The Wonderland Murders - Part 1 - Killer Queens: A True Crime Podcast

On July 1st, 1981, workers for a moving company heard noises coming from the house next to the one they were working at and saw a few men running from the house. When they went to investigate, they stumbled upon one of the most gruesome crime scenes that L.A. County has ever seen. Inside the home, the police found 4 bodies, beaten almost beyond recognition, and a 5th person, barely clinging to life despite her severe injuries. The Wonderland Gang, as they were known, had been attacked during the night as payback for their actions against nightclub owner Eddie Nash only days before.

Lets go to Wonderland

In the hills of Laurel Canyon, there is an area known as Wonderland, based off the name of one of the main roads in the area, Wonderland Avenue. At 8763 Wonderland Avenue, there is a 2 bedroom, split level home. This home is said to have been occupied by Paul Revere and the Raiders at one point when they were popular in the late 60s / early 70s. In this home’s history though, that is not what people remember.

In the late 70s and early 80s, the house at 8763 served as the main residence for the Wonderland Gang. Ron Launius was the leader of the Wonderland Gang, with Billy DeVerell serving as his right hand man. To round out the gang, we have David Lind, Tracy McCourt & Joy Miller.

Let’s take a look at each member of the wonderland gang a little more in depth.

Ron Launius was a Vietnam Veteran with the Air Force. He was dishonorably discharged. Why you ask? He was caught and convicted of smuggling heroin back from Vietnam to the US….. In the bodies of deceased soldiers. Yep… That’s the kind of guy we’re talking about here. It is said that at the time of his death, police investigators had 27 open murder cases, all of which they suspected Launius to be the perpetrator of. These were throughout California, mostly around the Sacramento area. He was charged with murder in 1974 for ther death of a known police informant, but those charges were dropped when the main witness for the prosecution was killed in a police shootout. Later that year, Launius would be convicted of smuggling heroin and cocaine over the US Mexico border, and he would serve 3 years of an 8 year sentence. Ron was married to Susan Murphy (Launius), who was a drug addict herself. She wasn’t officially a part of the “gang” but was around the house all the same.

Billy DeVerell, Launius’ right hand man, was also the voice of reason…sometimes. Where Ron was a fearless, brazen person, Billy would try to reel him back in. Billy was an overhead crane operator, who was also a heroin user. He had been arrested 13 times for his drug habit. It was said that Billy experienced bouts of hating himself and his own actions and oftentimes said he would stop committing the crimes and doing the drugs he was doing.

David Lind met Ron Launius when the pair served time in prison together. Lind was a heroin addict, biker, and member of the Aryan Brotherhood, so … another really good guy. In the early 80s, Launius convinced Lind to come to L.A. and become part of the gang and help them run drugs. By the time the murders took place, Lind had been arrested in L.A. on a slew of charges, armed burglary, forgery, assault, and assault with the intent to commit rape to name a few. Lind was dating a 22 year old, Barbara Lee Easton Richardson, who much like Susan Launius, wasn’t an “official” member of the gang but was around the house all the time to support her drug habit.

Tracy McCourt was basically the little brother of the gang. He was supposed to take part in the Eddie Nash job that the gang would perpetrate, but leading up to it, Lind took his gun and told him he would be their getaway driver. Lind called him “Titmouse Tracy”, and generally treated him like his bitch.

The final official member of the gang was Joy Miller, the girlfriend of Billy DeVerell. She was the official lease holder of the house on Wonderland Avenue. She had 2 adult age children and left her husband, who was a divorce attorney. She became an addict, and immersed herself in the drug culture, which is how she ended up with this rag tag group. By 1981, she had 7 arrests on her record, beaten breast cancer, and had a double mastectomy.

At the time, in the Laurel Canyon area, there were a few different dealers. For the most part, they didn’t bother each other. There were the occasional run ins, but mainly, they all had their territory that they stuck to. They were rarely, if ever, violent with one another. The wonderland gang did a little bit of everything to get money and drugs. One of their main “hustles” was to break into people’s homes with fake badges and pretend to be the police, even dressing in fake uniforms. They would hit other drug dealers in the area, or whoever they could get some cash from in the area. They would take any money and drugs they could get their hands on for their personal use. When they ran out, they would do it again…and again… and again. In a world of bad people and drug dealers, the Wonderland Gang were known in the area as outlaws. Even the scumbags thought they were scumbags.

In mid 1981, the house on Wonderland Avenue was “that” house on the street. It was unkempt and in disrepair. The paint was cracked and chipping. What little yard it had was completely overgrown and not taken care of. There was a worn down, rusted fence with a gate that had an electronic lock on it, controlled from inside the house. The Wonderland area of Laurel Canyon was also the known residence of some popular musical artists, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, & Jim Morrison to name a few. At one point Orson Welles also lived in the area, and in 1982, a year after the murders, Governor Jerry Brown had a home there.

Who Was Eddie Nash

Let’s talk about Eddie Nash next. Who was he? Well, Eddie was originally born “Adel Gharib Nasrallah” in Palestine, in the city of Ramallah, just outside of Jerusalem. Before the creation of Israel, Nash’s family is said to have owned almost 50 hotels. In the early 1950’s, Nash left a refugee camp after his brother in law was gunned down by Israel Defense Force soldiers. He emigrated to the United States with only $7.00 to his name.

