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. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 69 years old? 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. Tracy Raymond McCourt was the driver of the stolen 1975 Ford Granada that carried the Wonderland Gang to Eddie Nash's home on the night of the robbery. Synopsis. But when Mr. Nash, appearing on a television news program two weeks ago, was asked if he had ordered the killings, he said: ''No, I did not. Wonderland (2003) Natasha Gregson Wagner as Barbara Richardson. Recalling his experiences with Liberace and Nash, he talks as if hes recounting the plot of a movie youre already familiar with, dropping names and referring to tangential events without context. Barbara Lee "Butterfly" Easton Richardson (17 October 1958-1 July 1981) was an associate of the Wonderland Gang, the girlfriend of David Lind, and a victim of the Wonderland murders. One time, he thought hed caught Thorson lying about smoking crack with Richard Pryor. Barbara was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. Two of the suspected robbers, Ronald Launius and William Deverell, lived at the Wonderland residence and were killed there with two women, Barbara Richardson and the owner of the home, Joy Miller. 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". In 1981, at Launius' behest, Lind traveled to Los Angeles to join the Wonderland gang and assist them in running drugs. Mr. Nash's lawyer, Fred Rucker, did not return telephone calls. While you may not be able to get inside the home itself, dont be surprised if things start to feel a little eerie if you happen to be walking around Wonderland Avenue in Los Angeles. Following the robbery, Holmes ended up back at Nash's home. Ron Launius, Billy DeVerell,. She tells them (in a near comatose state) that she does not remember anything, only shadows. On July 1, 1981, a group of Nash's henchmen (including Holmes), led by Diles, gains access to the apartment at Wonderland Avenue. Launius and Susan Murphy, were married in Carson City, Nevada on April 16, 1971. I dont know why they couldnt give him a longer prison term but they should have. Nash died in 2014. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. He spent 110 days in jail for contempt of court. As a result, she suffered permanent amnesia and had a part of her skull and portions of a finger surgically removed. Gregory Diles died of liver failure on January 16, 1997, aged 48. This page was last edited on 21 January 2023, at 15:57. 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. Followed around by his patient girlfriend, Dawn (Kate Bosworth), and her pet chihuahua, he pinballs around Los Angeles County looking for drugs and finding trouble. He is perhaps best-known as Liberaces former lover. On 1 July 1981, she was beaten to death by some of Eddie Nash's men, who used striated lead pipes to kill the gang members, as she slept on the couch of Launius' rowhouse on Wonderland Avenue. David Lind died of a heroin overdose in 1995 while Tracy McCourt died of unknown causes in 2006. Mr. Holmes was accused of playing a role in both crimes and being the link between the two camps. And I was there when they brought him back and they were all covered in blood. Later, Thorson adds, I heard Nash give the orders: Kill everyone thats there.. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. . [21][22] Diles died in 1997 from liver failure.[23]. 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". They bring their loot back to the Wonderland apartment to divide everything up. The Hollywood Pantages Theatre is no doubt one of the most extravagant theatres in the world. 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. It doesnt help that hes someone who sounds like hes lying, even when he isnt. After the sun came up, police found a bloody crime scene inside a house 8763 Wonderland Avenue, the known residence of the Wonderland Gang, a group of drug dealers. However, a month after his passing, Holmess first wife disclosed in an interview that John Holmes had arrived at her home with blood splatter all over him. However, he had admitted that he hired people to retrieve some property that belonged to him that was at the Wonderland house prior to police arriving to investigate the murders themselves. Originally, McCourt was designated to take part in the home invasion itself, but a day or so before the event, conspirator David Lind (who derisively referred to McCourt as "Titmouse Tracy") took away McCourt's handgun, and McCourt was relegated to driving duty. The girlfriend of John Holmes, Dawn Schiller, is on the streets and picked up by a holy roller after Holmes leaves Schiller in a hotel room. 