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, whereas others claim Holmes was kidnapped by Nash's henchmen when they recognized him walking around wearing some of Nash's jewelry. 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. Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. Susan wasnt exactly innocent, but you could say she was a bystander caught up in the horror that would unfold hours after she arrived at Wonderland. , money, salary, income, and assets. Add a Memory. In essence, what they wanted him to do was . John Holmes died of AIDS complications in 1988. And yet. Biography Susan A. Murphy married Ron Launius in Carson City, Nevada on 16 April 1971, and the two of them were heavy drug users. 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. Susan Bell Launius, nee Haywood, 70, of Belleville, born in Belleville on 9-14-1943, died Sunday August 10, 2014 at her residence, surrounded by her husband and children. Special thanks to Hospice of Southern IL for their care and compassion. . The neighborhood: Laurel Canyon. At the same time, two-bit hustler and self-styled guru Charlie Manson and his gang were cruising the city in their 59 Ford Galaxie looking for another likely target in their LSD-drenched plan for world domination, nicknamed Healter (sic) Skelter. He had been critical of the amateurishness of the night before, and he wanted to offer his death squad an opportunity to regain his approval. Less-lucky losers might wind up at the bottom of a lake. Launius, 36, was a Vietnam Veteran who had been dishonorably discharged after the Air Force discovered he had been smuggling heroin back to the states from overseas in the body bags of deceased servicemen.Married to his second wife Susan, Launius was basically on a crime spree throughout most of the 1970s including one incident in Mexico where . Select boxes below to reduce the number of results. Cecelia passed away on January 22, 2012, and is buried in Marlin, TX. In the summer of 1981, Sharon Holmes said, she and John Holmes were living together as the managers of a small Glendale apartment complex. Susan Bell Launius, nee Haywood, 70, of Belleville, born in Belleville on 9-14-1943, died Sunday August 10, 2014 at her residence, surrounded by her husband and children. After Holmes negotiations for an immunity deal with police and prosecutors fell apart, the actor made plans to leave town with Sellers. A survivor, Susan Launius, 25 at the time, suffered brain damage and has been unable to identify her assailants. Holmes died on March 13, 1988, from AIDS complications in Los Angeles. 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. In the weeks before the killings, Coen told the jurors, Holmes ferried property stolen by the Wonderland Avenue gang to Nashs heavily secured home in Studio City, where he exchanged it for drugs. shed never seen the residence before the day of June 30, 1981. Sympathy Ideas. . When Holmes returned to his car hours later, two armed men ordered him to drive to Nashs home, he said. there just isnt enough clear evidence to point to any one suspect in particular. Kevin Martin is Senior Writer for MagellanTV. By light, four people - Ron Launius, his accomplice Billy DeVerell, Billy's girlfriend Joy Miller, and Barbara Richardson - lay dead in the house. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 69 years old? Burial in Valhalla Gardens of Memory, Belleville. He was never convicted of the Wonderland murders. It almost worked. 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 Launiuss income source is mostly from being a successful . Memorials may be made to Hospice of Southern IL, PanCan.org, or First United Presbyterian Church Building Fund. This site is provided as a service of SCI Shared Resources, LLC. So Holmes summoned his wife into the bathroom, drew steaming water into the tub, slipped in, and began to talk. Ronald S. Coen, now a Los Angeles Superior Court judge, argued that the fatal beatings were intended to avenge the humiliating armed robbery of Los Angeles nightclub owner Adel Nasrallah, also known as Eddie Nash. . The house at 8763 Wonderland Avenue was well-known in the neighborhood, and for all the wrong reasons. Only Susan Launius survived, but her severe head injuries caused her to be unable to recall anything of the attacks. 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. Face of Ron Launius (May 18, 1944 - July 1, 1981) Ronald Lee "Ron" Launius was the leader of the Wonderland Gang, a squad of drug dealers that operated out of a dope house at 8763 Wonderland Avenue in the Laurel Canyon section of Los Angeles, California, moving large amounts of cocaine and small amounts of heroin. I said, John, how could you? As of January 2017, Susan Launius is both the sole survivor of the Wonderland murders and the only living member of the Wonderland Gang. did in 1932, peering over the edge at the expanse of Los Angeles as you prepare to leap to your undying infamy. John Holmes, who was tried for and acquitted of the crimes, never told his wife the names of the assailants, she said. . Filicide is the act of a parent killing