Mr. John Holmes, hed say. The next day, while Holmes was at work, a delegation of residents came to see Jeana. This anecdote right there tells me that Launius has a body count. Now the police wanted Holmess testimony. About this time, Sharon says, Holmes began working as a courier for the Mob. Blond and bearded, Launius had served federal time for drug smuggling. Six months ago shed had a double mastectomy. Now they had another idea. Hed been turned on to the drug on a movie set in Las Vegas and had been smoking ever since. Early in 1983, Holmes was shooting Fleshpond at a studio in San Francisco. Jeana packed her suitcase, gathered up her Chihuahua. Nash and Holmes had met three years earlier at the Seven Seas. The man was a poster child for sociopathic behavior. John said he felt like he was chosen to get AIDS because of who he was, how he lived. susan launius interview - vccsrbija.rs . Number 8763 Wonderland Avenue had some history of its own: Paul Revere and the Raiders once lived there. Holmes hired the sisters to do gardening around the complex. Haltingly, Holmes confessed to his wife that he had played a central role in four brutal murders earlier that month in a drug dealers hillside home in Laurel Canyon. Ventura County is a wussy answer. Following his arrest in Miami, Holmes was tried for the murder of the Wonderland Gang. Jeana said nothing. I've endured both earthquakes and hurricanes. Charles Manson was deranged and messianic but John Holmes only cared about himself and didn't care who got hurt - or killed - in his never-ending quest to feed drugs and self-esteem into his wasted system. I think L.A. should be broken up into a series of counties so we have better choices. He weighed ninety pounds, his fingernails were two inches long. By June, she was thinking, Well, Im not doing anything here. On June 27th, two days before the robbery at Nashs, she flew to Los Angeles. Edit your search. Mrs. Kraft was a former registered nurse at Memorial Hospital, former administrator at Memorial Convalescent Center and owner of Toddle Town Inc, comprised of Toddle Town, Toddler House and Learning Journey. Hanson said Holmes never told his attorneys what happened the night of the killings. He was held in the county jail for contempt. Why would I confront her? When theyd finish work, hed make sandwiches. I loved the schmuck. She cleared her throat John?, You had this dream. The man in the suit was Los Angeles Police Department detective Tom Lange. Susan Launius Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family Finally he came out and said, You know what? His body was recovered near Mount Islip. We did it in the van. After a while, I said I didnt want to go out on the beach anymore. What does the print-on demand delivery system offer over other, similar systems like iUniverse.com? John was tired of the whole industry, she says. Harold drank a lot. Thanks for posting though. The cast of characters would go from two or three to ten or more. Now he was a drug delivery boy for the Wonderland Gang. Holmes hadnt paid for the room. Nashs and Diless attorneys maintain their clients innocence and question the credibility of witnesses for the prosecution. It was a strange and violent time and men wore double-breasted suits and snap-brim Fedoras. He wanted me to view his body and make sure that all the parts were there, says Laurie. Ill never forget that as long as I live, she said. ', In time, John and Laurie moved in together at Amersons. She was scheduled to appear in court this month on drug charges. It goes from five inches all the way to ten. That first time, we didnt get to work together, says Laurie, but we were attracted. Jeana hung up the phone. He invited them in for coffee. Mystery Of A Massive Library Fire Remains Unsolved After More - NPR The car was on the other side of Santa Monica Boulevard, across six lanes of traffic. . March 3 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts library said a book was recently returned with a note apologizing for the tome being 56 years overdue. Please enter a valid Memorial ID. For the latest national news from NPR and our live radio broadcast, visit LAist.com/radio. After his release, Nash told a friend that jail had saved his life. Holmes muttered something to Nash about the gang. Holmes drove to Nashs again to make sure the sliding door was still open. Jeana said nothing. 'I was laying down on the bed. That house, she thought. An hour before, Holmes had run into Diles. He wanted to be in charge. The lone survivor of a bloody attack at a - UPI Archives He graduated from UCLA with majors, variously, in physical therapy, pediatric physical therapy, medicine and political sciences. But its one thing to tell someone something, says Lange. In a recent interview with The Times, Sharon Holmes, who divorced the late actor in 1984, described for the first time the story her husband told her less than three weeks after the July 1 killings. There were contracts out on their lives. SIMON: For more than 40 years, people have been reading and performing Susan Cooper's poem "The Shortest Day" to celebrate the winter solstice. And, as Holmess supply of coke dwindled, his conscience was overruled by his jones. When the cops got to his hotel, Holmes was there. In 1960 he opened a hot-dog stand on Hollywood Boulevard. Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Ronnie Launius (29045828)? Like aliens or something. He cut Holmes off, canceled his insurance. Deep in Laurel Canyon, the Wonderland Gang was planning its last heist. Almost everything publicly known about porn king John Curtis Holmes is apocryphal, anecdotal, secondhand or informed by conjecture. It helps that Susan Boyle has made her Asperger's public. My husband hired a girl to follow us. He said, I had to stand there and watch what they did, Sharon Holmes recalled. He lost his thumb and three fingers. . Remarks by neighbors in the trendy, secluded area above the Sunset Strip and court records revealed the occupants of the stucco house on Wonderland Avenue lived in Southern California's 'fast lane' -- a lifestyle surrounded by drugs, flashy cars and trouble with police.