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. When Liberace insisted that Thorson as his son get cosmetic surgery to look like him, the doctor gave him a nose job, sculpted cheekbones, and a chin implant (which he later had removed); he also started Thorson on a weight-loss plan that included pharmaceutical cocaine, quaaludes, and Demerol. But there is no doubt that for those who may have known the story, they cannot help but get an eerie feeling each time they enter the house. Lind and his girlfriend, Barbara Richardson, rode down to the Wonderland house on Lind's motorcycle and slept on the living room sofa. In the years following the Wonderland murders, McCourt was reported to have moved to Colorado. What seems indisputable is that he was mixed up in some very bad business. [5][11] Miller was a heroin user who had fallen in with the Wonderland Gang through her self-immersion in drug culture. He is also a newly free man, speaking to Rolling Stone from Las Vegas in his first interview since getting paroled from Nevada State prison. Well it's only the beginning baby L.A. in the summer anything could happen right. [3][4], Ronald Lee Launius [5] was a United States Air Force veteran of the Vietnam era, who had been dishonorably discharged and convicted of smuggling heroin from Vietnam back to the United States in the coffins of American service members. View Barbara Richardson results in Pennsylvania (PA) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. ''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, who had starred in hundreds of films by that time, is the subject of a 1989 Rolling Stone feature by Mike Sager about his involvement in these events, The Devil and John Holmes.) Nash asked me to step out of his bedroom, Thorson says. [10], Joy Audrey Gold Miller was Billy DeVerell's girlfriend and the leaseholder of the Wonderland townhouse. While there probably had been tenants coming in and out, its unknown at this point whether they can confirm if the place was indeed haunted. Barbara Richardson He spent considerable time in the Colorado prison system, but when he was free he operated a successful mobile phone franchise. 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. His associate, David Lind, once said of him: "You could put a gun to his head and his pulse would never break 70". Lind and McCourt were not present at the home due to the murders since Lind was at a nearby hotel consuming drugs with a friend while McCourt was at an apartment that he apparently rented for himself. 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". Early life and education[ edit] Barbara Flavin was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, March 25, 1949, the daughter of Evelyn Mary ( ne Kaplan) and John Francis Flavin. See the article in its original context from. He hears of his friends' murders at Wonderland and soon discovers his girlfriend was there. LA Medical Examiner's autopsy report, 81-8538, conducted immediately after the Wonderland Murders. It determined that he was an unwilling participant who was forced to watch the attack. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. 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. 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. That is what they are paid to do of course; why anyone else should care is the real unsolved mystery. Release Dates | 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,. She currently lives in Asheville, NC. Nash and Diles faced a mistrial in 1990, and were acquitted in 1991. The film stars Val Kilmer, Kate Bosworth, Dylan McDermott, Carrie Fisher, Lisa Kudrow, Josh Lucas, Christina Applegate, Tim Blake Nelson, and Janeane Garofalo. [If he were,] he would not have played me in the movie. Stamford Hungry Scarecrow Ltd Scarborough catering college.. Barbara D Richardson, 87 Resides in Burlington, NC Lived In Greensboro NC, Roxboro NC, Yanceyville NC, Danville VA Related To Brittainy Richardson, Bridgett Richardson, Darlean Richardson, Thedore Richardson Also known as Borbara J Richardson, B J Richardson, B Barbara Includes Address (17) Phone (6) Email (1) See Results Barbara A Richardson, 85 Around 3:00 a.m. on July 1, 1981, two days after the robbery, an unknown number of unidentified men entered the Wonderland Avenue townhouse and bludgeoned to death Launius, DeVerell, Miller, and Barbara Richardson (Lind's girlfriend who had been visiting). Menu. Accounts vary as to how and why Holmes arrived there; according to some sources, Holmes went there himself to try to make himself appear innocent,[16] whereas others claim Holmes was kidnapped by Nash's henchmen when they recognized him walking around wearing some of Nash's jewelry. Numerous television shows have covered the Wonderland murders, such as: On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. They were probably considered dirtbags and drug dealers and Who cares? he says. and studied at Clarkstown High School South. 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. Holmes volunteers to draw them a map to plan the robbery, since he has visited Nash's house frequently. In May 1974, he was arrested for and charged with the 1973 murder of a reputed police drug informant who had been killed over a botched drug deal. All I can say is what I've said for the last 20 years. 