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Edmund Brown Jr. owns a house about a mile from the scene of the murders. Eddie Nash was fifty-two years old, six feet tall, gray haired, strong and wiry. Remember me?. The Holy Roller was up in the balcony, waving a Christian flag, praying and hollering, singing We Shall Overcome. She said John had cut some coke with an old tarot card and she believed it was a sign from the devil. Each time, drugs, money and weapons were seized. For the next three days, John, Jeana and Sharon were held in protective custody in a luxury hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Not only did the Black Dahlia murder occur in '47 but the town was full of soldiers returning from the war with scarred psyches. His lawyer lent him a Volkswagen Beetle and $100, and Holmes showed up at his friend Amersons house. We closed up the office and went to the beach. He wanted to make a million dollars so we could just leave and be done with it.. He was in so much pain, you couldnt touch him. Then he sat up. John was into Save the Whales. The word in the industry was that he had colon cancer. 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. After a preliminary hearing in January 1989, at which Thorson, among others, testified, Nash and Diles were bound over for trial this summer; they are currently being held without bail in the Los Angeles County Jail. Only Launius' wife Susan survived the attack, allegedly masterminded by organized crime figure and nightclub owner Eddie Nash. You cant do this to me, he said. The man was a poster child for sociopathic behavior. John had a van by then, and soon he began organizing camping trips with Jeana, Terry and Terrys boyfriend, Jose. to tell them who it was, Sharon Holmes said. Dismiss. Eddie Nash assumed he deserved a certain amount of respect, says one denizen. Dismiss. He was frozen. They watched some more TV. They picked up a six-pack, went to a park, sat by a pond. . Then, in the summer of 1985, John tested positive for AIDS. Ill have them on their knees! Nash ranted to Thorson. His body was recovered near Mount Islip. Come with us, Sharon., It can be the three of us, Sharon, like old times.. U.S., Newspapers.com Marriage Index, 1800s-current. Susan Goldberg, MBA Expand search. Listen, he said, grabbing her elbow. He could repair anything, liked sketching and working in clay. Now it was midnight in the parking lot at the Safeway in Glendale. In the face of a drier future, that iconic piece of Americana is on its way out in Southern California. John was doing a lot of drawing. We have lots of information about Suzanne: religious views are listed as Christian, ethnicity is Caucasian, and political affiliation is currently a registered Republican. Susan Launius Remote Medical Transcriptionist for Cardiology Center Of Amarillo Altus, Oklahoma, United States 95 followers 96 connections Join to view profile Cardiology Center Of Amarillo Altus. Liberace called him Booper, treated him like a son, a lover, a pet. He wore the buckle when he and Sharon sold bumper stickers door-to-door. Basically, he said, Im going to have to run, Sharon Holmes recalled, And I said, Youre going to have to tell me. . For her sister Terry, who was fourteen and overweight, he brought what he called Terry food, pounds and pounds of candy. Sellers agreed to talk to The Times on the condition that the paper not reveal her true name. Once, he rammed his own hand into a harvesting machine. Launius' wife, Susan Launius, survived the attack, which is shocking given the crime scene photos and video. He worked for others for a time, then opened Beefs Chuck, a hotdog stand on Hollywood Boulevard. . The daughter had a kid and a job. I said yes. In 1962 he joined the USAF and served in the Vietnam War, but was caught smuggling heroin and discharged in 1972. I was working as a computer programmer. They had a few questions for John Holmes. Three hours later, everyone was finally awake. Thorson, who was waiting to be sentenced on a drug-related armed robbery, had sought a deal with police. 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. How do other people see you? Hed been ripped for eight pounds of cocaine, but the Wonderland Gang hadnt found his private stash, and now he was bubbling his glass pipe furiously. He graduated from UCLA with majors, variously, in physical therapy, pediatric physical therapy, medicine and political sciences. I believe that cocaine paranoia created within him the desire to stay within that closed environment that he had control over. People are after John, and they think youre with him. I believe I was watching TV and it seems like a bunch of people were coming in and out,' Mrs. Launius said. He served in the signal corps, spending three years in Nuremberg, Germany. The maid was the only one home, and they tied her up. