[5], Roger Ebert gave the film a mediocre review, granting it two out of four stars, and saying: "True crime procedurals can have a certain fascination, but not when they're jumbled glimpses of what might or might not have happened involving a lot of empty people whose main claim to fame is that they're dead. I flew in from I believe I was in Tahoe with Liberace, he says. Release Calendar Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Barbara Richardson (ne Flavin; born March 25, 1949) is the former First Lady of New Mexico and the wife of Bill Richardson, the 9th United States Secretary of Energy. Lind and Launius had become friends while in prison and promised to deal drugs together upon their release. Manage all your favorite fandoms in one place! : While he was acquitted with the murders, he served 110 days in jail for refusing to cooperate with authorities and was charged with contempt. Facebook gives people the. When he learns that Holmes knows notorious gangster Eddie Nash, he gives Holmes a pair of stolen antique guns to take to Nash, so that Nash can fence them and the Wonderland Gang can split the loot. They were probably considered dirtbags and drug dealers and Who cares? he says. The Wonderland murders happened on July 1, 1981, when the killer (s) stepped in the Wonderland Gang's den without any sign of breaking and entering, as the Los Angeles Times tells us. Barbara Easton Richardson. Source: [https://i.imgur.com/KesSu82.jpg]. 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. After a key witness for the prosecution died in an unrelated police shootout, the murder charges against Launius were dropped. [7], A California police officer described the blond, bearded Launius as "one of the coldest people I ever met". Nash and Diles faced a mistrial in 1990, and were acquitted in 1991. Launius wife, Susan, had also been badly bludgeoned but survived with severe head injuries. | The case sounds like something out of ''L.A. Barbara Lee Richardson was born in Sacramento, California in 1958, and she became the girlfriend of Aryan Brotherhood biker David Lind. Following the robbery, Holmes ended up back at Nash's home. Holmes had entered the home while the doors were unlocked. Nash discovers Holmes was involved in the robbery, he has Holmes beaten and finds Holmes' little black book. 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. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. Their cause of death was blunt force trauma. David Lind died of a heroin overdose in 1995 while Tracy McCourt died of unknown causes in 2006. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [1] She graduated magna cum laude from Wheaton College in 1971, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.[2]. The story eventually moves on to two city detectives investigating the crime, Sam Nico and Louis Cruz, and their contact with Holmes. Connelly thinks the fact that the killings revolved around the cocaine trade help. Holmes was acquitted in 1982, but died in 1988 from complications related to AIDS. Prior to his passing, the LAPD was still investigating the murders long after the trial of Holmes had ended. 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. [21][22] Diles died in 1997 from liver failure.[23]. Federal prosecutors have reached back to history here to revive a sensational murder case, unveiling an indictment that alleges that a former nightclub owner, his bodyguard and a pornography actor arranged the killings of four people in the Hollywood Hills nearly two decades ago. [5] Another officer commented, upon hearing of Launius' death, "I suppose they won't need many pall bearers". 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). Prior to the murders, five people resided in the home: Ron Launius, Billy DeVerell, DeVerrels girlfriend Joy Audrey Gold Miller, Tracy McCourt and David Lind. The autopsy performed after his murder identified numerous injection scars on his forearms, in addition to hyperplasia of the lymph nodes a common sign of narcotics abuse. All Rights reserved. Hes plotting his return to L.A., where he plans to finish his second book and then wait for a call from Matt Damon, who he hopes will reprise his role as him in some future Hollywood adaptation of his exploits. [6], Reportedly, at the time of his death,[5] police investigators in California, largely in the Sacramento area, had 27 open homicide cases they believed were perpetrated by Launius. Following the robbery, Holmes ended up back at Nash's home. This page was last edited on 21 January 2023, at 15:57. Matt Damon played him opposite Michael Douglas in the 2013 HBO movie Behind the Candelabra, based on Thorsons tell-all book by the same name about his relationship with the famous pianist. Miller and her live-in boyfriend, Billy DeVerell, were the usual residents; Ron Launius and his wife, Susan, were house guests. New Charges in 19-Year-Old Drug Killings in Hollywood, https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/21/us/new-charges-in-19-year-old-drug-killings-in-hollywood.html. Launius and Susan Murphy, were married in Carson City, Nevada on April 16, 1971. Barbara Flavin was born in