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). Early in the morning of the robbery, Holmes visited Nash's mansion ostensibly to party and to buy drugs, but on his way out, left the patio door to the kitchen unlatched. The two of them became heavy drug users, later becoming police informants, and they travelled to Los Angeles in 1981 to join Ron Launius' Wonderland Gang. I had never touched drugs until I met Liberace, he says. Barbara Richardson (Barbara Ann Barnett Richardson) See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Connell Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Barbara Richardson See Photos Miller and her live-in boyfriend, Billy DeVerell, were the usual residents; Ron Launius and his wife, Susan, were house guests. Attempting to get back in the gang's good graces, Holmes suggests robbing Nash's home. Employees of the VA hospital where Holmes lived out his last days recalled seeing Holmes give incoherent answers or not even responding to the questions at all due to the severity of his illness. Miller had two adult daughters and was the ex-wife of a Beverly Hills attorney. Hes seen some things. Mr. Holmes, who was staying at the Wonderland residence, was accused of opening the door to let the killers in and participating in the murders. While the Wonderland murders still remain unsolved to this day, many of those who were connected in some way are no longer living. In 1981, at Launius' behest, Lind traveled to Los Angeles to join the Wonderland gang and assist them in running drugs. The two of them became heavy drug users, later becoming police informants, and they travelled to Los Angeles in 1981 to join Ron Launius ' Wonderland Gang. Ron has a fondness for antique guns and frequently shows them off. Jurors in Mr. Nash's first trial, in 1990, deadlocked 11-1 in favor of conviction; and the federal authorities now say the hold-out juror, a woman who at the time was 18 years old, was paid a bribe on May 15, 1990, by an associate of Mr. Nash. One such occurrence happened on June 29, 1981. Prior to his passing, the LAPD was still investigating the murders long after the trial of Holmes had ended. As First Lady of New Mexico, she formed the New Mexico Immunizations Coalition in April 2003. She was 93. Barbara Richardson We found 100+ records for Barbara Richardson in SC, CA and 48 other states. Mr. Lange and another investigator, Nils Grevilius, wrote a book about the case, ''Four on the Floor,'' but it has not been published. But the few times I thought he lied, he had a good and valid explanation on how either I misconstrued something or he misconstrued a question.. Available on Amazon and our website. It is currently the last production to adapt the original stories (as Tim Burton's 2010 film was written as a sequel) and was first broadcast on NBC and then shown on British television on Channel 4. https://allthatsinteresting.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/wonderland-avenue-house.jpg. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. Others associated with the Wonderland home were also later deceased. View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. 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. I think if he would have done it in todays time, he would be jailed for it, he says. We will discuss the Wonderland House and the infamous murder that took place nearly 40 years ago and how it might be haunted even to this day. We were freebasing, and he was right. [1] The weapons used by the killers were believed to be a combination of hammers and metal pipes. Mr. Nash was believed to have figured out Mr. Holmes's role, forced him to reveal the robbers' identities and help in the killings. By the time Holmes had become involved with the group, Miller had been arrested seven times, been treated for breast cancer, and six months before had had a double mastectomy. In the early morning hours of July 1, 1981 an unknown number of male assailants had entered the home. He spent 110 days in jail for contempt of court. All Rights reserved. Barbara Flavin was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, March 25, 1949, the daughter of Evelyn Mary (ne Kaplan) and John Francis Flavin. The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel is a popular holiday destination known for Old Hollywood's rich and famous intrigues. Diles died in 1995. He is a member of famous with the age 71 years old group. Mr. Holmes died in 1988 of an illness related to AIDS, and Mr. Diles died in 1995. Lind and his girlfriend, Barbara Richardson, rode down to the Wonderland house on Lind's motorcycle and slept on the living room sofa. He was very distraught, Thorson says. The killings. Eddie Nash had died in 2014. It doesnt help that hes someone who sounds like hes lying, even when he isnt LAPD was investigating... Were married in Carson City, Nevada on April 16, 1971 link the... Hammers and metal pipes only the beginning baby L.A. in the Colorado prison system but! 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