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. John eased into the tub. Sharon, a registered nurse, rummaged through a well-stocked medicine cabinet, brought out iodine and cotton swabs. Hanson said Holmes never told his attorneys what happened the night of the killings. Chris didnt have a drivers license. There was one hitch. Barbara's cousin tells me this info. With Holmes, it was like he was center stage and the lights and the camera were on, says a detective who was present. James M. Eisenman, a Century City attorney who represents Holmes estate and his second wife, said he doubts Sharon Holmes story. He wasnt threatening. We cut him loose.. Then Liberace would make a joke about having the only fur coat in the world that had its own limo. Things at the house were always hopping, someone was always showing up with a scam. The guest bedroom. Holmes said hed had sex in airplanes, helicopters, trains, elevators, kitchens, bathrooms, on rooftops, in caves, storm cellars, bomb shelters in Europe, under a table in a restaurant filled with people, fifty feet underwater while wearing scuba gear. Nolan Miller He was consuming it. And so the plan was fixed. His surgery wouldnt heal up, either. Captain Conan 10y. Finally, he replied: The murders . All his lawyers I think he had maybe six or seven working on different things all his managers, employees, customers, everyone, would come to him. Launius served 4 years and was released in 1978. Holmes had nothing to do and nowhere to go. This story has not been verified. There never was a sexual relationship between us. 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. Thursday, July 2nd, 3:30 a.m. Sharon Holmes switched on the porch light, spied through the peephole. Or that show out of New York, you know, A Current Affair. So you go in, Launius was saying to Holmes, reviewing the plan. Big mystery. Salary in 2020. Jobs People Learning Dismiss Dismiss. We moved around a lot because the rent kept going up. Nashs house was raided three times. At night, she baby-sat for David and Karen. 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. Officers made casts of the victims' wounds to help determine the weapon or weapons used in the attack. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Susan A. Murphy Launius, then 30, while not an official member of the gang, was married to gang member Ron Launius and had a drug habit. Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. It was like being in a movie or something., By late 1984, John was working as an executive at Amersons VCX films. Following his arrest in Miami, Holmes was tried for the murder of the Wonderland Gang. Some were quite attractive. In jail, Holmes went on a hunger strike. Holmes, in those days, was a string bean, six feet tall, 150 pounds, hair still cut in a military buzz. In court testimony years later, he would say, in answer to this and many other questions, I dont recall. But I had no reason to confront her. The master, the giver of hospitality. 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. The woman took her to her house, put her to work painting a wall. He hardly knew what Holmes was saying. They wanted to see Holmes. Venice Beach boardwalk to the Santa Monica Pier. The sun was warm and diffuse. There were two-way mirrors in the bedroom, anything you wanted would be made available. The man who owned the house was named Adel Nasrallah. He began spilling to Blake in 1973, after he was arrested on a movie set. Before them were two pairs of handcuffs, a stolen police badge, several automatic pistols and a dogeared sheet of paper, a floor plan. It was obvious from his comments that Ricks, a hard-liner, considered Eddie Nash a plague. Learn more about merges. Now he was a drug delivery boy for the Wonderland Gang. I suspect that Launius may have been involved in other violent crimes. Susan Lanius (unlucky) wife of Ron Lanius played by Christina Applegate in the movie Wonderland. Youd walk into the house, there were various girls walking around in various states of undress. He invited them in for coffee. Up to this time, Holmes had been doing mostly photo layouts, stag films and 8-mm bookstore loops. True Crime Writer in Las Vegas. She actually saw it. His business empire totally atrophied as a result of the coke. I said, John, how could you? Her daughter was born by emergency C-section. I was there., It was my fault, John said, his eyes welling with tears. Ill teach them a lesson! The finish was drippy and streaked, but it didnt matter. Lind and his girlfriend had come down three weeks earlier from Sacramento to stay at Wonderland. Holmes finally called on the afternoon of the 29th, after the Wonderland Gang kicked him out. We sat on the rocks, the moon was just right. Holmes was to run it. Soon after, the courtship of Jeana began. All three of them are sleeping in the same bed. . A porn documentary of his life, made in 1981, was called Exhausted. There was a garage on the first floor; the second and third floors had balconies facing the street. We're in a period of seismic drought in L.A. Where do you want to be when the Big One hits? Their association ended in one of the most brutal mass murders in the history of Los Angeles. They shared an apartment with another divorced woman and her two children. Under Review. John continued to make films, but he made Laurie stop. Girls' Singles. If anything, one of the themes in Eddies life has always been control. Lulu Press offers a very affordable set-up with generous royalties. Porn star John Holmes in 1981, shortly after four people were bludgeoned to death in what came to be known as the Wonderland Murders. Anywhere on Los Feliz Boulevard adjacent to Griffith Park. 22nd Emmys Golf Classic. His legs and feet would swell up, his ears would bleed, he had infections in his lungs. He cut Holmes off, canceled his insurance. A California cop called him "one of the coldest people I ever met." The house at 8763 Wonderland rented for $750 a month.. Is this your brother? Jeana stood up, moved closer to the tube. In a way, Holmes was everymans gigolo, a polyester smoothy with a sparse mustache, a flying collar and lots of buttons undone. By the time they pulled into the apartment complex managed by Sharon Holmes, it had been decided. master splinter death. In a career that would span twenty years, Holmes made 2274 hard-core pornographic films, had sex with 14,000 women. The letters "IC" pronounced properly can say "icy" meaning very cold. runs a close second. These five measures map closely with . Now, home early from her office, Sharon left her purse in the foyer, squeaked down the hall on white rubber soles to the bathroom of their one-bedroom apartment in Glendale. Just after the murders, Nash and Diles had found themselves in a world of shit. He was very upset about the business. Facilitating a sense of purpose. 