Gardner, Massachusetts, March 25, 1949, the daughter of Evelyn Mary (ne Kaplan) and John Francis Flavin. In retrospect, Thorson says he recognizes that Liberace took advantage of him. Find 55 people named Barbara Richardson along with free Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok search on PeekYou - true people search. Recent examples include Paul Schrader's ''Auto Focus,'' in which the celebrity (and victim) was the ''Hogan's Heroes'' star Bob Crane, and Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato's ''Party Monster,'' in which the celebrity (who in real life pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter) was the New York club kid Michael Alig. He said hed have them all on their knees, teach them a lesson, and that theyd never steal from him again, Thorson said on the stand. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 69 years old? When asked to elaborate, the policeman explained: "A trash can only has two handles". However, it wasnt until 1990 when Eddie Nash and his bodyguard were both arrested and were accused of their roles in the murder. However, it was a house that gained infamy in the 1980s for such reasons that could even shock a longtime local. He hears of his friends' murders at Wonderland and soon discovers his girlfriend was there. View Barbara Richardson results in Pennsylvania (PA) including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. 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. Technical Specs. The next morning, Ron Launius, Lind, and Deverell carry out the robbery, while wheel-man Tracy McCourt waits outside in a car, serving as lookout. They bring their loot back to the Wonderland apartment to divide everything up. Specifically, he was at a drug kingpins house when the man gave the order for one of Los Angeles most infamous mass killings: the Wonderland murders, where four people were beaten to death in a house in Laurel Canyon. And so there is this sense that no one was innocent in this crime., At the same time, Thorson, who is familiar with the struggle of addiction, points out that even a houseful of drug dealers deserves justice. Afraid that he is wearing out his welcome, he persuades his hosts to rip off a local nightclub owner named Eddie Nash (Eric Bogosian), and then he betrays them by helping Nash take revenge. 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. [5] Neither Lind nor McCourt was present for the attack, as Lind was consuming drugs with a prostitute in the San Fernando Valley, and McCourt was at his own home. She is also the New Mexico chairperson of Read Across America. Mr. Holmes died in 1988 of an illness related to AIDS, and Mr. Diles died in 1995. The authorities say that the case grew out of a separate investigation into an Armenian crime syndicate and that it led to renewed accusations that Mr. Nash, with his bodyguard, Gregory DeWitt Diles, and a pornographic film star, John Curtis Holmes, carried out the Wonderland murders. Holmes arrives at the apartment, and they have sex and snort cocaine in the bathroom. He spent considerable time in the Colorado prison system, but when he was free he operated a successful mobile phone franchise. These people, known as the Wonderland Gang, included Ron Launius and his wife Susan, Billy Deverell, Lind's 22-year-old girlfriend Barbara Richardson, and Joy Miller. The next morning, while in a motel room, Dawn sees a newscast that states four people were murdered at a rowhouse on Wonderland Avenue, the same one she had earlier been at with Holmes. As First Lady of New Mexico, she formed the New Mexico Immunizations Coalition in April 2003. 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. We will update Barbara Richardson's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible. 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. When questioned, neighbors said the drug-fueled Wonderland parties often included loud, violent screaming and disruptive noise, so when they heard the murders occurring, they simply believed another party was taking place. All I can say is what I've said for the last 20 years. Ron Launius, Deverell, Richardson, and Miller are all brutally beaten to death with striated lead pipes. It has nonstop drug use, frequent violence and some sex, though not as much as its main character's profession might lead one to expect. Mr. Nash's lawyer, Fred Rucker, did not return telephone calls. Joy Miller was found dead in her bed, while DeVerell's body was slumped at the foot, leaning against the TV stand. Thats what got me hooked, Thorson says. In his last days, it was reported that Holmes no longer wanted to cooperate with authorities regarding the murders. On July 1, 1981, a group of Nash's henchmen (including Holmes), led by Diles, gains access to the apartment at Wonderland Avenue. FILM REVIEW; A Film Stud Who Loses His Luster Is Sent to Graze on Seedy Pastures, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/03/movies/film-review-a-film-stud-who-loses-his-luster-is-sent-to-graze-on-seedy-pastures.html. Synopsis. Miller had two adult daughters and was the ex-wife of a Beverly Hills attorney. 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