Nash quickly found work in Hollywood as an actor and stuntman, as he was an expert horseman. He also had a brief guest spot on an episode of the Western “The Cisco Kid” as the aptly named, ‘Nash.’ By the time the 60’s rolled around, Eddie moved on from being an actor and started a hotdog stand on Hollywood Boulevard called Beef’s Chuck. He worked tirelessly at the stand, doing everything from waiting tables, cleaning daily, taking orders, and cooking.

By the 1970s, Eddie Nash had grown his empire significantly. He held close to 40 liquor licenses, owned several night clubs, restaurants, and real estate. At the time it was valued around $30 Million, but would be worth roughly $130 million today. When he opened a nightclub, he tended to focus on a section of the population that was underserved. He marketed towards homosexuals, teenagers, African Americans, etc. He purchased “P.J.’s Club” which he renamed to “Starwood.” This place is significant, because it would be called instrumental in the early careers of several bands in the area. Van Halen, The Go-Go’s, Quiet Riot, The Runaways. Motley Crue played their first show at the Starwood, and Aerosmith played there before they were called Aerosmith, they were known as “Dr. J. Jones & the Interns.” The Starwood would be shut down in 1981 due to excessive violations of underage drinking and noise complaints. While Eddie was owner of the Starwood, the LAPD would average 25 drug busts per month there.

Once Eddie Nash got a little money in his pocket, he also developed a drug habit. Reportedly, over a 6 year period, Nash spent $1 million per year on drugs. (Around $4.3 million today, or $12.5k per day). That is all just to say.. He had a big habit, and the money to fund it. His drug of choice was freebasing cocaine. Due to his drug abuse, Nash’s sinus cavity was gone, he had a metal plate in his head, and one of his lungs was removed. Another thing he started doing with all the drug use was refer to himself in the third person as, “The Nash.” That’s cool… right?!

All of the drug use caused Nash to be paranoid, so he of course hired a bodyguard. Gregory Diles was a karate expert and convicted felon. He was also a monster of a man, weighing over 300 pounds. He also had a temper to match. Once he was matched with Eddie Nash, the pair became known wide and far across the sunset strip. It’s said that one day, Diles chased someone out of one of the strip clubs that Nash owned, The Kit Kat Club. He chased the man down the road and when the man jumped in his car, Diles emptied his .38 special into the car. The car was across Santa Monica boulevard. Diles emptied his gun into a vehicle across 6 lanes of traffic. That’s just to give you an idea of how the pair operated when they got together. They took no shit from anyone.

It kinda goes without saying, but Nash didn’t just make his money from owning clubs and real estate. He was also one of the biggest drug dealers in the area at the time. During one of the many drug busts at the Starwood, police confiscated a cardboard box with 4,000 counterfeit quaaludes. The box was marked “for sale at box office” in blue marker. Nash sold everything people would want. Pills, cocaine, crack cocaine, heroine, etc, etc. At the height of his career, many people would consider Eddie Nash to be the biggest drug dealer on the West Coast.

On June 29th, 1981, Eddie Nash and the Wonderland Gang would have a run-in that would set off a chain reaction of events leading up to the death of most of the wonderland gang itself. The gang had an inside man, a “friend” of Nash’s who they used to get into his home. They gave the man $400 to go and buy drugs from Nash, but while he was there, they wanted him to unlock a patio door, so they could use it to get in and rob the place. The goal of the robbery was cash, drugs, a floor safe that Nash had in his closet, and to get some antique guns that the gang had sold to Nash in exchange for drugs.

Let’s take a little detour and talk about the Wonderland Gang’s “mole.”

John Holmes

In the 1960’s and 70’s there was a sexual awakening that spread throughout the world, not the least of which was making adult films mainstream. During the 70’s public figures everywhere admitted to watching adult films, from the vice president to Jackie Kennedy. In the middle of this movement, was a skinny, curly haired guy named John Holmes.

John was born “John Estes” in the small rural town of Ashville, Ohio. Holmes’ childhood was “normal” for the most part, although his parents were divorced. When he was 15, John left home and enlisted in the Army with written permission from his mother. He spent most of his military career in West Germany and was honorably discharged in 1963. Once he was out of the Army, he relocated to the Los Angeles area and held several odd jobs here and there. One of these jobs was as an ambulance driver, which is where he met Sharon Gebenini (Je-Ben-Ni). The two would fall in love, and marry in August of 1965, after John’s 21st birthday.

John would bounce from job to job, and eventually he got a job as a “model” for adult magazines / pictures. These photo shoots would turn into John appearing in films. Sharon was obviously not a fan of this, but John told her that if he was a carpenter, he would use a hammer as a tool, so his….tool was a tool that he needed to use.