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. Are you afraid its withering and dying? she said, laughing. February 1988, seven years after the murders. He was picking on a kid that didnt know any better. Minnesota officer removes jar from raccoon's head. You cant be uptight about this, John said, a refrain she would hear for the next fifteen years. Would Jeana want to be the live-in baby sitter? At the height of his popularity, he earned $3,000 a day on films and almost as much turning tricks, servicing wealthy men and women on both coasts and in Europe. 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. She hadnt seen him in three months. She cut her eyes slowly, caught his profile. She was moving to a house. And (that they) made him watch.. signs you are both hiding your feelings. Edward, a carpenter, was an alcoholic. He had set it up with the other people, the people that lived at Wonderland. Holmes refused to testify. Launius was Wonderland's king, and he was as cold as ice. The top story was something about a mass murder. He had a slight build, a pockmarked face, a record of thirteen arrests. Sydney Pollack's adaptation of Horace McCoy's "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" John was gone now more and more, making films in Europe, San Francisco and Hawaii, doing private tricks, traveling to film openings across the country. [5] Barbara Richardson [ edit] Ten inches long! Later it was reported that Holmes interrupted his fast, ate a meal, then continued his fast. Holmes talked a while, looked Jeana up and down. We sat for a long time, and he was very, very quiet. He was supposed to be doing sales and preproduction, writing and editing, in addition to acting. Later, the women dyed Johns hair black. They called it Louise. Others looked like theyd been sucking on the pipe a little too long. The house at 8763 Wonderland rented for $750 a month. Invalid memorial. McKenna was murdered in 1989 when ambushed while returning home in his limousine; his killer sprayed bullets into the vehicle, killing McKenna. Her lover was Billy DeVerell. His attorney told reporters that hed changed his mind because of certain arrangements that had been made and certain circumstances that had arisen. Ive been expecting you, he said. Where are you calling from? Sellers had no particular plan; Glendale sounded just fine. Hours passed, John woke. He had the biggest pile of coke Id ever seen in my entire life, says Jeana. Harold drank a lot. She'd gone into the pregnancy with a plan, knowing Black mothers like herself were at higher risk. Once, Sharon says, he got a human head from UCLA. Nash and Holmes had met three years earlier at the Seven Seas. The actors wife paused. He has just published his latest project about one of Los Angeles's most well known murder cases in the 80s. At home, Nash walked around in a maroon silk robe, or sometimes in bikini briefs, his body covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Nash was on the job day and night, wearing a tall white chefs hat, waiting tables himself. Show your appreciation with the gift of Flickr Pro. 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. Two years later, Ricks reduced Nashs sentence to time served, and Nash was released. He was marketing Holmess old films on video. Then one day Harold threw John down the stairs and came after him. He seems like he was a crazy fucker. She was twenty, an army brat. They were married in August 1965 at Fort Ord, California. Wednesday afternoon, July 1st, two days after the robbery. . That house, she thought. Thorson had driven from Lake Tahoe to score from Nash. In the still unpublished official version of his life, Holmes is quoted as saying that he was held at gunpoint at another house while the killers, whose names he did not know, went to the home on Wonderland Avenue. One of Nashs friends and overnight guests was, according to a law-enforcement official, an Israeli with a military background, the so-called reputed godfather of the Israeli Mafia. A report by the California State Department of Justice revealed that the Israeli Mafia was active in California during the late Seventies and early Eighties and was involved in drugs, arson, extortion, gunrunning and a number of murders, including the death and dismemberment of two Israeli nationals at the plush Bonaventure hotel in downtown L.A. During his six or seven years of heavy drug use, said the attorney, Nash lost over a million a year directly attributable to drugs. At Christmas, they decorated it with colored lights. Do you find the threat of earthquakes preferable to the threat of hurricanes and long winters? The Seven Seas was a bus-stop joint across Hollywood Boulevard from Manns Chinese Theaters. Her brother Chris, 16, lived in Oregon.