their child. John Holmes was arrested and charged with four counts of murder in March 1982, after his handprint was found in one of the bedrooms. Help tell the story of your loved ones unique life. Funeral homes; Help and advice. Clyde Alan Vaughn (Carol), Susan Lynne Vaughn of Jefferson City, MO and Dwight Thomas Vaughn of New Orleans, LA. Here are four who, Over 900 people died gruesomely at Jonestown, a symbol of doomsday cults. She liked to go to concerts and enjoyed many types of music. (But) we have a certain set of rules to follow that the people who go out and perpetrate crimes dont.. In their comfortable Los Feliz dwelling, constructed in 1922 and situated near the crest of a hill, Leno and Rosemary LaBianca relaxed uneasily at the end of their Saturday. She was the only survivor of the Wonderland murders, although she suffered severe head injuries, amnesia, and a severed finger following the attack. Another victim, William DeVerell, 44, who lived at the house, had an arrest record in the 1950s, mostly for narcotics but had not been arrested in the recent case. She was found covered in blood on the floor next to the bed that held her dead husband's body, her skull bashed in but, miraculously, still alive. Interment will follow in Valhalla Gardens of Memory, Belleville IL. But Sharon Holmes and Jeanna Sellers insist that it is true. Visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Hanson said Holmes never told his attorneys what happened the night of the killings. A witness testified that Nash ordered Holmes to execute a plan for payback and then some. Launius' estranged wife, Susan, who was visiting, survived the assault but suffered severe head injuries. No visits to agents, no casting call appearances, no registration in acting classes have been discovered. COVID origins? The final victim was Barbara Richardson, 22, Sacramento, Calif. Court records revealed that a codefendant in Miss Miller's narcotics case was John 'Ricco' Vlick, 53, who lives in a wood-shingled house only two blocks from the scene of the killings. Ronnie Lee Launius Birth 18 May 1944 Death 1 Jul 1981 (aged 37) Los Angeles County, California, USA Burial Lodi Memorial Park and Cemetery Lodi, San Joaquin County, California, Send a note, share a story or upload a photo. Create an obituary. 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. Funeral: 10:00am Friday August 15, 2014 at First United Presbyterian Church, Belleville IL. Leave a memory or share a photo or video below to show your support. 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. Here is William E. Launius Sr.'s obituary. She enjoyed bowling, cross-stitching, and shopping. Mrs. Launius enjoyed working on the gardens at her home, which she treasured. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Her husband, Ron, 37, of the. And the character that caused all this trauma? Valhalla-Gaerdner-Holten Funeral Home & Valhalla Gardens, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The armed intruders robbed Nash and his 300-pound body guard, Gregory Diles, of $10,000, two plastic sacks of cocaine and other property. Susan A. Murphy married Ron Launius in Carson City, Nevada on 16 April 1971, and the two of them were heavy drug users. Sellers agreed to talk to The Times on the condition that the paper not reveal her true name. Bill was a member of First United Presbyterian Church in Belleville, IL. Holmes owed the most to Ronald Launius, as well as another substantial amount to mid-level dealer Eddie Nash, who also considered the porn star a buddy. But we have more depraved murders to investigate in this ghastly, time-traveling tour of Hollywood-Land. LAUNIUS, JUNE E. Flushing Age 90 of Flushing, died Thursday, June 21, 2012 at St. Mary's Hospital in Saginaw. Sign up for service and obituary updates. These years 1947, 1969, and 1981 werent the only years of infamy in Hollywoods history, but each produced a memorable crime of the century though by L.A. standards, perhaps they were just the most notable crimes of their decades. She is survived by : her parents, Clyde Crandall and Fern Crandall. Breaking into Hollywood And Breaking Apart, Doing Harm: Doctors Who Murder and Maim Their Patients, Jim Jones: The Twisted Story of the Man behind the Jonestown Massacre. The Black Dahlia murder, the Manson Family spree, and the Wonderland killings are each crimes of their era with resonance that reaches to today. Manson had collected his death cult from the masses of young, aimless drifters who had descended upon the West Coast in the late 1960s, entranced by the supposedly good vibes of a scene populated with other young people, hippies, and freaks not to mention, crooks and hustlers peddling free love and other illusions. Joy Audrey Miller, 46, who rented the house, had a record of six arrests -- three for peddling dope -- and had been under surveillance since Jan. 7, 1980, by narcotics officers who saw her selling drugs in front of the house at least eight times, affidavits said. Interment will follow in Valhalla Gardens, do Not Sell or share Personal. 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