John started in the adult film industry with only one vice. He didn’t drink or do drugs, the only thing he did was smoke cigarettes. While it was an industry that was making money during the time, the adult film industry was still not legal in the eyes of the courts. During this time in the film business, John would be arrested for “Pimping and Pandering.” To avoid charges, John became an informant for the LAPD. His handler in the LAPD said later that “It was a pleasure working with him,” in regards to Holmes.

Despite being an informant, Holmes became the king of the porn industry during that time. “John Holmes was to the adult film industry what Elvis Presley was to rock ‘n’ roll. He simply was The King.” That’s what Cinematographer Bob Vosse said of Holmes at the time. At the height of his popularity, John was said to be making around $3000 per day. His career however, didn’t jive well with Sharon, who at one point said that she wouldn’t divorce him, but their marriage was basically over. The pair would behave more like close roommates than a married couple.

As John got more and more famous, he also started to experiment with different drugs and started drinking. It got to the point that he couldn’t even film a complete scene without having to run off to the bathroom and do drugs. He was a full blown addict. A huge side effect of his drug use was that it made him impotent. He became less and less sought after once it spread throughout the industry. John took a huge hit to his income, which led to him finding other things to do to make money. One of his favorite things was to go to an airport and hang around the luggage pickup. He would then grab some luggage and take off with it, selling whatever he could for cash and getting drugs.

The Paul Thomas Anderson movie “Boogie Nights” is said to be based loosely off the life of John Holmes.

It was also during this time that John met 15 year old Dawn Schiller. Yep… 15 years old. He would give her drugs and alcohol and eventually, the two started “dating”. John would eventually pimp Dawn out for drugs and money when they needed it.

John, being a drug addict, would eventually make his way to the Wonderland gang to get his drugs. They knew who he was, and kept him around for the novelty of it. Launius treated John like a circus freak and would frequently tell him to expose himself at parties for the novelty, but he also gave John drugs. Even though John kept coming back, he resented Launius for treating him like that. Eventually, John would get into a big hole, financially, with the Wonderland Gang. It was such a deep hole, that some people have said that the gang was going to just kill Holmes. To clear up that debt, John said he could help them rob someone else he knew. Someone who would definitely have enough money and drugs to make things right.

In the late 70s / early 80s, John was introduced to The Nash. The thing about Eddie Nash was that he LOVED the adult film industry. He would invest in them if they needed money or rent space to them for filming. Whatever he could do to be a part of it, he did. When he met Holmes, he was on cloud nine. He had the “Johnny Wadd” in his house. Nash would give Holmes drugs and let him sleep and hang out at his house whenever he wanted. Nash had a way of testing people and if you passed, you were in. He would bring people into his home and leave them in a room with piles of money and drugs, then he would watch from behind a two way mirror (which he had setup all over his house).

Once John passed his test, they two became fast friends. Nash would often refer to John as his brother, and even though John would end up owing him tons of money for the drugs he fronted him, he always gave John more drugs and let him “put it on his tab,” knowing that John would never have the money to pay him back.

Eddie Nash, Robbed and Pissed Off

Here’s the basic plan that John pitched to the Wonderland gang to pay back his debt. He (John) would go to Eddie Nash’s house under the pretense of buying drugs. While there, he would buy some drugs, then unlock the patio door and leave. After that, he would give the all clear to the gang and they would roll in with badges and guns and do what they do best.

On June 29th, 1981, Ron Launius gave John $400 and told him to make it happen. John went to Nash and made the buy. John was extremely nervous, and he actually left Nash’s house without unlocking the door. He returned a second time, and he then unlocked the patio door like he had planned, but he had to hang out for a bit so he didn’t set off any red flags. After a while, he said he needed to go and went back to Wonderland. Once he arrived there, the gang had all partied it up and did enough drugs to make themselves pass out.

John hung out for a while until the gang began to wake up, which was a few hours later. John was worried and paranoid that the door would have been locked by now, so he convinced them to let him go back and check the door again. Once back at Nash’s, Holmes purchased some crack cocaine, and made sure the door was unlocked, and notified the gang that they were a go.

Launius, DeVerell, and Lind were the ones who committed the actual burglary on Eddie Nash’s home. Tracy McCourt served as a getaway driver for the gang and a lookout. Before the gang set out for the night, they dipped their fingers in “Liquid Band Aid” as to not leave any fingerprints. They had their fake badges and guns ready to go.

They busted in the house through the door that John left unlocked. They were immediately confronted by Gregory Diles. The gang had the element of surprise on their side though, and they were able to get Diles on the ground and handcuffed him. Shortly after, they were able to get Nash and handcuff him as well.

When they had both hand cuffed, they went in on Nash and demanded that they tell him where all the money and drugs were. In the commotion of all of this, Launius accidentally bumped into David Lind which caused Lind to accidentally shoot Gregory Diles in the back, injuring him, but non life threatening. Upon hearing the shot, Nash started to pray for himself and his children, but he was cut short by the gang telling him to open the safe.

Nash gave up his cash and drugs. It is said that the gang made off with about 1.3 million dollars in drugs (cocaine, heroin, quaaludes), cash, the antique guns that they had sold to Nash, and jewelry. It was a great short term victory for the gang but would ultimately lead to their demise.

FOR PART TWO, CLICK HERE!