Wonderland Murders

The circumstances surrounding the Wonderland Murders (also known as the Laurel Canyon Murders or Four on the Floor) read like a detective story, complete with addiction, betrayal, and rivalry, with the porn star John Holmes acting as the catalyst.

Related Topics:
Addiction - Porn star - John Holmes

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The year was 1981, and John Holmes found himself with a reported $1,500-a-day cocaine habit. In order to feed his habit, he continually borrowed money from a good friend and wealthy Los Angeles businessman, Eddie Nash, and leaders of a criminal operation known as the Wonderland Gang. As his debt grew, the Wonderland Gang began pressuring Holmes for payment, money which he did not have. In order to satisfy the debt, Holmes set up Eddie Nash to be robbed by the Wonderland Gang.

Related Topics:
1981 - Cocaine - Los Angeles - Eddie Nash

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On June 29 1981, Holmes entered Eddie Nash's home and left the kitchen door unlocked. Shortly thereafter, the Wonderland Gang came into the home and robbed Nash of nearly a million dollars of cash, jewelry and drugs at gunpoint. Nash immediately suspected that Holmes was involved and, under the threat of murder, persuaded Holmes to confess to the setup and its details.

Related Topics:
June 29 - 1981

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On July 1, 1981 at around 4 a.m., the base of the Wonderland Gang on 8763 Wonderland Avenue was entered and four of the five people present were bludgeoned to death (Ron Launius, William DeVerell, Barbara Richardson, and Joy Miller), the fifth (Susan Launius) was found barely alive. Because of a palm print, police knew Holmes was present at some point during the murders, though the level of his involvement was never really known, due to his lack of cooperation with law enforcement and conflicting stories.

Related Topics:
July 1 - 1981

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Eventually, both Holmes and Nash were brought up on charges relating to the murders. Holmes was acquitted on June 16, 1982. Nash's first trial ended with an 11–1 hung jury and his second ended in acquittal. In 2000, he was indicted on federal charges under the RICO act for running a drug dealing and money laundering operation, conspiring to carry out the Wonderland Murders, and bribing one of the jurors of his first trial. As part of a plea bargain agreement, he pleaded guilty to all charges and received a four and a half year prison sentence.

Related Topics:
June 16 - 1982 - 2000 - RICO act - Plea bargain

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Holmes died in 1988 of AIDS. After his death, his estranged wife came forward, saying that he had come to her on the morning after the killings with blood all over his clothes.

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The story was covered in the 2003 film Wonderland, starring Val Kilmer as John Holmes, and in the 2005 book Long Time Money and Lots of Cocaine.

Related Topics:
Wonderland - Val Kilmer

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